The Golden Age of Quant

ABSTRACT: Throughout the past 45 years, the crux of quantitative portfolio management has evolved through advances in three spheres: (1) domain expertise (market savvy), (2) data superiority (smart not just big), and (3) digital (econometric models). The data and digital of the 1970s and 1980s now appear rather primitive. Quantitative practitioners have survived (and at times thrived) through creative innovation. The author briefly discusses some examples of evolution identified with relation to these three circles. As in the past, successful managers will prosper with creative discovery and positioning at the intersection of these elements—domain, data, and digital.