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Quantitative Analyst (Quant)

Uses advanced math and computing to model financial markets and develop trading strategies.

Did you know?

Renaissance Technologies' Medallion fund averaged about 66% a year before fees from 1988 to 2018, one of the best records in investing history.

How subjects help

Mathematics: Use probability to estimate how much a share price might rise or fall.
Physics: Borrow equations for how heat spreads to model how prices wander over time.
Computer Science: Write fast programs that test a trading idea on years of past prices.
Economics: Understand how interest rates and the news push markets up and down.

A famous name

Edward O. Thorp: Math professor who used probability to beat blackjack, then ran one of the first quant hedge funds.

Try it yourself: Which dice total wins?

Write the numbers 2 to 12 down the side of your paper. Guess which total will come up most and write your guess at the top.
Roll both dice, add them, and put a tally mark next to that total. Do at least 36 rolls.
Look at your tallies. Which total came up most? Which hardly ever?
Now list every way two dice can make each total (a 7 can be 1+6, 2+5 and so on). Does the number of ways explain your results?

Statisticians and actuaries compare what actually happens with what probability predicts, which is how they price insurance, test medicines and spot when something unusual is going on.

Adapted from NRICH (University of Cambridge): A Bit of a Dicey Problem.

Also try: Make and crack a secret code.

Known for it in

USA, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland