The Curious Quant

The Curious Quant series, hosted by Michael Kollo, is a discussion between technically-minded professionals in the financial services, technology and data science fields. It carefully examines the application of new data and new methodologies to common problems in financial markets. The aim is to promote better discussions about these emerging areas, and a better understanding of new technologies.

 

 

Michael Kollo is a seasoned investment professional with a deep passion for the pragmatic discussion and application of quantitative models to solve problems. His PhD in Finance is from the London School of Economics where he lectured in quantitative finance in addition to Imperial College and at the University of New South Wales. He has created models and led quantitative research teams at Blackrock, Fidelity and Axa Rosenberg in the UK before more recently moving to Australia where he established the quantitative team for the $50 billion industry superannuation fund, HESTA. Kollo is an experienced speaker, author, mentor, a keen student of philosophy and more recently, a podcaster. The Curious Quant is a series of conversations with market leaders, deep thinkers and practitioners who deal with the wonder and frustrations of these models and who are on the front line of AI innovation.

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Diamonds do brilliantly with funds

It’s well-known that girls have always had a not-so-secret camaraderie with diamonds, now it seems the fund world is getting in on the benefits of that acquaintance. Diamonds are the icon of a harmonious bond, and the relationship between Harry Winston Diamond Corporation and Diamond Asset Advisors makes that symbol literal.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2

Strategy should lead compensation: Ambachtsheer

A fund’s overall investment strategy should lead how senior staff are compensated, a recent survey into pension fund pay levels found. KPA Advisory Services recently asked 37 funds with combined assets of more than $2.2 trillion about how they structured their pay for senior staff and published the results in its latest monthly, The Ambachtsheer

Texas CIO dismisses calls for flexibility

A successful tactical bet by the investment team of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas fuelled a heated debate at the April investment committee meeting which concluded with chief investment officer, Britt Harris, dismissing the need for more flexibility in the fund’s policy statement.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Choose your goal posts … and then keep them there

Is the choice between a cap-weighted or fundamental index really going to result in more goals (or alpha), or is it just shifting the posts? It doesn’t really matter what you choose as your benchmark – it is exactly that, a benchmark. A point of reference. But if what you are deciding is the choice

Security selection beats allocation in return stakes

Can large sophisticated investors beat the market? And possibly more insightfully, how do they beat the market? These questions are explored in a recent ICPM research paper – asset allocation and performance of pension funds. Amanda White spoke to one of the authors, Aleksandar Andonov from Maastricht University.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Investors tell hedge funds to lift their game

Investors want significant improvements in the way hedge funds interact with investors, and have called for greater reporting and transparency in a recently published guide to the industry.mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

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