This formidable IRO says to me, “Quast, here’s the deal. You say rational, fundamental investment is a tiny fraction of trading now and we’re all bond servants to traders and risk managers who’re disconnected from traditional IR. If that’s the case, IR as we know it is dead.”

Continue reading →

Jan 19-22: What You Should Know About Program Trading

A word on last week’s panels in KC (see Dick Johnson’s write-up at his superb blog) and NYC about modern trading: Had a great time in KC and felt we effectively explained how different time horizons and purposes, combined with lots of passive market-making, affect stock prices today. In NYC, it was a bit frustrating. We started in the middle and never got out of the maze. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t. Continue reading →