The Quiet Rotation: How EM Exchanges Are Reshaping Systematic Trading Focus
June 2026Jonathan Ekoh5 min read
The Quiet Rotation: How EM Exchanges Are Reshaping Systematic Trading Focus
At Selby Jennings, we are seeing a clear shift in how systematic trading firms are thinking about Asian and emerging market exchanges. US and core European markets still account for the largest share of capital deployment, but over the past 12 to 18 months, more research time, infrastructure investment, and selective risk has moved towards Japan, China, India, and Korea.
This isn’t purely opportunistic. It reflects a broader structural evolution in how liquidity, volatility, and inefficiencies are developing across markets.
As systematic strategies become more crowded across developed markets, firms are paying closer attention to exchanges where liquidity, volatility, retail participation, and product growth are still changing the market structure.
The conversations we are having with clients have moved on from broad interest in APAC. Firms are now much more specific. They want to understand where the exchange structure, flow profile, and talent pool can support real strategy deployment.
Why systematic firms are looking beyond core markets
One of the strongest themes we are seeing is the search for market structure-driven opportunity.
During periods of macro uncertainty and geopolitical tension, several Asian markets have contin-ued to offer tradable volatility without the same level of structural breakdown seen elsewhere. For systematic trading firms, that distinction matters.
Strategies such as statistical arbitrage, short-horizon alpha, intraday volatility, market making, and options trading rely on more than headline volatility. They depend on order flow, liquidity depth, retail participation, exchange design, and local market behaviour.
Several markets now sit in that opportunity set:
- Japan and Korea continue to offer deep liquidity with evolving retail flow dynamics, creating short-term inefficiencies.
- India has seen a significant expansion in derivatives participation, particularly in index and options products, driving high turnover and repeatable patterns.
- China, despite regulatory complexities, remains a market where local inefficiencies and segmentation still provide alpha opportunities for those able to navigate access constraints.
For Selby Jennings, the hiring signal is clear. Firms are not only asking for strong quantitative research and trading backgrounds. They are asking for candidates who understand how these markets behave in practice.
Clients are placing real value on candidates who have worked directly with Asian exchange products. It is not just about having strong modelling skills. They want people who understand the flow, the constraints, and the local market mechanics.
The European connection
What’s particularly notable is how this trend is being driven by European systematic trading firms.
Many firms based in Europe, particularly those with deep expertise in options, market making and statistical arbitrage, are increasingly expanding their research and trading focus to include Asian markets. Rather than representing a shift away from established strategies, this reflects a broader effort to identify new sources of alpha alongside existing opportunities.
While Europe's mature markets remain central to systematic trading, firms are increasingly looking beyond traditional geographies to identify exchanges that combine institutional-scale liquidity with structural inefficiencies capable of generating differentiated signals.
European systematic firms are not abandoning their core markets. What we are seeing is a more targeted allocation of research attention. They want to know where the next edge is forming before the market becomes too crowded.
APAC expansion is accelerating
At the same time, we’re seeing firms establishing a stronger physical presence closer to these markets.
There has been a noticeable uptick in desk buildouts in:
- Mumbai – driven by the explosive growth in derivatives volumes and a deep, highly technical talent pool
- Dubai – acting as a strategic hub for cross-regional trading and talent mobility
This isn’t just about cost arbitrage or access. Instead, it’s about proximity to market regime shifts. Being closer to local flows, regulations, and exchange developments provides a tangible edge for systematic strategies operating at shorter time horizons.
Talent signals are changing
One of the most consistent themes we hear from candidates in APAC at Selby Jennings is the desire to gain exposure to European markets particularly within more mature systematic trading environments.
At the same time, hiring managers in Europe are placing increasing value on candidates who have:
- Direct experience trading or researching Asian exchange products
- Exposure to high-retail-participation environments
- Built and deployed strategies in markets with less efficient price formation
This is creating an interesting talent arbitrage dynamic:
- APAC candidates want access to European infrastructure and scale
- European firms want the market intuition and experience that comes from operating in EM exchanges
The overlap is becoming increasingly strategic.
APAC candidates want access to European infrastructure and scale. European firms want the market intuition and regional experience that comes from operating in less optimised exchanges.
For Selby Jennings, this overlap is becoming a strategic hiring theme, not a niche requirement.
The strongest candidates are the ones who can translate local market experience into a global systematic trading environment. That combination is becoming much harder for firms to ignore.
Volatility is the real driver
The main driver behind this shift is volatility, but not only in the headline sense.
The real opportunity sits in microstructural volatility. That includes order flow dynamics, retail participation, exchange-specific rules, product growth, liquidity patterns, and local inefficiencies.
Many Asian markets now offer the mix systematic firms want:
- Enough maturity to support institutional trading strategies
- Enough inefficiency to create repeatable alpha opportunities
- Enough product growth to justify deeper research coverage
- Enough local complexity to reward specialist knowledge
By comparison, some developed markets have become more crowded, more optimised, and more competitive. That does not make them unattractive, but it does change the opportunity profile.
For firms with the right infrastructure, risk framework, and talent strategy, Asian and emerging market exchanges are becoming a more serious part of the systematic trading conversation.
What this means for hiring
The hiring market is likely to reflect this shift more strongly over the next 12 months.
Systematic trading firms will continue to need strong quantitative researchers, portfolio managers, traders, and technologists. But the most valuable profiles will increasingly combine technical depth with regional market knowledge.
For professionals, this creates a strong opportunity. Experience in Japan, Korea, India, China, or other emerging exchanges can carry more weight with global firms than it may have done previously.
For organisations, the message is direct. As more firms look towards the same opportunity set, competition for talent with direct APAC market experience will increase. Those that move early will be better placed to access the people who understand local exchange behaviour, product growth, retail flow dynamics, and the infrastructure needed to trade these markets effectively.
At Selby Jennings, we are seeing this trend already. The firms moving fastest are not only identifying where alpha may come from next; they are building the teams, infrastructure, and regional presence needed to capture it.
If your organisation is looking to hire systematic trading talent, expand regional market coverage, or understand how APAC and emerging market expertise could support your strategy, request a call back from Selby Jennings to discuss your hiring needs.
