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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Japan’s pension giant hires, fires managers while buying up domestic bonds

The world’s largest institutional investor, the Â¥122,100 billion ($1.4 trillion) Government Pension Investment Fund of Japan (GPIF), has increased its allocation to domestic bonds and short-term assets at the expense of international bonds and domestic and international equities in the six months since the end of its fiscal year, a period which saw 12 managers

Around the world with 12 themes

The stockpicking view of Mark Tinker, global portfolio manager of Axa Framlington, has been greatly influenced by his career on the sell side of the investment management business. He spoke to Amanda White about a thematic approach to global equities and why, uniquely, two new themes have emerged in the wake of the financial crisis

Bahrain SWF may sell 25pc of Gulf Air

The $9 billion Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, is considering selling a stake in national carrier Gulf Air as it eyes more liquid investments. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Mubadala builds stadium for Abu Dhabi

Mubadala Development, the $14 billion strategic investment arm of the Abu Dhabi, has invited contractors to submit design and construction plans for a 65,000-seat sports stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

CalPERS backs internal, external FI managers amid liquidity ‘conundrum’

After missing the strong rally in the US high yield debt market, the $201.3 billion CalPERS’ global fixed income program, which manages about a quarter of the fund’s assets, has extended its mandates with external managers and will continue actively managing its US debt portfolio internally. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Florida benefits from equities overweights

The $110 billion Florida Retirement System Pension Plan (FRS PP) outperformed its policy benchmark by 10 basis points in the September quarter, thanks to overweight allocations to domestic and international equities. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

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