The happiest part of my work day usually takes place 20 minutes after I arrive in the office. It’s not when the traders say “Hey, Mers, good job today” or when I pick up my paycheck. The happiest part of my day is when the numbers at the beginning of the day match.

My job is just a repetitive system of checks and balances. During trading hours, I enter trades and give the traders a full list of their options position. Whatever they write down, I put it in the computer. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes I make mistakes. But usually, we check each other throughout the day. If I’m wrong they’ll let me know. (Very vocally.) At the end of each day, I check everything again to be extra sure. After that, the system is out of my hands and into the hands of the clearing firm.

While I simply handle the theoretical position, the clearing firm handles the money side of every trade. They punch in the same trades I do and match them against the opposing clearing firm. Maybe a price will get mixed up or maybe the trader was never issued the trade. Just like I am, they too are prone to making mistakes and typos.

I have a theoretical soft value of the trader’s profit and loss for the previous day. Since the clearing firm handles the money, they have the hard value. When I check statements in the morning the two should match. When they do, it is bliss. Everything has cleared and the total options position is on target. Mers is happy and pats himself on the back. A job done well is it’s own reward.