Energy trading firms may rue the decline of quants

Quant finance transformed energy markets, but has been met with a lack of enthusiasm and investment since the financial crisis. That is a shame, say industry veterans, who point to a number of areas that could benefit from a renewed focus on quantitative research. By Stella Farrington

Had it not been for the development of techniques such as value-at-risk and Black-Scholes options pricing, the energy market would be a very different place indeed. During recent decades, the methods, tools and approaches of quantitative finance – as practised by quantitative analysts or ‘quants' – have produced effective ways of measuring and managing risk for energy firms. Despite this, the popularity of these models has fallen since the financial crisis, curtailing investment in the