quant skills ( VAR, greek analysis?)

some good questions. I didn't give quants enough credit...

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Quote from dtrader98:

some good questions. I didn't give quants enough credit...

6p977uf.gif
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Yeah but since they are used to filter out 'retards' I wonder what kind of questions there are to filter out all but the best? :D

How long is it OK to work on your answer to these things - 10 seconds? Do you need to know immediately? Is it OK if it takes awhile as long as I am showing that I'm thinking (thinking somewhat out loud to show my cognitive process)?

The interesting part in the penny problem is being able to articulate the 'why?' clearly.
 
Your going to look like a total fool and lose the opportunity if you try to bluff your way at all with this. Your not going to learn this stuff in a few months.
Highlight your math background and ability to learn. If you don't have a strong math background to highlight then your just wasting your time.
 
Quote from steve46:

There are a couple of things you may want to consider before going to your interview.

First, you might consider that it is going to be very difficult for you to learn complex subject matter like GARCH well enough to have a conversation with someone who does have that background. A skilled person can tell within minutes whether you actually know what you are talking about.

If you come across as ignorant of the important topics or you are unable to demonstrate a strong foundation after claiming superior knowledge, it will look at though you are a con artist and it may cause the interviewer to become angry, because in effect you have wasted his/her time.

During my career I have cut short interviews on several occasions because it was clear that the candidate had insufficient background. There are after all, other people with track records looking for jobs.

At least from my point of view, it would be better to admit your lack of background, and provide instead some examples of your "enthusiastic interest" in these subjects. Know the main texts, the basic concepts, as well as the "movers and shakers" in the field. At the very least, that is honest and presents you as willing to work to improve yourself professionally.

Good luck to you

Steve
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Excellent advice!
 
Quote from scriabinop23:

so what is the answer to the penny question?
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The penny turns indeed 180 degrees, but relative to the central penny. The other 180 degrees are given by the fact that the central penny is round, so the reference system is changing its direction
 
Quote from caementarius:

Yeah but since they are used to filter out 'retards' I wonder what kind of questions there are to filter out all but the best? :D

How long is it OK to work on your answer to these things - 10 seconds? Do you need to know immediately? Is it OK if it takes awhile as long as I am showing that I'm thinking (thinking somewhat out loud to show my cognitive process)?

The interesting part in the penny problem is being able to articulate the 'why?' clearly.
More...

Here is a 45 minute question

The Problem

Arbitrage is the trading of one currency for another with the hopes of taking advantage of small differences in conversion rates among several currencies in order to achieve a profit. For example, if $1.00 in U.S. currency buys 0.7 British pounds currency, £1 in British currency buys 9.5 French francs, and 1 French franc buys 0.16 in U.S. dollars, then an arbitrage trader can start with $1.00 and earn 1 x 0.7 x 9.5 x 0.16 = 1.064 dollars thus earning a profit of 6.4 percent.

You will write a program that determines whether a sequence of currency exchanges can yield a profit as described above.
To result in successful arbitrage, a sequence of exchanges must begin and end with the same currency, but any starting currency may be considered.

The Input

The input file consists of one or more conversion tables. You must solve the arbitrage problem for each of the tables in the input file.
Each table is preceded by an integer n on a line by itself giving the dimensions of the table. The maximum dimension is 20; the minimum dimension is 2.
The table then follows in row major order but with the diagonal elements of the table missing (these are assumed to have value 1.0). Thus the first row of the table represents the conversion rates between country 1 and n-1 other countries, i.e., the amount of currency of country i ( ) that can be purchased with one unit of the currency of country 1.
Thus each table consists of n+1 lines in the input file: 1 line containing n and n lines representing the conversion table.

The Output

For each table in the input file you must determine whether a sequence of exchanges exists that results in a profit of more than 1 percent (0.01). If a sequence exists you must print the sequence of exchanges that results in a profit. If there is more than one sequence that results in a profit of more than 1 percent you must print a sequence of minimal length, i.e., one of the sequences that uses the fewest exchanges of currencies to yield a profit.

Because the IRS (United States Internal Revenue Service) notices lengthy transaction sequences, all profiting sequences must consist of n or fewer transactions where n is the dimension of the table giving conversion rates. The sequence 1 2 1 represents two conversions.
If a profiting sequence exists you must print the sequence of exchanges that results in a profit. The sequence is printed as a sequence of integers with the integer i representing the line of the conversion table (country i). The first integer in the sequence is the country from which the profiting sequence starts. This integer also ends the sequence.
If no profiting sequence of n or fewer transactions exists, then the line
no arbitrage sequence exists should be printed.
Sample Input


3
1.2 .89
.88 5.1
1.1 0.15
4
3.1 0.0023 0.35
0.21 0.00353 8.13
200 180.559 10.339
2.11 0.089 0.06111
2
2.0
0.45
Sample Output


1 2 1
1 2 4 1
no arbitrage sequence exists

Answer attached best of luck :-)

Ans: http://rafb.net/p/s2xuKp64.html
 

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So how “filtering out the retards” is working for WS so far ? Will you be finally able to beat SPX one day ?
I bet the genius that came out with “model” of selling exotic mortgages to janitors can solve all this in less than a minute.
 
i must admit, those questions are hard as hell. How the hell do answering those questions(and others like them) make one a better trader? thats bullshit. I think all that is over rated. i mean, it would nice to be able to answer those questions quickly, but that does not mean you are a good trader.
 
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