Small-Cap Equity Trader (Remote, Funded) — San Diego, CA

A small-cap equity trader at Maverick focuses on US small-cap names — typically the IWM constituent range and a curated watchlist of liquid micro-caps. The strategy capitalizes on the inefficiencies, volatility, and momentum characteristics that disappear in mega-cap names. The role requires both opportunism on momentum and rigorous risk control because losses compound fast at this end of the market.

San Diego has a smaller financial industry than LA or San Francisco but compensates with a strong biotech/pharma cluster, a thriving tech sector around Sorrento Valley, and one of the most attractive lifestyle profiles in the country. Pacific Time means a 6:30am market open and an early-afternoon close — many of our San Diego traders explicitly chosen the city for that rhythm.

US small-cap equities meeting minimum liquidity thresholds (average daily volume, dollar volume, bid-ask spread). Trades skew toward momentum continuation, breakouts from base structures, and post-earnings drift. We avoid hard-to-borrow names for short positions unless approved, and we exclude penny stocks under $5 entirely.

Small-caps move 2–5x the volatility of large-caps; losses can run faster than stops execute. Maverick traders in this role are sized smaller per position than equivalent large-cap traders, use mental stops alongside hard stops to avoid stop-runs in thin names, and accept that some days the best trade is no trade.

Small-caps remain inefficient because institutional capital can't deploy size into them. Maverick funds traders who have the temperament and discipline to harvest that inefficiency without being destroyed by it.

• Traders who already trade small-caps and know the liquidity traps firsthand
• People who can cut losses without anchoring to the entry price
• Candidates who scan their own universe and don't rely on chat-room calls
• Traders comfortable with the higher emotional intensity of higher-volatility positions