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.

Sponsored Content

Leave a Comment

Sort content by

Governance foiled by human folly at NY state fund

The third largest fund in the US, the $122 billion New York state pension fund, has recently been embroiled in a tale of greed, fraud, bribery and corruption, with a number of its alternative investment funds allegedly tainted by the wrong-doing of former employees of the state comptroller’s officer, including its former CIO. In this

Maybe it’s time to get back into the water, with a life jacket

Institutional investors have never been market timers, but in this editorial, publisher of conexust1f.flywheelstaging.com, Greg Bright, argues maybe now is the time for pension plans to take a bet. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Volatility sparks complete risk management review at CalPERS

Turmoil in financial markets and the need for greater transparency has triggered a review of the $174 billion CalPERS’ existing governance and risk management framework, with a new ad hoc committee tasked with reviewing the risk management framework across the entire business. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

AustralianSuper aims for beta returns after big cuts to active equities

The A$28billion (US$20 billion) AustralianSuper terminated several mandates with active equities managers last week and directed most of the freed-up capital to passive exposures bringing its passive management in equities to more than 50 per cent, in an effort to simplify its portfolio by trimming excess managers. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Embrace risk in asset allocation

Investors should be wary of “new paradigm” arguments, according to the latest research by consulting firm Wurts & Associates, which reminds investors the forces driving capital markets rarely change, but the position within market cycles is ever changing. Wurts & Associates’ philosophy on strategic asset allocation is that static portfolio structure is an ineffective means

Index composition changes create opportunities for bond managers

Drastic changes to the composition of the US bond index, the Barclay’s Capital Aggregate Index, will create opportunities for active bond managers and provide rationale for institutional investors concerned about active management in the sector to adhere to their long-term asset allocation. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Previous