Gerko Earns Record £682mn As XTX Markets

Alex Gerko, founder of XTX Markets, received a personal payout of £682mn last year from the profits of his electronic trading firm, cementing his position among the UK’s wealthiest individuals and its single largest taxpayer.

A filing at Companies House shows the Russia-born mathematician shared in a £1.28bn profit pool alongside 30 quantitative traders. The group of employees divided £597mn between them, making 2024 the firm’s most lucrative year since it was established a decade ago.

Payouts surge

The figures mark a 71 per cent rise in trader distributions compared with 2023, when £747mn was shared. Gerko, who owns about 75 per cent of the business, received the largest single allocation. The increase highlights the continuing growth of XTX, which has become one of the most profitable private companies in Britain despite employing just 250 staff.

The latest accounts show profits after tax rose to £1.3bn, up 54 per cent on the year before. XTX declined to comment.

The number of partners eligible for profit-sharing also increased, from 25 to 30, underlining the expansion of its core trading team. While the company remains smaller than rivals such as Citadel Securities, Jane Street and Virtu, its earnings per head are among the highest in the sector.

Family office and philanthropy

Gerko, 44, has become a prominent figure in Britain’s financial landscape. He established a family office last year, Cromulon Capital, to manage his fortune. The name is taken from a character in the animated series Rick and Morty.

He has also backed philanthropic and educational projects. Earlier this year, he committed funds to a new mathematics secondary school in north London. He has invested in artificial intelligence companies including Anthropic and the autonomous vehicle business Wayve.

According to the Sunday Times, Gerko is the UK’s largest individual taxpayer.

Computing power drives trading

XTX makes its money by deploying high-speed quantitative strategies across global markets, exploiting tiny price differences in equities, currencies, bonds, commodities and digital assets. The London-based company handles around $250bn of trades each day.

Its operations are powered by some 25,000 artificial intelligence chips, predominantly supplied by Nvidia. In January, the group announced plans to spend €1bn on a new data centre in Finland to expand its computing capacity.

Industry executives say such investment is essential to maintain an edge in electronic market-making, where fractions of a second can determine profitability.

Leadership change

Gerko has typically shared leadership of the company with a co-chief executive. The most recent partner was Hans Buehler, a former JPMorgan executive, who stepped down in the summer to return to academia. XTX confirmed his departure in July but has not named a successor.

The company’s governance model, which gives senior quants significant influence, has been described by peers as unusual compared with more hierarchical US rivals.

Broader trading landscape

The firm’s growth comes amid intense competition among the world’s market-making houses. Citadel Securities and Jane Street dominate US equity and options trading, while Virtu Financial remains a significant force in fixed income. XTX has carved out a niche in cross-asset execution and has expanded into crypto markets in recent years.

Although relatively small in headcount, its profitability has drawn attention from regulators and rivals alike. Market participants say XTX’s presence has increased liquidity in certain asset classes, though concerns persist about the systemic importance of a handful of privately owned firms.

Outlook

The latest financial results underscore how concentrated wealth has become in quantitative finance. Thirty individuals at XTX shared nearly £600mn between them in a single year, a payout that eclipses the bonus pools of many large investment banks.

As global trading volumes remain high, supported by volatility in interest rates, currencies and commodities, the firm is expected to continue generating outsized returns. Analysts caution, however, that competition for talent and computing resources is intensifying.

Gerko’s position at the centre of XTX means his personal fortunes are closely tied to the firm’s ability to sustain its technology advantage. For now, he remains one of the most successful traders of his generation, presiding over a company that has quietly become a cornerstone of London’s financial industry.