How much staff is really really needed for these quant shops? After an algorithm is developed isn't it just rinse/repeat? Honest question, as I'm not a finance guy.
Just like a technical firm needs to iterate on the products and infrastructures. A trading firm needs to iterate on the algorithms and infrastructures to stay competitive.
Market changes constantly. Many trading algorithms are essentially market-data driven and need to adapt to the market or lose.
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How much staff is really really needed for these quant shops? After an algorithm is developed isn't it just rinse/repeat? Honest question, as I'm not a finance guy.
The effective lifetime of a trading algorithm is only weeks. They need to keep iterating to remain competitive.
Just like a technical firm needs to iterate on the products and infrastructures. A trading firm needs to iterate on the algorithms and infrastructures to stay competitive.
Market changes constantly. Many trading algorithms are essentially market-data driven and need to adapt to the market or lose.
True. It is called GUAS (Grand Unified Arbitrage System) in DESCO. A highly configurable system where quants constantly try new algorithms.
It is a perpetual arms race.