The New York Times: Don’t Ban the Trades; Regulate Them in Real Time
In my latest piece in The New York Times, I argue that wrongdoing existed long before the advent of high-frequency trading, and it will always be a part of markets. High-frequency trading is simply a tool; it can be positive or negative for investors and markets. To maximize the benefit and minimize the downsides, regulators need to catch up with the technology.
High-frequency trading has been under a microscope since the infamous “flash crash” in 2010. Let’s remember, though: The market rebounded that day almost as fast as it fell, and regulators ultimately determined that the crash was initiated by human error. But many in the financial sector and in government were uncomfortable at the thought that high-frequency trading programs could vaporize huge amounts of equity in a matter of minutes.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Edgar Perez Moderating Investing in Asia Panel at VC & PE Conference at Harvard Business School
The popular Investing in Asia panel at the 18th Annual Venture Capital and Private Equity Conference at Harvard Business School, held in Boston, February 17-18, 2012, was moderated by Mr. Edgar Perez, author of The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World (http://www.thespeedtraders.com).
The Investing in Asia panel drew more than 200 participants for what became an insightful and enlightening discussion led by Mr. Perez.
The panel reviewed investing opportunities in the biggest continent of the world, focusing on private equity activity in the major financial centers, including China, Hong Kong, Japan and Indonesia.
Distinguished members of the panel included Melissa Ma (Asia Alternatives Capital), Christoph Mueller (Shaw Kwei & Partners), Guang Yang (Finergy Capital) and Ming Zhang (Institute of World Economics and Politics).
The 18th Annual Venture Capital and Private Equity Conference was the largest and most anticipated student-run conference at Harvard Business School. Over 900 students, alumni, faculty and industry professionals joined Mr. Perez and dozens of speakers for a day to gather knowledge and share experiences.
Distinguished keynote speakers included Daniel A. D’Aniello, Founder, The Carlyle Group; Guy Hands, Founder & Chairman, Terra Firma; C. Richard Kramlich, Chairman & Co-Founder, New Enterprise Associates; and Alexander Navab, Co-Head of North American Private Equity, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Asia Investing Panel Moderated by Edgar Perez Drawing Biggest Audience at Venture Capital & Private Equity Conference at Harvard Business School
Edgar Perez, Author, The Speed Traders
Mr. Edgar Perez, author of The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World (http://www.thespeedtraders.com), moderated the popular Investing in Asia panel at the 18th Annual Venture Capital and Private Equity Conference at Harvard Business School, held in Boston, February 17-18, 2012.
According to the organizers, the Investing in Asia panel drew more than 200 participants for what became an insightful and enlightening discussion led by Mr. Perez. The panel reviewed investing opportunities in the biggest continent of the world, focusing on private equity activity in the major financial centers, including China, Hong Kong, Japan and Indonesia. Distinguished members of the panel included Melissa Ma (Asia Alternatives Capital), Christoph Mueller (Shaw Kwei & Partners), Guang Yang (Finergy Capital) and Ming Zhang (Institute of World Economics and Politics).
The 18th Annual Venture Capital and Private Equity Conference is the largest and most anticipated student-run conference at Harvard Business School. Over 900 students, alumni, faculty and industry professionals joined Mr. Perez and dozens of speakers for a day to gather knowledge and share experiences. Keynote speakers included Daniel A. D’Aniello, Founder, The Carlyle Group; Guy Hands, Founder & Chairman, Terra Firma; C. Richard Kramlich, Chairman & Co-Founder, New Enterprise Associates; and Alexander Navab, Co-Head of North American Private Equity, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Mr. Perez is widely regarded as the preeminent speaker in the specialized areas of high-frequency trading and Asia investing. He is author of The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World, and is currently writing a book on investment opportunities in Indonesia, the world’s 4th most populous country.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Alta frequência deve Girar 20% da Bolsa até o Fim do Ano na BM&FBovespa, Declarou Edgar Perez, Autor de The Speed Traders
Edgar Perez, The Speed Traders Workshop 2012
Edgar Perez, Professor Adjunto da Polytechnic Institute, New York University e autor de The Speed Traders, foi citado em Valor Econômico. Perez está em visita ao Brasil nesta semana para apresentar The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 São Paulo: Como Estratégias de Alta Frequência Utilizadas pelos Operadores para Aumentar os Lucros pode Encontrar Alpha em Equites, Opções e Mercados Futuros (http://thespeedtradersworkshopsaopaulo.eventbrite.com), 8 de Fevereiro.
Valor Econômico é o maior jornal de economia, finanças e negócios do Brasil; é fruto da parceira entre dois dos maiores grupos de comunicação do país, as Organizações Globo e a Folha de S.Paulo, e teve sua primeira edição lançada em 2 de maio de 2000. O Valor é reconhecido pela relevância de seu conteúdo, bem como pela profundidade com que aborda assuntos referentes ao mundo dos negócios, economia e finanças. Graças à força de sua marca, o jornal ganhou diversos prêmios e é considerado um dos três veículos mais admirados do país, na categoria Jornal.
“A clássica proposição industrial na qual a máquina substituirá o homem tem pouco a ver com a realidade da invasão dos robôs na BM&FBovespa. A nova fase de expansão dos computadores equipados por algoritmos matemáticos capazes de realizar operações ultrarrápidas no mercado nasce a partir da gestação de fatores bem humanos. Sob acirrada corrida dos investimentos em infraestrutura tecnológica, uma mão de obra cada vez mais qualificada nas corretoras e a disputa por clientes garantem a expectativa de que os negócios via alta frequência (HFT, High Frequency Trading na sigla em inglês) dobrem de tamanho rapidamente. ‘A nova plataforma será capaz de processar 200 milhões de mensagens por dia e oferecerá uma média de latência de 1,1 milissegundo’, declarou Edgar Perez, professor do Instituto Politécnico da Universidade de Nova York, em conversa com o Valor antes de viajar a São Paulo onde será palestrante de seminário sobre o tema nesta semana.”
“A colaboração mais direta da BM&FBovespa em propagar a alta frequência foi dada por meio dos descontos em emolumentos (custo cobrado pela bolsa para negociação) baseados em volume negociado. ‘Embora o HFT ainda tenha muito a avançar no Brasil para alcançar volumes de mercados desenvolvidos, o crescimento tem sido impressionante, graças à combinação de expansão dos acessos de alta frequência e políticas de descontos de custos, resultando em um aumento do volume negociado’, afirmou Edgar Perez. ‘Custos podem quebrar os modelos de negócios em alta frequência, já que as margens da maioria das estratégias são muito pequenas’, acrescentou.”
Operadores de alta frequência foram chamados de diversas maneiras:desde mestres do universo e pioneiros de mercado, para exploradores, hackers de computador e predadores. Todos que trabalham no mercado de investimento, possuem uma opinião sobre os operadores de alta frequência, porém quantos realmente entendem como eles trabalham? Os operadores fantasma do mundo do investimento mantiveram suas técnicas escondidas de todos, até agora. The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 (http://thespeedtradersworkshop.com), ministrado por Edgar Perez, autor de The Speed Traders, Um olhar interno sobre o novo fenômeno que está transformando o mundo dos investidores, revela com que frequência os players estão obtendo sucesso no mercado global e desenvolvendo novos algorítmicos de alta velocidade, desde os EUA e Europa até Singapura, India e Brasil.
Quem deve participar de The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 São Paulo: Como Estratégias de Alta Frequência Utilizadas pelos Operadores para Aumentar os Lucros pode Encontrar Alpha em Equites, Opções e Mercados Futuros?Analístas de commodities, investidores quantitativos, analistas de creditos de derivativos, mercado de capitais, analístas de fundos de cobertura, opções, bancos de investimento, operadores de algorítimos, derivativos, operadores de alta frequência, engenheiros financeiros, operadores de capital, escritórios familiares, operadores de commodities, fundações, operadores de derivativos, futuros investidores, operadores de derivativos internacionais, gestores de carteiras, operadores virtuais, gestores de risco, produtos estruturados, instituições investidoras, tecnólogos da informação, investidores de capital e vendedores de derivativos.
The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 (http://www.TheSpeedTradersWorkshop.com) abre as portas do mundo secreto dos operadores de alta frequência: a maneira mais controversa de se investir na atualidade; Os operadores buscando proteger os algorítimos que eles passaram tanto tempo aperfeiçoando, quase nunca falam com a imprensa ou revelam detalhes sobre como eles funcionam. The Speed Traders Workshop 2012 São Paulo começa uma série de apresentações pelo mundo, nos mais importante centros financeiros: Seoul, South Korea, março 28; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11 de abril; Doha, Qatar, 18 de abril; Warsaw, Poland, 11 de maio; Kiev, Ukraine, 18 de maio; Singapore, 26 de maio; Shanghai, China, 6 de junho; Jakarta, Indonesia, 13 de junho; Mexico City, Mexico, 27 julho; Hong Kong, 4 de agosto, e Moscow, Russia, 4 de agosto.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The Speed Traders Selected Modern Finance Book of 2011
The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World (http://www.thespeedtraders.com), by Mr. Edgar Perez , has been selected as Modern Finance Book of 2011 by prestigious financial blog Modern Finance Report. As another year draws to a close, editors at Modern Finance Report shared with readers some of their favorite business books of the year.
From Modern Finance Report, “high-frequency trading (HFT) is the most controversial form of investing today, and speed traders have generally flown under the radar; in the name of protecting the algorithms they have spent so much time perfecting, they almost never talk to the press and disclose as little as possible about how they operate—until now.” Modern Finance Report cites then Bart Chilton, United States Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner: “Edgar’s book is fantastic . . . I recommend it highly.”
The Speed Traders, published by McGraw-Hill Inc., is the most comprehensive, revealing work available on the most important development in trading in generations. High-frequency trading will no doubt play an ever larger role as computer technology advances and the global exchanges embrace fast electronic access. The Speed Traders explains everything there is to know about how today’s high-frequency traders make millions—one cent at a time. In this new title, The Speed Traders, Mr. Perez opens the door to the secretive world of high-frequency trading. Inside, prominent figures drop their guard and speak with unprecedented candidness about their trade.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )For Renowned Speed Trader, Humans Not Allowed Anywhere Near High-Frequency Execution System
It took a while for Adam Afshar, one of the leading high-frequency traders featured in Edgar Perez’s The Speed Traders: An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World, to believe that the markets were more or less efficient under normal circumstances and to realize that the analysts at most firms provided no value and sometimes a negative value. He says, “My first attempt at using the computer was to build a system to help traders have better information faster to enable them or their portfolio managers to make better decisions, a sort of hybrid system where the computers are helping the humans. But, in less than a year, I realized that discretionary human participation in selection, portfolio management , or trading was so deleterious that no amount of computer power or intellectual algorithms could mitigate it.”
Adam Afshar, Renowned Speed Trader- Hyde Park Global Investments
He adds: “It’s very important to stress this point because if the system allows human discretion at any level (idea generation, portfolio management, or trading) and your machine does not have the human discretionary elements modeled correctly in its learning algorithm (which we claim is not possible at this time), what you are left with is simply a quantitative trader that uses certain calculations to assist his or her trading. It becomes difficult or even impossible to assess whether the success or failure was due to the calculations, formula, or algorithms . Although we can argue on the pros and cons of humans as traders, we have to agree that this method is not and cannot be scientific. It is not scientific because it is not possible to backtest a model that allows any discretionary human intervention. For example, if you have computers that are generating trades, but the execution is done by humans, then we would argue that you cannot determine whether the success or failure of the system was due to its robust artificial intelligence or to a very good trader, and there is no way of testing and duplicating the results. Therefore, we would argue that any backtesting becomes essentially void.”
Hyde Park Global Investments, Afshar’s firm, is an investment and trading firm that has developed an artificial intelligence system built primarily on genetic algorithms and other evolutionary models to identify mispricings, arbitrage, and patterns for many electronic financial markets and the robotic platform to monetize the opportunities. The firm, which trades its own capital so far, potentially will accept investments from outside sources.
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