With unprecedented volatility in financial markets, funds and hedge funds are battling for additional returns to attract business, increasing the buyside’s hunger for new algorithms. This in turn is driving a search for technology that can assist in the selection and creation of portfolios.

Traditionally, alpha generation, returns above an index, was the domain of quantitative analysts who would research and test the theories and pass them on to portfolio managers. Today the quantitative analysts are moving into trading, where their technical skills and mathematical know-ledge can be applied.