Had Alex Gerko stuck with his original career plan, he might have remained an academic in Russia. Instead, he transformed into one of the UK’s wealthiest individuals, amassing a fortune estimated at £12 billion.
After earning a PhD in mathematics in Moscow, Gerko realized he might not achieve world-class status as an intellectual. He pivoted to finance, relocating to London, where he leveraged advanced technology—an Icelandic supercomputer and 25,000 AI chips—to build XTX Markets. This algorithmic trading firm is now part of a new elite that has revolutionized financial markets.
Gerko’s success reflects a broader shift in finance since the 2008 crisis, with proprietary trading moving from large banks to secretive, highly profitable firms. XTX Markets stands out as one of the few UK firms that have maintained global dominance during a period when London’s confidence as a financial hub has been shaken.
“What Alex Gerko has done is next-generation, next level,” said Paul Rowady, founder of Alphacution Research Conservatory.
“There’s no other example of a high-frequency trading firm that started like this—in London, focusing on foreign exchange—and grew so fast.”
Both Gerko and XTX Markets declined to comment for the article.
The Secret Behind XTX’s Success
XTX’s trading algorithms are closely guarded secrets. The firm earns revenue by capturing minuscule margins on millions of daily trades across a wide array of markets, including currencies, equities, commodities, debt, and crypto. XTX aims to offer investors more competitive prices than rivals and currently handles $250 billion in daily transactions.
Gerko began his London career with Deutsche Bank after completing his PhD. He later joined GSA Capital, a quantitative hedge fund spun out from the bank, where he built and expanded the currency trading desk. But Gerko wanted to reinvest profits back into the business rather than share them with external investors. This desire led him to negotiate a spin-off.
In 2015, he took a small team of traders and capital from GSA and founded XTX Markets, naming it after a mathematical concept used in linear regression.
“He and his team became extremely ambitious, and it’s challenging to maintain a high-frequency trading operation inside a client-oriented business,” said someone familiar with Gerko’s work.
“They’re mega geeks—the kings of the geek world,” added another source close to him.