Isn't that what Ackman's doing today? Vaaleant, not so muchLow volatility and Leverage seems like an oxymoron
it's the way Buffett bought and structured his deals...that made him rich and richer. ..it was almost impossible for him to lose.
The Mathematician who Cracked Wall Street
- Thread starter Chuck Krug
- Start date
i will just say this - rentech did make it big but not in the "PR" way they would like for you to think they did. they paint an image of mathematically genius etc.
'my opinion' is it was all done with relationships, under the table deals, bribery, possibly some extortion and certainly insider information at the exchange levels.
i was trading directly against their positions around early 2000 from an office in chicago in the cme building. they took on some prop traders who were not profitable and suddenly these guys were rolling in money. these guys were being fed position sizes, price levels of stops and customer id's again "in my opinion".
can i prove my above statements, no more than you can prove anything that goes on within the exchanges and outside firms relationships. but i am sure i know exactly how it all worked cause they tried to recruit one of our top guys who was making money on his own. he didn't go over cause we all kept thinking they would get busted.
too big to fail comes to mind, with a wall of protection from paid off regulators.
'my opinion' is it was all done with relationships, under the table deals, bribery, possibly some extortion and certainly insider information at the exchange levels.
i was trading directly against their positions around early 2000 from an office in chicago in the cme building. they took on some prop traders who were not profitable and suddenly these guys were rolling in money. these guys were being fed position sizes, price levels of stops and customer id's again "in my opinion".
can i prove my above statements, no more than you can prove anything that goes on within the exchanges and outside firms relationships. but i am sure i know exactly how it all worked cause they tried to recruit one of our top guys who was making money on his own. he didn't go over cause we all kept thinking they would get busted.
too big to fail comes to mind, with a wall of protection from paid off regulators.
By "customer" you mean the "prop traders" I presume - As in a store primarily engaged in the sale of containers dedicated to the holding of dirt, liquids, or loose solids.
Thorp deserves great credit for bringing the Kelly formula to the world of trading. But I believe his specific trading strategy involved warrants, a method almost nobody uses anymore.
Exactly. I don't know why some folks here are crazy about this video. Simons didn't spend one second talking about the mathematics of trading. Not one. Indeed he seemed intent to talk about anything but that. I at least expected him to give some theoretical basis for why trend following stopped working. Nada. It would have been interesting if the interviewer had been sharp enough to ask what contributions astronomers made to Rentech but of course we didn't even get that.
It has nothing to do with win rate and I doubt he's above 70%, it's about having smaller losses.
He's brilliant because he's produced some of the best financial returns ever consistently. I never said he's rich.
If you actually aren't 12 years old, you possess the reasoning skills of one.
This conversation is over. You are on ignore now.
I am curious as to when and how trend trading died. It just seems people are hell bent on individual low vol strategies and don't want to take risks anymore. This might be just due to low fixed income yields which acts as portfolio ballast.
Looking at the Campbell fund returns over 5-10 yr periods. It does seem that the last decade was a period low, but I think it can just as well comeback in the next decade. Has the market changed? With the increased Fed control, perhaps...