Diary of a Quant Hedge Fund - Dr Richard Saldanha

A deep dive into the inner workings of hedge funds and quantitative investing, with Dr. Richard Saldanha, a seasoned quant, former hedge fund manager, and now an academic and consultant.
Richard shares stories from his career, including cautionary tales of fraud, and offers a contrarian take on the democratization of finance. Learn why adaptability, skepticism, and data quality are more important than ever in today’s markets.

Watch it on Substack or listen on your preferred podcast app.

Key Takeaways:

• Data quality and access are critical—and often underestimated—challenges in finance.

• Market inefficiencies persist, and quants thrive by exploiting them, but adaptability is key.

• Many hedge fund strategies have become commoditized; true innovation is rare and valuable.

• The democratization of investing is driven by ETFs, not hedge funds or private equity.

• Due diligence is essential—fraud and misrepresentation still occur at the highest levels.

Related episodes:

• Previous episode with Dr. Richard Saldanha on AI

• Marco Aboav: Quant Trading from Data to Alpha

• Jim Simons, Renaissance Technologies & The Quant Revolution | Greg Zuckerman

Resources Mentioned:

• Renaissance Technologies

• AQR Capital Management

Connect with Dr. Richard Saldanha:

• On LinkedIn

• Oxquant (Richard’s consultancy)

Timestamps & Topics:

[00:00] - Introduction to Dr. Richard Saldanha - an insider’s look at hedge funds.[00:36] - The Importance of Financial Data
[01:55] - Quantitative Trading and Market Inefficiencies
[03:34] - Challenges in Hedge Fund Strategies
[05:20] - Renaissance Technologies: Ahead of the Game
[07:55] - The Evolution and Challenges of Hedge Funds
[09:41] - The Democratization of Investments
[13:38] - Private Equity vs. Hedge Funds
[18:18] - Cautionary Tales: Fraud in Hedge Funds

About the Show:
Investology is a podcast hosted by George Aliferis, CAIA, dedicated to rethinking investment management and uncovering new ways to deliver better outcomes for investors.

Listen on every podcast platform, or watch on YouTube.

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My Investing & Investment Management channels

Investorama - Separating Investment Facts from Financial Fiction (YouTube)

Investology - Re-Think Investment Management (YouTube)

Investology in Audio version

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