Roadmaps
Choose the job first, then learn in the order that job needs. Each roadmap has the same stages two ways: a free route through university courses, lectures, books and the Directory, and a SelfMadeQuant route through our programmes and projects.
Pricing and derivatives
Front-office derivatives desks and valuation controlDerivatives Pricing QuantBuilds the models and code a derivatives desk uses to price and hedge, and makes the numbers defensible.Options desks and volatility fundsVolatility QuantBuilds the implied volatility surface, forecasts realised volatility and tests whether selling or buying volatility pays.Swaps and government bond desksRates QuantBuilds the curves a rates desk prices from, produces risk by maturity and defends the marks.Power and gas trading, origination and structuringEnergy QuantValues and hedges physical energy assets such as batteries, plants and gas storage, which are options in disguise.
Research and trading
Systematic trading teamsQuantitative ResearcherTurns an idea about markets into a rule a computer can trade, and tests it without fooling themselves.High-frequency trading and market-making desksHFT Quantitative ResearcherFinds very short-horizon signals in order-book data and designs quoting policies that survive fees and adverse selection.Research teams that use text, alternative data and machine learningNLP and ML Quant ResearcherBuilds signals and research tools from filings, news and transcripts, with timing that holds up.Portfolio managers at asset managers and multi-asset fundsPortfolio and Factor QuantTurns return and risk estimates into weights a portfolio manager can defend, and builds factor portfolios.
Risk, validation and treasury
Market risk teams and the desks whose limits they setRisk QuantMeasures how much a portfolio could lose and sets the limits that keep losses survivable.Model risk teams, and the desks whose models they reviewModel Validation QuantIndependently checks the models a bank or fund relies on, before they cost money.A bank’s treasury and asset-liability committeeTreasury and ALM QuantModels how a bank’s income and value respond to interest rates and funding conditions.