Become a Professional Trader at SFX.

Trader Incubator

The Trader Incubator is a recruitment program that turns talented independent traders into SFX desk traders, offering the guaranteed position of Junior Trader on graduation.

86%

Offered a permanent role

£100k

First real capital allocation

Unlimited assessment attempts

40+

Professional training topics

From Trainee to Professional.

Program Breakdown

Go through three sections, showcasing your trading knowledge and edge. Learn essential SFX-specific trading concepts and graduate with a permanent trading position.

Section 1

Core Knowledge

Core Training Manuals

I Macro Economic Drivers

II Institutional Risk Management

III Global Market Structure

Multi-Choice Exam

Section 2

Advanced Knowledge

Advanced Training Manuals

IV Trade Execution & Efficiency

V Institutional Data & Internals

VI Quantitative Strategy Validation

Scenario Exam

Section 3

Trading Assessment

Account size

Max total loss

Max daily loss

Min profit target

Positive months

Assessment time

Free retry allowed

£250,000

£30,000 (12%)

£15,000 (6%)

£37,500 (15%)

2 of 3

90 days

Yes

Simple, Transparent Pricing.

Enrolment Fee

Receive access to the entire program, assessments, training and retries for one fee — never pay again, even if you fail to pass a section.

Trader Incubator

Full program access including the following benefits

  • Receive 6 institutional-grade, SFX-specific training manuals to prepare you for a role as a Junior Trader.

  • Receive unlimited free retries of the S1 and S2 assessments, and one free retry of the Trading Assessment (S3).

  • Receive 1-1 support, guidance and training assistance from your personally-assigned Incubator Lead.

  • Receive a guaranteed offer to join SFX as a Junior Trader on completing the Incubator, managing real capital allocations.

One-time price

£980.00

Or, split the fee over two monthly payments of £540.00

Institutional Concepts & Real World Application.

What You’ll Be Doing

You’ll be trained in the frameworks and skillsets used by global firms and apply them to your own trading and your position on an SFX desk.

  • In this core training manual, you’ll cover the following topics and modules.

    • The Global Monetary System

    • Fiscal Policy and Government Spending

    • Business Cycles and Macro Regimes

    • Geopolitical Risk and Global Events

  • In this core training manual, you’ll cover the following topics and modules.

    • Foundations of Risk

    • Exposure and Sizing

    • Drawdown & Risk Constraints

    • Volatility & Correlation Management

    • Institutional Risk Systems

  • In this core training manual, you’ll cover the following topics and modules.

    • Global Asset Classes

    • Global Market Participants

    • Exchange Infrastructure & Clearing

    • Market Microstructure

    • Regulation and Compliance

Core Knowledge

  • In this advanced training manual, you’ll cover the following topics and modules.

    • Execution Quality and Slippage

    • Smart Order Routing

    • Order Types and Routing Logic

    • Latency and Infrastructure

    • Execution Risk

  • In this advanced training manual, you’ll cover the following topics and modules.

    • Internals & Technicals

    • Order Flow and Liquidity

    • Sentiment & Positioning

    • Alternative & Proprietary Data

  • In this advanced training manual, you’ll cover the following topics and modules.

    • Backtesting Methodologies

    • Factor Models & Return Attribution

    • Performance Metrics

    • Overfitting & Robustness Testing

    • Institutional Strategy Review Process

Advanced Knowledge

From Junior Trader to Desk Head.

Career Path

Incubator graduates earn a permanent Junior Trader role at SFX, managing real firm capital and progressing their career through our structured desk framework.

  • The entry trading position at SFX—and the role Trader Incubator graduates will receive. Junior Traders manage a real capital allocation starting from £100,000 with an asset-specific focus, and no account breaches or arbitrary drawdown limits. Benefits at this stage consist of performance fees and bonuses. Junior Traders become eligible for promotion after a minimum of three months.

  • Associates are more experienced team members who manage a real capital allocation starting from £250,000. They have progressed from a Junior role by showing their edge and good performance. This is an asset-specific role, but with greater scope and less restrictive risk guidelines. Associates receive base salary, as well as performance fees and performance bonuses.

  • Senior Traders are the most experienced traders across our desks, who have no leadership responsibilities. They manage real capital allocations from £500,000 to £5M and beyond—based on their performance, asset focus and experience. Senior Traders can manage a variety of products and assets under custom risk guidelines, receiving a range of exceptional financial and social incentives.

  • Portfolio Managers lead the execution of a defined trading strategy, maintaining ownership over PNL, risk and idea generation. They also may lead trading pods within desk structures. They operate with autonomy under the firm's capital framework, often supported by Junior Traders, Associates or Research Analysts in an asset or market specific trading team.

  • Desk Heads oversee specific trading desks at SFX, managing strategy execution, team performance and professional development. They ensure that our desks are operating within the firm’s overall strategy and risk tolerance, while being responsible for structuring capital deployment and ensuring adherence to firm-wide risk, performance and ethical standards.

Structured Career Progression.

Role Examples

Benefit from greater autonomy, compensation and responsibility as you grow. You’ll also manage larger real capital allocations and access new asset classes.

You’ll Start Here

Junior Trader

Capital

Fixed salary

Performance fee

Pay schedule

Risk guidelines

Performance bonus

≥ £100,000

N/A

70%

Anytime

Applied

1.0% AUM

Min. 3 Months

Associate

Capital

Fixed salary

Performance fee

Pay schedule

Risk guidelines

Performance bonus

≥ £250,000

≥ £2,500/m

50%

Anytime

Applied

1.2% AUM

Min. 6 Months

Senior Trader

Capital

Fixed salary

Performance fee

Pay schedule

Risk guidelines

Performance bonus

≥ £500K- £5M

≥ £5,600/m

30%

Anytime

Custom

1.5% AUM

Why Real Traders Choose SFX?

Key Benefits

We’re built for traders who want more than short-term success. We offer the tools, infrastructure and incentives to build a successful long-term career.

  • Manage real capital allocations from £100,000 to £5M+. Execute strategies and risk management across various global markets and assets.

  • From execution algorithms to data and technology partners—benefit from the tools needed to optimise your strategy deployment.

  • From CFA or CMT charter sponsorship to Bloomberg Terminal certification and in-house advanced training, we support our trader’s professional development.

  • Benefit from base salary, performance fees and bonuses. Other benefits can include pension contributions, health insurance and lifestyle incentives.

  • Operate under dynamic risk guidelines—with no arbitrary hard loss limits. Benefit from support, restructuring and training to improve your risk approach.

  • We run a robust STP model across all desks and strategies. Orders are sent to live markets (DMA) without any dealing desk interference.

Key Details at a Glance.

FAQ

Interested in learning more? Quickly scan through some of our most asked questions.

  • The Trader Incubator is a professional recruitment and development program built for independent traders with skill, edge or potential — not beginners. It’s not a retail challenge or online course. It’s a structured path to a real trading career at SFX, backed by training, evaluation and a permanent role for those who graduate.

  • The one-time enrolment fee covers all training manuals, assessment phases, onboarding materials, personal support and your full practical trading evaluation. There are no recurring payments and no future costs if you’re hired. We don’t profit from trader failure — we invest in talent.

  • Theoretical assessments in S1 and S2 training phases come with unlimited free retries — you can take them as many times as needed. If you don’t pass the final trading assessment (S3), you’ll receive one free retry. Subsequent retries of S3 thereafter are charged at cost of £400. Your progress from earlier sections is always saved, and you’d never need to retake a completed section.

  • You’ll be offered a permanent position of Junior Trader at SFX, managing a real capital allocation and benefiting from our full compensation framework. There are no account breaches or arbitrary rules, you’ll trade in a professional environment — deploying your strategy without limitations. Real capital allocations range from £100,00 to £5,000,000 and beyond.

  • Applications generally open once per month for one week. All submissions are reviewed carefully by our recruitment team. We assess trading experience, analytical ability, and overall potential — we’re looking for high-quality candidates, not mass applicants. Fewer than 25 applicants are accepted per cohort. If you’re interested, you can apply or express your interest below.

Ready to start?

Submit your application and take the first step towards building a career in the financial markets.