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199k views

What data sources are available online?

What sources of financial and economic data are available online? Which ones are free or cheap? What has your experience been like with these data sources?
163k views

How can I go about applying machine learning algorithms to stock markets?

I am not very sure, if this question fits in here. I have recently begun, reading and learning about machine learning. Can someone throw some light onto how to go about it or rather can anyone share ...
11k views

What concepts are the most dangerous ones in quantitative finance work?

There are a few things that form the common canon of education in (quantitative) finance, yet everybody knows they are not exactly true, useful, well-behaved, or empirically supported. So here is the ...
17k views

Video lectures and presentations on quantitative finance

What are your favourite video lectures, presentations and talks available online? A few rules: Must be related to quantitative finance. No Economics 101 courses, please. Try to avoid DIY lectures ...
17k views

Innovative ways of visualizing financial data

Finance is drowning in a deluge of data. Humans are not very good at comprehending large amounts of data. One way out may be visualization. Traditional ways of visualizing patterns, complexities and ...
31k views

Efficiently storing real-time intraday data in an application agnostic way

What would be the best approach to handle real-time intraday data storage? For personal research I've always imported from flat files only into memory (historical EOD), so I don't have much ...
24k views

Is R being replaced by Python at quant desks?

I know the title sounds a little extreme but I wonder whether R is phased out by a lot of quant desks at sell side banks as well as hedge funds in favor of Python. I get the impression that with ...
29k views

How useful is the genetic algorithm for financial market forecasting?

There is a large body of literature on the "success" of the application of evolutionary algorithms in general, and the genetic algorithm in particular, to the financial markets. However, I feel ...
21k views

Switching from C++ to R - limitations/applications

I've only recently begun exploring and learning R (especially since Dirk recommended RStudio and a lot of people in here speak highly of R). I'm rather C(++) oriented, so it got me thinking - what are ...
5k views

Paradoxes in quantitative finance

Everyone seems to agree that the option prices predicted by the Black-Merton-Scholes model are inconsistent with what is observed in reality. Still, many people rely on the model by using "the wrong ...
23k views

How are correlation and cointegration related?

In what ways (and under what circumstances) are correlation and cointegration related, if at all? One difference is that one usually thinks of correlation in terms of returns and cointegration in ...
65k views

How to annualize Sharpe Ratio?

I have a basic question about annualized Sharpe Ratio Calculation: if I know the daily return of my portfolio, the thing I need to do is multiply the Sharpe Ratio by $\sqrt{252}$ to have it annualized....
3k views

What are the key risks to the quantitative strategy development process?

Prompted in part by this question on data snooping, I would be interested to know: What are the key risks that should be considered when developing a quantitative strategy based on: (a) historical ...
49k views

Why is C++ still a very popular language in quantitative finance? [closed]

I had to ask this question after reading the answers to What programming languages are most commonly used in quantitative finance? I understand that C++ programs can be optimized pretty well and are ...
51k views

10k views

What broker/feed/APIsetup allows for recording the most accurate data (cheaply)?

I'm currently using IB's Java API and getting feeds through them. However the real-time feed is updated only every 250ms and the historical feed only every second. I'm primarily looking for ES data ...
33k views

How does the “risk-neutral pricing framework” work?

I've struggled for a long time to understand this - What is this? And how does it affect you? Yes I mean risk neutral pricing - Wilmott Forums was not clear about that.
27k views

Why does the minimum variance portfolio provide good returns?

I've been a researching minimum variance portfolios (from this link) and find that by building MVPs adding constraints on portfolio weights and a few other tweaks to the methods outlined I get ...
27k views

Except Zipline, are there any other Pythonic algorithmic trading library I can choose?

Except Zipline, are there any other Pythonic algorithmic trading library I can choose? Especially, for backtesting?
4k views

What papers have progressed the field of quantitative finance in recent years (post 2000)?

My question is pretty simple: what papers do you feel are foundational to quantitative finance? I'm compiling a personal reading list already, drawn from Wilmott forums, papers referenced in ...
23k views

How fast is QuickFix ?

In my firm we are beginning a new OMS (Order Management System) project and there is a debate whether we use Quickfix or we go for a professional fix engine? Because there is a common doubt that ...
37k views

Is there any thing out there as a substitute for KDB?

thanks a lot for your discussions on the original post. following your suggestions, let me re-phrase a bit : kdb is known for its efficiency, and such efficiency comes at a terrible price. However, ...
9k views

Machine Learning vs Regression and/or Why still use the latter?

I come from a different field (Machine learning/AI/data science), but aim to ask a philosophical question with the utmost respect: Why do quantitative financial analysts (analysts/traders/etc.) prefer ...
5k views

What are the popular methodologies to minimize data snooping?

Are there common procedures prior or posterior backtesting to ensure that a quantitative trading strategy has real predictive power and is not just one of the thing that has worked in the past by pure ...
19k views

What is an efficient data structure to model order book?

What is an efficient data structure to model order book of prices and quantities to ensure: constant look up iteration in order of prices retrieving best bid and ask in constant time fast quantity ...
9k views

What types of neural networks are most appropriate for trading?

What types of neural networks are most appropriate for forecasting returns? Can neural networks be the basis for a high-frequency trading strategy? Types of neural networks include: Radial Basis ...
22k views

How to build a factor model?

Factor models such as Fama-French or the other ones that are partially summarized here work on the cross-section of asset returns. How are the factors built, how are sensitivities/coefficients ...
4k views

Has high frequency trading (HFT) been a net benefit or cost to society?

Various studies have demonstrated the very large and growing influence of high frequency trading (HFT) on the markets. HFT firms are clearly making a great deal of money from somewhere, and it stands ...
12k views

How useful is Markov chain Monte Carlo for quantitative finance?

Naively, it seems that Bayesian modeling, structural models particularly, would be quite useful in finance because of their ability to incorporate market idiosyncrasies and produce accurate ...
957 views

How to show that this weak scheme is a cubature scheme?

Weak schemes, such as Ninomiya-Victoir or Ninomiya-Ninomiya, are typically used for discretization of stochastic volatility models such as the Heston Model. Can anyone familiar with Cubature on ...
66k views

How can the implied volatility be calculated?

We all know if you back out of the B.S. option pricing model you can solve for what the option is "implying" about the underlyings volatility. Is there a simple, closed form, formula deriving Implied ...
20k views

Usage of NoSQL storage in Finance

I am wondering if anyone has used NoSQL (mongodb, cassandra, etc.) to store and analyze data. I tried searching the web but was not able to see if the financial firms had gotten in to using nosql ...
11k views

What are the quantitative finance books that we should all have in our shelves?

Which books/papers should we all have in our shelves? There are a couple that I use regularly such as: An Introduction to Financial Option Valuation: Mathematics, Stochastics and Computation Asset ...
3k views

Is my trading strategy search methodology sound?

I'm building an algorithmic trading business. I'd be grateful for informed comments and opinions on my trading strategy search methodology. Goal Develop (profitable!) fully automated intra-day ...
27k views

Digital Signal Processing in Trading

There is a concept of trading or observing the market with signal processing originally created by John Ehler. He wrote three books about it. Cybernetic Analysis for Stocks and Futures Rocket Science ...