The Interview

What Citadel is looking for

Market Reasoning Interview

Market Structure & Reasoning

01Market Microstructure

02Derivatives Pricing Intuition

03Risk Factor Decomposition

04Macro-Financial Linkages

Quant Finance Interview

Quantitative Finance

01Probability & Stochastic Processes

02Portfolio Construction

03Statistical Arbitrage Concepts

04Greeks & Hedging Strategy

Behavioral Interview

01Intellectual Curiosity

02Precision Under Pressure

03Collaborative Problem Solving

04Risk Awareness

Elite quantitative reasoning bar//Market microstructure depth//Risk-first analytical culture

How It Works

Master Citadel Finance Interviews

Quantitative finance and market reasoning rounds, scored on Citadel’s rigorous evaluation dimensions. · Click to expand

1Your Finance Goals

Financial Modeling

Practitioner

Valuation Analysis

Practitioner

2Finance Case Prep

Citadel Securities processes 35% of US equity volume. Design a risk management framework...

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Citadel

3Frameworks

Framework

Is the $1.2B price justified by intrinsic value?

What does a DCF analysis indicate?

Unlevered FCF: $95M, growing 6% with 9.5% WACC = $1.05B enterprise value

Terminal value accounts for 68% of total — high sensitivity to growth assumptions

How does the price compare to public comps?

Peer median EV/EBITDA: 10.2x vs implied 12.6x — 24% premium

Revenue multiple: 2.8x vs peer median 2.1x

Does the deal create strategic value beyond standalone?

Are synergies achievable and quantifiable?

Cost synergies: $45M/yr (admin consolidation + procurement)

Revenue synergies: $30M/yr (cross-sell, geographic expansion) — 60% realization risk

Market position improvement?

Combined market share: 18% → 26% in target region

What are the key risks and financing considerations?

How should the deal be financed?

Debt capacity: 4.5x EBITDA = ~$430M senior debt at L+275bps

Equity bridge: $770M — 8.2% dilution at current share price

Regulatory and integration risk?

Antitrust review: 6-9 month timeline, 15% probability of conditions

4Feedback

Valuation Methodology

Distinctive

Financial Modeling

Strong

Deal Analysis

Meeting Bar

Market Awareness

Strong

Repeat

Practice Library

Citadel exercises

A portfolio manager wants to hedge a concentrated equity position using options. Walk...

CASE INTERVIEWHard

Hedge Fund · Hedging StrategyCitadel

Explain how a change in the Federal Reserve’s rate path would propagate through the...

LEARNHard

Hedge Fund · Macro ReasoningCitadel

Design a risk monitoring framework for a multi-strategy hedge fund. What metrics would...

LEARNMedium

Hedge Fund · Risk ManagementCitadel

Prepare for your Citadel finance interview

What Citadel is looking for

Market Structure & Reasoning

Quantitative Finance

Behavioral Interview

Citadel exercises

Ready to ace your Citadel finance interview?

Prepare for your Citadel finance interview

What Citadel is looking for

Market Structure & Reasoning

Quantitative Finance

Behavioral Interview

Master Citadel Finance Interviews

Citadel Securities processes 35% of US equity volume. Design a risk management framework...

Master Citadel Finance Interviews

Citadel Securities processes 35% of US equity volume. Design a risk management framework...

Citadel exercises

A portfolio manager wants to hedge a concentrated equity position using options. Walk...

Explain how a change in the Federal Reserve’s rate path would propagate through the...

Design a risk monitoring framework for a multi-strategy hedge fund. What metrics would...

Ready to ace your Citadel finance interview?

Master Citadel Finance Interviews

Citadel Securities processes 35% of US equity volume. Design a risk management framework...

Master Citadel Finance Interviews

Citadel Securities processes 35% of US equity volume. Design a risk management framework...

A portfolio manager wants to hedge a concentrated equity position using options. Walk...

Explain how a change in the Federal Reserve’s rate path would propagate through the...

Design a risk monitoring framework for a multi-strategy hedge fund. What metrics would...