Quant Questions: Just how does a quantitative hedge fund operate?

LSEG recently hosted an evening of thought-provoking discussion and networking in New York City exploring how hedge funds are harnessing Large Language Models (LLMs) and what practitioners can learn from LLM experts in the healthcare and finance industries. The discussions addressed the unique challenges hedge funds face in implementing LLMs, including data privacy, model accuracy, and regulatory concerns. We recently shared the first discussion, 'Separating best practice from hype: Lessons learned from early LLM adopters' and are now sharing the second discussion which was a fascinating fireside chat between Richard Goldman, Head of Strategy for Hedge Funds, LSEG and Stefano Pacifico, Co-Founder and CEO, Epistemic AI.

LSEG recently hosted an evening of thought-provoking discussion and networking in New York City exploring how hedge funds are harnessing Large Language Models (LLMs) and what practitioners can learn from LLM experts in the healthcare and finance industries. The discussions addressed the unique challenges hedge funds face in implementing LLMs, including data privacy, model accuracy, and regulatory concerns. The first discussion was moderated by Nicole Allen, Director of Product Text Analytics, LSEG and she was joined by Ted Merz, CFA, Founder, Principals Media, Aziz Lookman, PhD, Chief Analytics Officer, Rational AI and Sonu Chopra Khullar, PhD, Director Machine Learning Engineering, Capital One. Let’s now take a listen in to their fascinating panel discussion and stay tuned as we will shortly release part two of that evening’s agenda.

Open up a financial publication on any given day and more often than not you will find a story about a hedge fund. Whether good or bad news, these stories can possibly influence market moves. In our latest episode of the Hedge Fund Huddle, we speak to two financial journalists who give us an inside look into hedge fund reporting. Have a listen as Jamie goes on the record with Nell Mackenzie, EMEA Hedge Fund Correspondent, Reuters and Will Wainewright, Head of Research, Hedgeweek and Host, AFI podcast.

Different asset classes trade differently, and currencies are no exception. What has been historically known as a rather fragmented market has begun to change with the innovation of algorithms, the proliferation of data and how one makes sense of it as well as the need for best execution in foreign exchange. To help talk us through this evolution we are joined by Tan Phull, Head of FX Execution Trading Services for Bank of America. Alan Martin Lucero, FX Trader at Norges Bank Investment Management and Tim Cartledge, the Chief Data Officer at Tradefeedr.  

We have come to learn that there is always something happening in the world which most likely creates ramifications across commodities. Be it a geopolitical event or unfortunate natural disaster, commodities traders are navigating the volatile waters of commodity trading which also includes the complex world of shipping. In this episode of the Hedge Fund Huddle, we are joined by three experts who help break down and educate us on the world we are living in and its impact on the commodities we trade. John Kemp, Senior Market Strategist of Oil and Energy, Thomson Reuters. Alessandro Sanos, Global Director of Customer Strategy and Commoditiesat LSEG, and Richard Stephenson, CEO at FreightFix.

Listen to this trailer to hear highlights from industry leaders on the world of hedge funds. Follow to catch the next episode wherever you listen to your podcasts.   In this podcast series we aim to demystify hedge funds and find out what it is like to really work at one. Join the huddle as we hear from industry leaders who have been there and can share insights from the inside.  

When we hear the word “quant,” thoughts of complex math models and algorithms will often come to mind. And while that is in fact how quants typically operate, there is so much more behind the enigmatic world of quantitative investing. In this episode of the Hedge Fund Huddle, we are joined by Nirav Shah, founding partner of Versor Investments and Tarun Sanghi, a senior quant at StarMine, which is an LSEG business, to break down how quant funds run their business.

Prime brokers offer a range of services to hedge funds as well as other financial institutions and this relationship is truly vital as hedge funds look to grow and require more services and direction.  In this episode of the Hedge Fund Huddle, we are joined by Mithra Warrier and Lauren Degney, both Managing Directors at Citigroup and Quentin Limouzi, Global Head of Investment Management and Execution Solutions at LSEG to better understand the prime and hedge fund connection.

In today’s ever-changing markets, trading equities across regions can often be challenging. As a result, many traders are finding that to be successful they need to partner with those capable of providing reliable execution and those who also have market expertise and access to advanced technology. Enter outsourced trading. According to a new study from Coalition Greenwich, roughly 30% of buy-side equities traders surveyed in the U.S., Europe and the U.K. expect their firms to consider adding an outsourced trading for cross-border trading in the next two years. Compare that to another Greenwich survey from 2020 where only 5% said they would consider it. What’s changed? To help us answer that question we are joined by John Sobral, COO at Stillpoint Investments in New York and Brian Jepsen, a Managing Director at LSEG TORA.

It is no secret that getting reliable data in a timely manner is becoming more important than ever. Now, also consider the speed at which this data and information is becoming available to hedge funds, and the race is on to turn it into something actionable. In this episode we are joined by Jimmy Karalis, Managing Director, Data Sourcing & Strategy, Balyasny Asset Management and Patrick Flannery, Head of Low Latency & Direct Feeds, London Stock Exchange Group to give us the low down on low latency.