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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Ventures on the risk spectrum

Hershel Harper received an early education in finance when he used to read Business Week in High School. The 43-year old now at the helm of the $27-billion South Carolina Retirement Systems, investing on behalf of South Carolina’s 350,000 public sector workers, says he knew back then he wanted to manage money: “I really am

Getting the commodities mix just right

While commodities are a controversial and problematic asset class to some investors, for others they are an ideal diversifier looking more attractive than ever. A mini-revival in commodity investing among US pension funds suggests the asset class may be enjoying a resurgence. The Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System, Municipal Retirement System of Michigan

The end of beauty contest active management?

Designing and implementing concentrated, long-horizon investment mandates would support longer term thinking, align pension organisation’s goals with its stakeholders, and reduce transaction costs. This was one of the recommendations of a two-day workshop in Toronto last month, attended by a delegation of 80 pension fund executives from around the globe. Aimed at uncovering the meaning

Italian fund rides out crisis in style

The wrath of the European sovereign debt crisis may have left its mark on Italy in more ways than one, with both its financial and political scenes regularly sliding into crisis mode for the past year or two. However, the nation’s largest private pension investor, the €7.75-billion ($10.1-billion) Cometa fund, has firmly kept on track

Paul Marsh: live with low returns

The London Business School’s emeritus professor of finance Paul Marsh admits that you have to be slightly mad to embark on the kind of research detailed in the latest edition of Global Investment Returns Yearbook. This year Marsh and colleagues Elroy Dimson and Mike Staunton – Marsh describes the three of them, pictured below, as

Blinder: a power of paradox at Princeton

Pension funds or any investor holding a slug of long-term fixed income needs to factor in some capital losses soon, says Princeton academic and former vice president of the Federal Reserve, Alan Blinder. “The timing is difficult to predict, but three or 15 months, it doesn’t matter. It is predictable,” he says. “The unpredictable part

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