Latest news with #quantitativeTrading
South China Morning Post
15-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Meet Goku, the Chinese quant trading fund with AI ambitions beyond finance
Goku Technologies, a Shanghai-based quantitative trading fund, is expanding its ambitions beyond finance, looking to artificial intelligence (AI) as a means to overcome challenges faced by humanity, according to CEO Wang Xiao. Advertisement In an interview with the Post, Wang said the firm's AI initiatives were driven by a vision that transcended short-term commercial interests. 'What I believe is [AI exists] to solve issues for humanity – this is the only thing that matters,' he said. Last month, Goku launched Shanghai AllMind Artificial Intelligence Technology, an AI-focused subsidiary, in a move that draws parallels with Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer Quant, which established DeepSeek in 2023 Wang, however, played down the comparison, pointing out that Goku was pursuing a different path with AllMind. Instead of competing directly with major tech companies like Alibaba Group Holding or start-ups like DeepSeek, which develop AI models from scratch, AllMind was envisioned as a catalyst for AI-assisted scientific discovery, according to Wang. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Shanghai-based Goku Technologies has drawn comparisons with High-Flyer Quant, owner of leading Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek. Photo: Screenshot Goku gained attention last month with the release of a research paper introducing a new AI training technique that combines supervised fine-tuning and reinforcement learning – key methods used by industry leaders like OpenAI and DeepSeek.
Bloomberg
09-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Retail Quants May Be the Next Stabilizing Force for Markets
Retail traders using sophisticated quantitative strategies are starting to have a surprising and noticeable impact on financial prices. Many commentators criticize such do-it-yourself investing as the road to disaster for investors and a destabilizing force for markets. In fact, in a world where passive investing is exploding, this is a reassuring counter current that should aid in price discovery and bring some balance to the makeup of the market. Speaking at the Options Industry Conference recently, Henry Schwartz, vice president of market intelligence at Cboe Global Markets, showed a slide with large volume spikes in zero-day-to-expiration options for the S&P 500 Index caused by small (under 10 contracts) orders. These ultra short-term contracts are popular with retail quantitative traders and now represent the majority of S&P 500 options volume, often exceeding half the total trading in the S&P 500 itself. If there is enough retail quant trading to drive large spikes in volume, these trades may well be affecting the price behavior of the S&P 500. Moreover, if it's happening with the S&P500, it could be happening with other major markets, too.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GO INVEST LLC Announces the Acquisition of FireFly Star, Rebranded as Flicker Algo.
GO INVEST LLC, a global comprehensive financial technology group, is making waves with the completion of the full acquisition of the leading quantitative trading platform Firefly Star. These two parties merged into Flicker Algo to create a new highland for global intelligent trading. EDINBURGH, GB / / May 31, 2025 / In the latest record, GO INVEST LLC announces the acquisition of FireFly Star, rebranded as Flicker Algo. After the completion of this transaction, the two brands will be integrated into Flicker Algo and will continue the original quantitative trading business and obtain major upgrades in capital, compliance, technology, global resources, etc. The company also highlights the strategic significance of this acquisition which is not only an integration at the capital level but also a deep collaboration between the two parties in terms of financial technology capabilities and global development goals. Through the acquisition, GO INVEST LLC bought Flicker Algo's key dimension synergy benefits. Compliance upgrade Flicker Algo will be included in the company's SEC compliance system, obtain higher international compliance standards support, and facilitate global market expansion. The company improved capital capacity by obtaining group capital injection for trading engine upgrades, AI strategy research and development, and multi-market deployment to promote technological leadership. Moreover, Flicker Algo's user structure will be accelerated from individuals to institutions which will help GO INVEST LLC to expand its customer base. The company emphasized that Flicker Algo's credibility is held by an entity regulated by the SEC, which is more credible and has market influence in front of investors, cooperative institutions, and regulators. In addition, GO INVEST LLC will collaborate with Flicker Algo to achieve technology sharing and R&D collaboration and accelerate the launch of system-level products such as intelligent trading systems, cross-chain asset allocation, and blockchain risk control. The company focuses on the integration where Flicker Algo will maintain the independent operation of the core team, the original business structure will remain unchanged, and the focus will be on the following strategic upgrades: Launch Flicker Algo Trading System V3.0 support AI-driven strategy portfolio automatic optimization and real-time risk control system Issue Platform Governance Token FAO used for community incentives, fee deductions, DAO proposals, and voting governance Deploy DAO Governance System realize community co-governance and platform development rights decentralization Develop Institutional-level Financial Services including smart investment advisors, custody solutions, and cross-chain portfolio allocation Expand the global compliance market expand to sovereign markets such as Europe, the Middle East, Singapore, and Latin America, and cooperate with local registration and license applications. "We welcome and look forward to integrating with the world's top financial groups and entering a new growth curve together", said James Carter, founder of Flicker Algo. About GO INVEST LLC: Headquartered in the United States, GO INVEST LLC is a company holding SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)-an international financial holding securities company with regulatory qualifications. The company is committed to connecting global assets and investors with technology. It covers diversified asset management, traditional securities investment, futures, foreign exchange, and crypto asset trading and custody. It is committed to building a global platform that integrates traditional finance and emerging finance. It has multiple global operating nodes and builds a global investment infrastructure with "compliance, security, and intelligence" as the core. About Flicker Algo: Flicker Algo, known as a global intelligent quantitative trading platform, that focuses on multi-strategy asset trading systems (covering encryption and foreign exchange products). Intelligent strategy structure and server-level automated trading system and AI risk control model. Since its establishment in 2019, the platform has accumulated access to more than 228 sets of algorithmic strategies, supporting more than 30 trading markets, and users covering Asia, North America, Latin America, and other regions. Corporate website: email: service@ KHURSHEED Ali SOURCE: Flicker Algo View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ex-JPMorgan Analyst Builds a 51%-a-Year Quant Powerhouse in Taiwan
In less than five years, Andre Liu has quietly built a quant powerhouse in Taiwan, drawing awe from other market participants and curiosity about his firm's inner workings. UC Capital, Liu's proprietary trading firm, shot to sudden prominence last October when it revealed itself as the buyer of the baseball that marked Shohei Ohtani's historic feat of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season. The $4.39 million purchase, and the secretive company's coming out of the shadows, were both carefully calculated moves.
Zawya
14-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa high on the list for Global HFT Firms
South Africa is quietly becoming a global magnet for high-frequency and quantitative trading firms. With cutting-edge exchange infrastructure, increased retail activity, and competitive platforms like A2X, the local market is drawing serious attention from global proprietary trading players. Why now? Merlin Rajah, Head: Equities Electronic Product, Absa CIB delves deeper into some of the key drivers: Advanced infrastructure upgrades at the JSE, including Colocation 2.0 and ultra-low-latency market data access. Increased retail investor activity via fintech platforms creating more opportunities for HFTs to interact with retail flow. Growing market competition through venues like A2X, expanding arbitrage and trading strategies. A more technologically sophisticated sell-side, with smart order routing and enhanced execution capabilities. Absa's role as a key enabler, offering deep market expertise, strong infrastructure support, a robust stock loan pool, and a pan-African presence. High-Frequency Trading Firms Eye South Africa: What's Driving the Shift? So, what exactly are High-Frequency Trading (HFT) firms, and why have they become critical to today's financial ecosystem? More commonly referred to today as proprietary trading or quantitative trading firms, these entities specialise in executing algorithmic strategies powered by advanced mathematics and cutting-edge technology. They operate at ultra-high speeds, submitting thousands of orders per second—with the aim of exploiting price movements within extremely short timeframes, often ranging from microseconds to a few seconds. The goal is to capture 'alpha' and close out most, if not all, positions before the end of the trading day. Typical strategies include statistical arbitrage, index arbitrage, dual-listed arbitrage, and market making (simultaneous bid and offer placements to profit from the spread). South Africa's highly liquid markets, unique blend of advanced market infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, competitive dynamics, and its role as a financial gateway to Africa makes it a compelling destination for high-frequency and quantitative trading firms. Infrastructure Evolution: JSE's Leap Forward For exchanges, HFT firms are a significant revenue driver—generating income through execution, clearing, settlement, colocation, and market data services. Sell-side firms benefit as well, gaining a steady revenue stream and an increased market share. A major turning point came in 2012 when the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) migrated to the Millennium IT platform (owned by the London Stock Exchange Group). Two years later, the JSE introduced its colocation facility, offering traders ultra-low-latency access. The Millennium platform supports both Native and FIX protocols for order entry, post-trade processing, and drop copies, along with market data feeds via the MITCH (Millennium ITCH) and FIX/FAST protocols. Many firms prefer native binary protocols for their speed and unthrottled MITCH feeds to capture every possible microsecond advantage in market data processing. For firms trading in South Africa, opting for the unthrottled feed over the throttled version is essential. The JSE has continuously enhanced their platform to meet the needs of both institutional investors and HFT players. A key upgrade came in 2024 with the implementation of self-match prevention—designed to prevent internal teams from inadvertently trading against themselves, a costly mistake both in fees and regulatory scrutiny. On the other side of the spectrum, tools like pegged hidden orders, central order book crossing for client/prop flows, and spread-sensitive execution features have been rolled out to support institutional and sell-side players in navigating fast-paced, HFT-dominated markets. Colocation 2.0: World-Class Access at Lower Costs Though compact, the JSE's colocation facility is a Tier 3 data center meeting global standards. It's equipped with robust battery and generator backup—critical in a country where power outages remain a challenge. The 2023 launch of Colocation 2.0, in partnership with Beeks and IPC, introduced cloud-based access options. This provides a lower-barrier entry point for firms wanting to explore Africa's most sophisticated exchange. Starting at under $200 per month (excluding data costs), firms can connect to the JSE's test environment, market data, and reference data feeds from within the colocated ecosystem. These infrastructure upgrades have laid the groundwork for international quant and HFT firms to target South Africa, with a noticeable uptick in trading volume and order flow to show for it. The Rise of Retail Retail equity trading in South Africa has seen a notable uptick in recent years, driven by greater accessibility to online trading platforms, the rise of fintech, and an increasingly financially literate population. Low-cost brokers and app-based trading platforms have played a significant role in democratising access to the JSE, enabling everyday South Africans to invest in local stocks with minimal capital. This shift has been particularly pronounced among younger investors, who are more digitally savvy and inclined toward self-directed investment strategies. Although individual (retail) investors still trade less than big institutions and high-frequency traders, their increasing involvement in the market is having a real impact. As a result, brokers are responding by improving their platforms—making them easier to use, reducing trading fees, and providing more educational resources and tools to help these newer investors make informed decisions. Much more can be done in this space to provide retail with live pricing. This has also been a contributing factor as HFT firms want to trade with retail participants who trade through the spread. A2X and Market Competition: Fueling Sophistication The local trading landscape has also become more competitive, due to alternative venues like A2X. Offering advanced technology and competitive fees, A2X has carved out a decent market share by attracting both local and global trading firms. With no admit-to-trade model however, or a stance on an MTF framework, it has been a difficult journey for A2X to onboard new issuers but have done exceptionally well in terms of onboarding 180+ listings with a market capitalization of R9 trillion. This is a boon for HFT firms, who benefit from increased liquidity and more arbitrage opportunities across exchanges. The emergence of multiple trading venues has pushed sell-side firms to enhance their technological capabilities—implementing smart order routers, upgrading sell side algorithms, robust settlement solutions and offering low-latency access to enable both institutional clients and HFTs to execute efficiently. This growing sophistication reflects the broader maturation of South Africa's capital markets. A Market of Strategic Importance As these firms deepen their presence, they're contributing to the ongoing evolution of the market and the continent—driving innovation, improving efficiency, and expanding participation. Absa has positioned itself as a key enabler in this transformation, offering HFT firms ultra-low-latency access, deep market infrastructure expertise, a robust stock loan pool, and a strong balance sheet to support advanced trading strategies. As the rest of Africa opens to these possibilities, Absa remains ready to unlock these opportunities for our clients with by already having presence in several African countries.
