Quantitative finance
WHAT IS THIS? Quantitative finance is a field of applied mathematics concerned with financial markets. In banking, it spread from the pricing of derivatives to the modelling of credit, market and operational risks. Today’s quantitative analysts are scattered across a range of functions, from risk management and model validation, to data science, algorithmic trading and regulatory compliance.
UBS hires Moussa from Credit Suisse for Asia QIS role
Imene Moussa to work on QIS and off-balance-sheet structuring across the region
MVA: Forecasting initial margin for client trades and dynamic hedges
In its latest margin survey, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association reported that initial margin (IM) collected by the top 20 firms increased by 22% to $130.6 billion at the end of 2017. As new transactions become subject to IM requirements,…
How to apply Python to complex financial markets
The unprecedented proliferation of data in derivatives markets has led to a rise in popularity of Python, a multipurpose programming language known for its versatility and flexibility. Undoubtedly, the increased adoption of Python has helped enable…
Humans struggle to keep pace with machine learning
Banks and regulators grapple with ‘XAI’ challenge
What’s in the box? Bad year reveals alt premia’s gaps
Average fund is down almost 5%, but gap between best and worst performers is 14%
Lesson from alt premia’s horrible year: be patient
Investment approach’s diversification benefits can’t be relied on in the short term
Python – Is the buzz justified?
Python is rapidly becoming the world’s most popular programming language and its versatility and ease of use has enabled it to achieve widespread adoption in finance, becoming the multipurpose tool of choice for quantitative analysts and other financial…
The initial margin challenge – Why the bang just got bigger
With uncertainty abounding as the industry heads into the final phases of implementation of the uncleared margin rules (UMR), Jean‑Paul Botha, delivery lead of financial trade documentation at Thomson Reuters Legal Managed Services, explores the…
IFRS 9 versus IAS 39: Opportunities in changes to hedge accounting
With financial reporting in a state of flux amid the introduction of several new accounting standards, many corporates may feel overburdened by the need to ensure accounting compliance to take full advantage of IFRS 9 from the point of adoption. Robert…
Banks discreetly seek personnel to mine alt data riches
Citi, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Morgan Stanley are hiring data scientists for a plethora of new initiatives
New frontiers
Innovative investment opportunities are helping to mitigate risk and satisfy Solvency II capital requirements as insurers face continued economic uncertainty. Frederic Morlaye, managing director, insurance and capital management solutions, Global Markets…
Risk management on course to move beyond cost centre
Video Q&A: Neil Dodgson, IBM Watson Financial Services
On the offensive – Seeking a new edge, buy-side invests in portfolio and risk analytics
A fast-moving, headstrong hedge fund – hit by rare losses after a black swan event touched on an overweight country exposure – ponders adding fresh quantitative expertise. Much to traders’ chagrin, the chief investment officer and chief operating officer…
Ryan Labs harvests ‘flight-to-quality premium’
Defensive risk premia strategy buys ultra-long-dated Treasury futures when markets panic
Risk transformation of a zero-subsidy wind portfolio
Joaquin Narro analyses the hedging of a hypothetical zero-subsidy wind portfolio with base load products in the futures markets
Rogue traders versus value-at-risk and expected shortfall
VAR and ES are ineffective to deter rogue trading
Curbing rogue behaviour
Regulators should try to combat rogue trading by measuring traders’ risk-taking differently, say quants
Market mean reversion takes longer than expected – CFM quants
Research on how long trends last could help avoid fallout from drawdowns like February’s
Quants warn over flaws in machine learning predictions
Six quants debate whether the tool can adjust to paradigm shifts in financial markets
Don’t count on vol regime change – BlackRock quant
“This time next year volatility will most likely be low,” says Fishwick
XVA: back to CVA?
Fundamental questions on CVA remain unanswered, writes mathematical finance head
Podcast: Mercurio on Libor, fraud and writing models on a plane
Post-Libor environment and financial crime detection to drive future research, says top quant
The present of futures
Fabio Mercurio introduces a new multi-curve model for pricing futures convexity adjustments