On 1st February 2020, a guest lecture on the topic ‘Quantitative Finance’ was held for the students of NMIMS, Navi Mumbai by Mr. Akhilesh Mathur.
Quantitative Finance is an intersection of mathematics, finance and programming. Professionals working in this field are known as ‘Quants’ and are among the highest paid in the world. Mr. Akhilesh explained to the students about the importance of this field in our everyday life, its far reaching impacts on our everyday decisions, unbeknownst to us. Edward Oakley Thorp and James Harris Simons were some of the many famous quants, whose methods of investing and analysis were explained in the lecture.
The students were also tutored on the uses and applications of ‘medallion-funds’, ‘bonds’, ‘futures contracts’, ‘pay-offs’, ‘call options’ and a plethora of other technicalities, methods and terms used in quantitative finance. Use of machine learning, macroeconomics and algorithmic trading compounded with risk management and high-frequency trading systems made quantitative finance more complex but also challenging and profitable.
Mr. Akhilesh elaborated at length about the different areas of mathematics, finance, and programming that were used in quantitative finance on a daily basis. He provided detailed insight on the workings of current market scenarios in terms of automated trading systems, decision making systems, and stock markets.
The session was concluded with how consumer’s psychological and behavioural reactions and activities affected the workings of quantitative finance and it’s far reaching effects.
