Quants: The Alchemists of Wall Street


Imagine if all it took to make millions was to come up with some mathematical formula. Imagine if you could command billions of dollars just because you were incredibly talented with maths and programming.

 

In a corner of Wall Street that most of us have little or no knowledge (or awareness) of, there are people doing just that. The quants however came to the center of the spotlight with the May 2010 Flash Crash as quantitative high frequency trading systems caused a rapid and sharp movement in prices. Indeed they have also been chastised for their role in the global financial crisis. So what are quants and what exactly do they do?

 

This documentary offers some insight into the question: "what is a quant?" and gives a rare glimpse into this arcane corner of Wall Street and global financial markets. The documentary features Paul Wilmott, Emanuel Derman, Matthew Goldstein and Mike Osinski.