 Hardcover edition | |
| Author | Scott Patterson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Finance, trading, investing |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Crown Business |
Publication date | February 2, 2010 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print, e-book |
| Pages | 352 pp. |
| ISBN | 0-307-45337-5 |
| Followed by | Dark Pools |
The Quants is the debutNew York Times best selling book byWall StreetjournalistScott Patterson.[1][2] It was released on February 2, 2010 byCrown Business. The book describes the world ofquantitative analysis and the varioushedge funds that use the technique.[3][4] Two years later, Patterson published a follow-up book,Dark Pools: High Speed Traders, AI Bandits and the Threat to the Global Financial System, an investigative journey into the history ofhigh-frequency trading and the spread ofartificial intelligence in today’s markets.[5][6]
Patterson began writingThe Quants in 2008. He was first exposed to thequantitative analysisinvestment strategies while covering thefinancial industry for theWall Street Journal.[7] As he became more acquainted with the players involved, he found that many of the most successful quants knew each other and carried similar eccentricities.[7] Realizing this was a world that the average investor knew little of, Patterson wrote the book to shed light on the strategies, players, and related risks of such trading strategies.[7]
The introduction toThe Quants describes the real-life, annual, high-stakespoker match between Wall Street's hedge fund managers, comparing their trading styles to their poker strategies.[8] It focuses on, among other things, the 2007subprime mortgage crisis and how it helped trigger a sudden and massive unwinding of complex, highly leveraged quantitative strategies. The book also delves into critical short-comings of many quantitative strategies, such as their tendency to lead to crowded trades and their underestimation of the likelihood of chaotic, volatile moves in the markets.[9]
The book also delves into the background of the various vanguards of quantitative analysis. It tells the history ofBeat the Market &Beat the Dealer authorEd Thorp;Pete Muller fromMorgan Stanley's hedge fund;Ken Griffin fromChicago'sCitadel LLC;James Simons fromRenaissance Technologies;Clifford S. Asness andAaron Brown fromAQR Capital Management; andBoaz Weinstein fromDeutsche Bank.[10][11]
The Quants debuted onThe New York Timesbestseller list.[1]Jon Stewart featured Patterson as a guest onThe Daily Show and described the book as "unbelievable."[4] Patterson was a guest onNPR, and Ed Thorp, one of the book's main characters, joined Patterson for a live interview.[10]The New York Times profiled the book, calling it "fascinating and deeply disturbing."[2]The Quants received additional profiles inBloomberg,BusinessWeek,Scientific American,Financial Times, andMinyanville.[2][3][4][7][8][9][10][11]
Jon Stewart interviews author