Mako Trading Online Assessment: Aptitude Test and Codility Round
Mako Group, the options market maker in London, Chicago and Sydney (not the hedge fund Mako Global Investments), screens trader applicants with a fast multiple-choice aptitude test. Candidates report 37 questions in 15 minutes, about 24 seconds each, with no going back and no calculator, mixing mental arithmetic, logic puzzles, small integer equations, probability and number patterns; spatial cube-folding items are also reported. Some candidates then get a second, slower round of 28 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes hosted on Codility. Both are rebuilt below as timed replicas with a free sample.
Mako aptitude test: 37 questions in 15 minutes
Candidates for Mako's trader roles report a short, fast aptitude test as the first online round: 37 multiple-choice questions in 15 minutes, answered in order with no way back. This replica mixes mental arithmetic, number patterns, logic, small integer equations, quick probability and a few cube-folding items at that pace.
- Candidates report 37 multiple-choice questions in 15 minutes, about 24 seconds per question.
- Scoring is +1 per correct answer with no penalty for a wrong one, so never leave a question blank.
- No going back: once you move on, the question is locked. No calculator is allowed.
- Topics: mental arithmetic, number patterns, logic puzzles, integer (Diophantine-style) equations, quick probability, and some cube-folding (spatial) items.
- A developer-role variant is also reported: 50 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, including coding and spatial items.
The free sample draws a fresh mix from its own question pool on every retake, separate from the full run, which draws from a larger pool of its own. The review explains every answer.
- Budget about 24 seconds a question. If a question has not cracked in 30 seconds, take your best guess and move on: there is no penalty and no way back.
- For integer equations, test the answer options instead of solving algebraically; one of five usually drops out in seconds.
- On number patterns, check differences first, then ratios, then alternating rules. Most patterns fall to one of these three checks.
- Do not try to finish every hard logic puzzle. Easy arithmetic items late in the test are worth exactly as much.
Mako Codility round: 28 questions in 30 minutes
Some Mako trader candidates report a second online round hosted on Codility: 28 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes on probability, brainteasers, statistics and mental math. Not every candidate gets it. This replica matches that format with all questions open and free navigation.
- Candidates report 28 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes on Codility, a little over a minute each.
- All questions are visible and you can move freely between them, changing answers until you submit.
- Scoring is +1 per correct answer with no penalty. No calculator.
- Topics: probability and expectation, a few statistics questions (mean, variance, median, correlation, normal tails), numeric brainteasers and mental math.
- Not every candidate is sent this round; it is reported as a second online stage after the aptitude test.
The free sample draws a fresh mix from its own question pool on every retake, separate from the full run, which draws from a larger pool of its own. The review explains every answer.
- Do a fast first pass: answer everything you can in under 40 seconds and flag the rest. Free navigation rewards it.
- Leave nothing blank. With no penalty, a guess on a flagged question is free points in expectation.
- For probability items, compute the complement or count equally likely outcomes; the options are exact fractions, so a rough estimate often rules out three of five.
- Memorise the 68 / 95 / 99.7 rule and the overlap trick for coin-pattern waiting times; both turn long problems into 15-second ones.
Drill the cube folding items
Cube folding is the item type candidates find least familiar. Our free drill generates fresh net-to-cube items every run with +1/-1 scoring, so you can get the opposite-faces and corner-order checks down to a few seconds before the real test.
Cube folding test: free timed drill →
Sources and how current this is
Format facts come from candidate reports summarised by interview prep sites (two of which describe the same 37-question, 15-minute aptitude test and the 28-question Codility round) plus a few public candidate posts, between 2024 and October 2026. Mako does not publish its test format, no independent trader report confirms the exact counts, and a developer variant of 50 questions in 30 minutes (with coding and spatial items) is also reported, so treat every number here as candidate-reported. All practice questions on this page are original and generated, and every answer is checked by code.
Mako Trading OA: FAQ
What is the Mako Trading online assessment?
Candidates describe a timed multiple-choice aptitude test of 37 questions in 15 minutes: mental arithmetic, logic, small integer equations, probability, number patterns and some cube-folding items, with no calculator and no going back. Some candidates are then sent a second 28-question, 30-minute multiple-choice round on Codility covering probability, brainteasers, statistics and mental math.
How is the Mako aptitude test scored?
Reports describe one point per correct answer with no penalty for a wrong one, so you should answer every question even if you have to guess. Prep sites cite about 24 out of 37 as a typical pass bar, but Mako does not publish a cutoff.
Is there cube folding in the Mako test?
Some candidates and one prep site say so, and a Sydney report mentions spatial items. The full replica here includes five cube-folding questions, and the free cube folding drill lets you practise the item type on its own.
Can I go back to a question on the Mako aptitude test?
No. Candidates report that each answer is final once you move on, so the replica uses one-way navigation too. The Codility round is different: all questions are visible and you can move between them freely.
Is the Mako practice test free?
Each replica has a free timed sample with no signup that ends in a scored review. The full timed simulations, which draw a fresh mix of questions from a larger pool on every run, are part of QuantVault Pro.
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