Pain point 1: Good quantitative trading and investment research tools
Currently there are not many good quantitative trading platforms on the market. Most of them are just platforms for investment research and learning, which can truly ensure safety. There are not many people who are sincere about real offers. Currently, there are only a few domestic high-end quantitative trading platforms that can achieve high-quality cleaning data, strategy development, backtesting, simulation, and real offers, and the Nuggets Quantitative Trading Platform is one of them.
Pain point 2: Backtesting based on historical data
Since the quantitative strategy is based on historical data analysis, the basic quantitative model has experienced historical trends of at least three years at the beginning of its design. Retrospectively, that is, the investment cycle for building quantitative models is long-term. The interaction and balance of quantitative factors are also based on the long term. Although short-term market fluctuations will have an impact on quantitative factors, the short-term impact will not be a decisive factor in long-term investment. Once there is a big difference between the current market performance and the past, then the fund performance will definitely be poor.
Pain point 3: Serious homogeneity of strategies
In the current public offering market, it is difficult to see sophisticated and uniquely competitive quantitative strategies. Many strategies are similar, and a large number of The entry of similar quantitative strategies has made its returns return to the average or even difficult to reach the average level.
In order to avoid the situation where their positions are too concentrated in small and medium-sized enterprises, some funds will forcefully allocate large-cap stocks to create a neutral strategy. This approach can effectively reduce single risks and make them more attractive in style switching. , to avoid a sharp retracement of net worth, but the cost is of course a reduction in overall expected returns. For example, when small and medium-sized venture capital comes, the performance of funds using this method will be much inferior.
Of course, in a market environment with poor strategies, there are also quantitative funds that are surprisingly conservative and have broken out into a new world. Morgan Alpha is a typical representative. In this year's sudden change in market style, this fund led active quantitative funds with a return rate of nearly 19%. Its secret lies in: adopting dumbbell investment technology and simultaneously using dual quantitative indicators of "growth" and "value" to select stocks. . In this way, the limitations caused by single-style investment are overcome.
The dumbbell investment technique (Barbell Approach) is a relatively mature investment method in the international market. Its basic operating idea is to invest in two types of products with widely different styles at the same time, and the investment portfolio constructed has Both products have certain advantages while being able to avoid losses caused by certain market fluctuations.
Currently, many fund companies have realized that changes will work, and many institutions are dynamically adjusting quantitative strategies. Expanding the scalability of strategies and modifying quantitative factors have become the choices of many quantitative products.
Pain point 4: Restricted by strategy limitations
Currently, public quantitative funds on the market generally adopt alpha strategies, and effective arbitrage, short-selling and other strategies cannot be used flexibly. , which leads to quantitative fund strategies tending to be long. Private quantitative funds, because of their diversity of strategies, make it easier to adapt to market changes.
Previously, the signal sent by the "unblocking" of stock index futures was definitely good for quantitative funds in the medium and long term. As more financial derivatives are listed in the capital market in the future, the problem of a one-sided market in the stock market will be effectively solved, and the types of quantitative strategies that can be configured will become more and more abundant. By then, quantitative investment may have great potential.
As the United States has a relatively mature market, what is the main reason for the recent "invalidity" of quantitative strategies, especially CTA strategies? Nigol Koulajian, co-founder and chief investment officer of hedge fund Quest Partners LLC, has the answer. He said: "CTAs that have adapted to this market environment are becoming more and more inclined to long-term trading. Their position sizes are increasing, and many investors are using the same strategy. Once the trend reverses, the impact on the market will be is huge.
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