The LSE Directory / Trading influencers
Cem Karsan is the founder, CIO and senior managing partner of Kai Volatility Advisors (formerly Aegea Capital), a Chicago-based volatility-focused asset manager, and founder of the affiliated Kai Wealth. A former pit trader who began at RBC Dominion Securities in 1999 and later worked under John Mulheren at Bear Wagner Specialists, he co-founded market-making firm Precision Capital Management, which by his account represented roughly 13% of daily S&P 500 options volume at its peak during the financial crisis. Under the handle @jam_croissant (a phonetic play on his name), he has built a large following, roughly 182K on X per third-party trackers in late 2025, by explaining options market structure, dealer positioning, and vanna/charm flows, and he appears regularly on the Top Traders Unplugged podcast and hosts the Kai Media YouTube channel. Born in London to Turkish parents and raised partly in Turkey and Texas, he holds a BA from Rice University (triple major in economics, policy studies, and English) and an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.
