Remote Funded ETF Trend Trader — Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL
Maverick Trading
Trend-following on US sector, broad-market, and thematic ETFs.
Trade from the world's derivatives capital — same time zone as the CME, deepest trader community in the country outside NYC.
An ETF trend trader at Maverick runs systematic trend-following positions on US ETFs — broad market (SPY, QQQ, IWM), sector ETFs (XLF, XLE, XLK, XLV, etc.), and selective thematic ETFs. The strategy is rule-based, position sizes are calculated, and discretion is limited to a small number of decisions per week.
Trading from Chicago, IL
Chicago is the global capital of derivatives trading. The CME, CBOE, and the cluster of prop firms in the West Loop — Citadel, DRW, Optiver, Jump, IMC, Belvedere — make this the city with the highest density of professional traders per capita anywhere outside Manhattan. The Central Time zone is a natural fit for trading US equities: an 8:30am open with a 3pm close gives a long afternoon and a manageable schedule.
Local ecosystem: CME, CBOE, and a major cluster of prop trading firms in the West Loop and Loop districts.
Time zone: CT — the NYSE opens at 8:30am local for traders based in Chicago.
What You'll Trade
Liquid US-listed ETFs across broad market, sector, and thematic categories. Some traders extend into commodity ETFs (GLD, USO) and bond ETFs (TLT, IEF) for cross-asset trend exposure. We exclude leveraged and inverse ETFs from primary positions due to decay characteristics.
Day-to-Day
- End-of-day or end-of-week scans: identify ETFs meeting trend criteria (e.g., 50/200 MA cross, ATR-based breakouts)
- Calculate position sizes off volatility — not fixed dollar amounts; the strategy normalizes risk per trade
- Enter on confirmed signals at the next session open or on a defined intraday trigger
- Manage with trailing stops that widen with rising ATR; let winners run, cut losers fast
Risk Profile
Trend-following has long, frustrating drawdowns followed by strong runs. Maverick traders in this role are sized so that a typical drawdown is survivable across a calendar year, and the firm's risk framework caps both per-position and portfolio-level loss limits. The strategy works on a 3–5 year timeline, not a 3-month one.
Who Succeeds in This Role
- Traders who can sit through 6+ months of choppy, low-return conditions without abandoning the strategy
- People who think in expectancy and Sharpe, not in win rate
- Candidates who have backtested their own trend systems and understand what 'live' results look like
- Traders with patience — this is one of the slower-rhythm roles at the firm
Why This Role Exists at Maverick
Trend-following is one of the most studied and best-documented edges in markets. The retail problem is rarely the strategy — it's the discipline to follow it through drawdowns. Maverick funds traders who have already done the psychological work, with firm capital that lets them size properly.
What Maverick Offers
- Trade firm capital — no personal capital at risk
- 65%–90% profit split based on performance tier
- Performance-based capital scaling, no upper cap
- Professional training and mentorship from active traders
- Fully remote — trade from anywhere with reliable internet (US applicants)
- Monthly ACH payouts
- No challenge accounts, no evaluations, no monthly fees
About Maverick Trading
Maverick Trading is a proprietary trading firm founded in 1997. We allocate firm capital to disciplined traders and scale buying power based on performance. We are not a brokerage, we do not run challenge accounts, and we do not sell evaluations. We profit only when our traders profit.