Exclusive: Former Goldman Options Trader Tom Rae Lands at Barclays’ FX Unit
- Barclays Capital has on-boarded the former Goldman FX trader Tom Rae after nearly six years on its options desk.

Mr. Rae is the latest to be on the move in what has been a turbulent stretch for the financial services industry. Given waning profit margins and sagging revenues at lenders, many FX Desks FX Desks FX Desks are locations where forex traders and dealers with a financial institution, bank, or investment firm work. FX desks are commonly structured as a central point that is shared by more than one trader and given the nature of the sleepless 24-hour forex market.The majority of foreign exchange institutions possess FX desks to meet trading demands. For large-scale financial institutions, FX desks are generally swapped for a dealing facility.This is operated by market makers, also known as liquidity providers, or a close-knit network of dealers. Sometimes, if demand is high enough, there will be multiple FX desks specific to major currencies like the U.S. dollar, euro, and yen. Forex dealers working at FX desks may operate as an agent or principal. When forex dealers operate as an agent, the dealer will facilitate a client’s order in a secondary market where more liquidity may be found. By extension, FX dealers who function as a principal dealer takes the opposing side of a client’s trade. Evolution of FX DesksBefore the early 2000s, FX desks played a critical role in the operations of forex brokers where it was not uncommon for forex desks to possess 10 to 20 traders. Today, FX desks are made up of maybe a handful of forex traders due to the innovation and transitioning of electronic trading which began to shift in the mid-2000s. While the demand to trade forex is greater than it had been, forex dealers have been replaced by electronic auto-hedging platforms that quote and clear trade executions on their trader’s behalf. FX Desks are locations where forex traders and dealers with a financial institution, bank, or investment firm work. FX desks are commonly structured as a central point that is shared by more than one trader and given the nature of the sleepless 24-hour forex market.The majority of foreign exchange institutions possess FX desks to meet trading demands. For large-scale financial institutions, FX desks are generally swapped for a dealing facility.This is operated by market makers, also known as liquidity providers, or a close-knit network of dealers. Sometimes, if demand is high enough, there will be multiple FX desks specific to major currencies like the U.S. dollar, euro, and yen. Forex dealers working at FX desks may operate as an agent or principal. When forex dealers operate as an agent, the dealer will facilitate a client’s order in a secondary market where more liquidity may be found. By extension, FX dealers who function as a principal dealer takes the opposing side of a client’s trade. Evolution of FX DesksBefore the early 2000s, FX desks played a critical role in the operations of forex brokers where it was not uncommon for forex desks to possess 10 to 20 traders. Today, FX desks are made up of maybe a handful of forex traders due to the innovation and transitioning of electronic trading which began to shift in the mid-2000s. While the demand to trade forex is greater than it had been, forex dealers have been replaced by electronic auto-hedging platforms that quote and clear trade executions on their trader’s behalf. Read this Term and other units have been gutted or in some cases consolidated to help cut costs. Barclays to date has joined the likes of Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered as having embarked on ambitious cost cutting strategies, principally in London.
In its newest move, Barclays secures Rae from Goldman Sachs, who joined the group back in 2008 in London. Since then he has been an active trader for its FX desk, having left the group earlier this year – during his tenure he focused mainly on G10 FX options.
In his new role at Barclays Capital however, he will step into a familiar role at its FX Options desk – he will be reporting to Barclays’ Paul Thirlwall, the group’s Global Head of FX Options, who also re-joined Barclays from HSBC in 2015 to take over the FX Options business.
Andrea Boland contributed to this article. Finance Magnates reached out to Barclays but it was unavailable for additional comment.
Mr. Rae is the latest to be on the move in what has been a turbulent stretch for the financial services industry. Given waning profit margins and sagging revenues at lenders, many FX Desks FX Desks FX Desks are locations where forex traders and dealers with a financial institution, bank, or investment firm work. FX desks are commonly structured as a central point that is shared by more than one trader and given the nature of the sleepless 24-hour forex market.The majority of foreign exchange institutions possess FX desks to meet trading demands. For large-scale financial institutions, FX desks are generally swapped for a dealing facility.This is operated by market makers, also known as liquidity providers, or a close-knit network of dealers. Sometimes, if demand is high enough, there will be multiple FX desks specific to major currencies like the U.S. dollar, euro, and yen. Forex dealers working at FX desks may operate as an agent or principal. When forex dealers operate as an agent, the dealer will facilitate a client’s order in a secondary market where more liquidity may be found. By extension, FX dealers who function as a principal dealer takes the opposing side of a client’s trade. Evolution of FX DesksBefore the early 2000s, FX desks played a critical role in the operations of forex brokers where it was not uncommon for forex desks to possess 10 to 20 traders. Today, FX desks are made up of maybe a handful of forex traders due to the innovation and transitioning of electronic trading which began to shift in the mid-2000s. While the demand to trade forex is greater than it had been, forex dealers have been replaced by electronic auto-hedging platforms that quote and clear trade executions on their trader’s behalf. FX Desks are locations where forex traders and dealers with a financial institution, bank, or investment firm work. FX desks are commonly structured as a central point that is shared by more than one trader and given the nature of the sleepless 24-hour forex market.The majority of foreign exchange institutions possess FX desks to meet trading demands. For large-scale financial institutions, FX desks are generally swapped for a dealing facility.This is operated by market makers, also known as liquidity providers, or a close-knit network of dealers. Sometimes, if demand is high enough, there will be multiple FX desks specific to major currencies like the U.S. dollar, euro, and yen. Forex dealers working at FX desks may operate as an agent or principal. When forex dealers operate as an agent, the dealer will facilitate a client’s order in a secondary market where more liquidity may be found. By extension, FX dealers who function as a principal dealer takes the opposing side of a client’s trade. Evolution of FX DesksBefore the early 2000s, FX desks played a critical role in the operations of forex brokers where it was not uncommon for forex desks to possess 10 to 20 traders. Today, FX desks are made up of maybe a handful of forex traders due to the innovation and transitioning of electronic trading which began to shift in the mid-2000s. While the demand to trade forex is greater than it had been, forex dealers have been replaced by electronic auto-hedging platforms that quote and clear trade executions on their trader’s behalf. Read this Term and other units have been gutted or in some cases consolidated to help cut costs. Barclays to date has joined the likes of Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered as having embarked on ambitious cost cutting strategies, principally in London.
In its newest move, Barclays secures Rae from Goldman Sachs, who joined the group back in 2008 in London. Since then he has been an active trader for its FX desk, having left the group earlier this year – during his tenure he focused mainly on G10 FX options.
In his new role at Barclays Capital however, he will step into a familiar role at its FX Options desk – he will be reporting to Barclays’ Paul Thirlwall, the group’s Global Head of FX Options, who also re-joined Barclays from HSBC in 2015 to take over the FX Options business.
Andrea Boland contributed to this article. Finance Magnates reached out to Barclays but it was unavailable for additional comment.