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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European funds start rebalancing process

Pension funds in Europe are rebalancing their portfolios to reflect huge falls in equity markets as the financial crisis forces them to re-evaluate the relevance of their strategic asset allocation in the new market environment. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

European asset allocators fall short of academic best practice

Investment managers in Europe fail to employ techniques that avoid generating overly-concentrated portfolios because of poor input estimation, and do not fully take into account extreme risks when constructing portfolios, according to research by the EDHEC Risk and Management Research Centre. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

…as Government quantitative measures push up liabilities

Quantitative easing measures introduced by the UK’s Bank of England aimed at kick-starting the local economy have had the unintended consequence of pushing up UK pension scheme liabilities. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

New Jersey winds back alternatives program

The $59 billion New Jersey Division of Investment, has made several changes to its alternatives investment portfolio including a slowdown in new commitments, on the back of a belief that large institutions with high allocations to alternatives will be forced to sell portions of their portfolios in order to raise liquidity and rebalance their overall

Record losses for UK DB plans underscored by reliance on markets…

Five consecutive days leading into March were the most volatile on record for UK final salary pension schemes since accounting standards were changed in 2001, reflecting the risks associated with funding dependence on investment markets. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

Private equity NAVs to fall further, but 80% discounts are unjustified

While the net asset values (NAVs) of private equity funds have been spared the steep declines taken by major indexes, the reporting lags inherent in private equity fund valuations should unveil double-digit losses for the first half of 2009. mrec4inarticleinline Sponsored Content scnative1 scnative2 scnative3

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