Thorp, a sprightly 84-year-old, is uniquely placed to judge. A
mathematical prodigy, he worked out how to “beat the dealer” at
blackjack while a postdoctoral student at MIT.
His Princeton Newport Partners fund, set up in 1969, is recognised
as the first quant hedge fund
(one that uses algorithms). Over 18 years it turned $1.4m
into $273m, compounding at more than double the rate of the S&P
500 without suffering so much as one quarter with a loss. Thorp’s
then revolutionary use of mathematics, options-pricing and
computers gave him a huge advantage.
Posted by sbaxman111 on 7th of Feb 2017 at 03:20 pm
If you assume that Matt's back tested trade dates for the
revised Spy Pro system are accurate representations of what could
have happened over the 2008-2016 time frame, you would have more
than doubled Thorp's returns using unleveraged long/short Russell
2000 funds.
Posted by sschulman on 7th of Feb 2017 at 02:37 pm
Thank you SO much for that, Disciple33. I remember "Beat the
Dealer" but had no idea that Ed Thorp started trading. I'm only 3/4
of the way through this interview but am definitely going to buy
his latest book!
Posted by disciple33 on 7th of Feb 2017 at 03:00 pm
Aaron Fifield has had an impressive list of guests, and he has
been well prepared for them. Lots of interesting insights from a
broad spectrum of trading styles.
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Article about Ed Thorp - the first quant
Posted by varmercur on 7th of Feb 2017 at 11:27 am
Link to article
Thorp, a sprightly 84-year-old, is uniquely placed to judge. A mathematical prodigy, he worked out how to “beat the dealer” at blackjack while a postdoctoral student at MIT.
His Princeton Newport Partners fund, set up in 1969, is recognised as the first quant hedge fund (one that uses algorithms). Over 18 years it turned $1.4m into $273m, compounding at more than double the rate of the S&P 500 without suffering so much as one quarter with a loss. Thorp’s then revolutionary use of mathematics, options-pricing and computers gave him a huge advantage.
Ed Thorp
Posted by sbaxman111 on 7th of Feb 2017 at 03:20 pm
If you assume that Matt's back tested trade dates for the revised Spy Pro system are accurate representations of what could have happened over the 2008-2016 time frame, you would have more than doubled Thorp's returns using unleveraged long/short Russell 2000 funds.
Was thinking that about Matt's systems myself, sbaxman!
Posted by stevieb294 on 7th of Feb 2017 at 03:25 pm
Link to Recent interview with Ed Thorp
Posted by disciple33 on 7th of Feb 2017 at 11:51 am
Link to Ed Thorp Interview
He sounds great, and he seems to have a balanced view of life.
Thank you SO much for
Posted by sschulman on 7th of Feb 2017 at 02:37 pm
Thank you SO much for that, Disciple33. I remember "Beat the Dealer" but had no idea that Ed Thorp started trading. I'm only 3/4 of the way through this interview but am definitely going to buy his latest book!
There are a lot of other great interviews on that site.
Posted by disciple33 on 7th of Feb 2017 at 03:00 pm
Aaron Fifield has had an impressive list of guests, and he has been well prepared for them. Lots of interesting insights from a broad spectrum of trading styles.