Quants Now Trade Exotic Stuff. But Can They Handle Illiquid?
- Computer models seek to profit from trends in niche markets
- Some critics warn investors may get stuck during selloffs
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The search for elusive alpha is sending a handful of computer-driven hedge funds trawling the remotest corners of financial markets.
They’re a subset of the trend-following strategies known as commodity trading advisers, or CTAs, that were popular when central banks pushed up stocks and bonds over the past decade. Now a few of them are seeking uncorrelated returns and a little extra alpha in anything from cheese and Turkish scrap steel to obscure chemicals or eggs in China.