An Odyssey
Of Ambition

Hiring For Culture And Character

Mete prioritises a dynamic, positive company culture and focuses on character during the hiring process. He firmly believes that true collaboration is fueled by genuinely good individuals.

Candidates undergo challenging assessments to test not only their advanced mathematical skills but also their problem-solving abilities under pressure.

Mete values essential qualities in potential hires, including:

Challenges In The Trading Industry

Mete offers a sobering view of the current state of trading.

While the industry is generating more money than ever, he believes it's significantly harder for junior people to succeed today than it was 10 or 20 years ago.

He advises that unless a student is technically adept, they should think twice about entering the field. The competition is fierce, and without unique skills, it's difficult to justify the struggle.

For those not mathematically inclined, he suggests looking at operational or people-focused roles within trading firms, which are also booming.

Meditation And Stress Management In Trading

A critical element of Mete's personal and professional growth has been his engagement with meditation.

In 2017, after encountering some career challenges post-Citadel, Mete came across a tweet from the esteemed investor Ray Dalio. 

In this tweet, Dalio highlighted the transformative effects of meditation on achieving success, which sparked Mete's curiosity.

Motivated by this insight, Mete decided to adopt Transcendental Meditation (TM), a technique centred on deep relaxation and heightened awareness. Since he began, he's practised this method daily for the past eight years.

Throughout his meditation journey, Mete has come to view it as a vital contributor to his overall performance. He believes it has resulted in a substantial improvement in various areas of his life, estimating a "fivefold" enhancement. 

This practice has significantly lowered his stress levels and provided him with the mental clarity necessary for improved decision-making. As a result, Mete now tackles challenges with greater confidence and insight. The results have been so consistent that he now recommends this method to many others who are learning to manage stress.

Transitioning From Meditation To Trading

For a discretionary trader, someone who relies on human intuition and judgment rather than solely on algorithms, Mete knows that effectively managing emotions is absolutely essential. 

Mete emphasises that the emotional toll of experiencing financial losses as a human trader is profoundly different from that of a machine executing trades. 

For traders, experiencing losses can lead to significant emotional challenges, including feelings of frustration, despair, and self-doubt that extend beyond the trading session. 

The stress inherent in trading often accumulates over time, days, weeks, and even months, which can have detrimental effects on both mental health and career longevity. This chronic exposure to emotional strain can ultimately result in burnout, potentially shortening a trader's career.

To mitigate these effects, some traders, like Mete, practice meditation twice daily, including a reflective lunchtime session. 

This intentional practice helps lower cortisol levels and reduce stress that may build throughout the morning. By allowing this mental reset, traders can clear their minds of negativity and refocus their energy, improving their performance for the remainder of the trading day.

The Impact Of AI On Trading

Looking ahead, Mete emphasises that the "wild west" of trading has definitively come to an end. 

The landscape is now largely dominated by major financial institutions equipped with vast resources and advanced technology, creating significant barriers for new startups attempting to carve out a niche in the market.

He reflects on the trading environment a decade ago, where a skilled graduate could devise an innovative trading strategy and quickly accumulate wealth in the millions. 

In stark contrast, today's graduates find themselves in high-paying roles where their work typically focuses on "sub-problems" within multi-billion dollar trading systems. These positions often lead to incremental improvements, usually around 1%, and limit their exposure to the organisation's overarching strategies and goals.

Furthermore, with machine learning integrated into trading strategies for the past 20 years, the inevitability of a transition to full automation looms large on the horizon. 

This shift promises to reshape the industry once again, potentially redefining the roles of human traders and the nature of trading itself as technology continues to advance.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Mete's insights on navigating high-pressure careers and the power of mindfulness.