“Quantitative trading” is a mysterious field that many do not understand. In this series, we will unveil a typical day at Kronos to help you better understand what goes on behind the scenes.
As an industry-leading quantitative trading company, our core strengths are the ‘technology’ and ‘research’ of quantitative trading. We are constantly looking for ‘quantitative researchers’ with technical strength and creative thinking. This time, through the words of our researcher, Fisheep, you will see how fulfilling and challenging research work is!

Fisheep: “Not just a trader — we are “half-engineer and half-trader.”

“Quantitative trading requires sophisticated computer programs to  backtest and verify trading strategies. Our systems help to run strategies according to its strictly defined rules. Not only that we are passionate about trading, but we also need to have outstanding coding skills to write the most suitable programs based on the most effective strategies.
For Kronos researchers, we aim to establish trading strategies through continuous market research and then conduct ‘HFT’ (high-frequency trading) through our sophisticated low latency trading systems. Our work can be divided into research data, drawing up trading strategies, and coding for automated trading.

1. Research data

In the research work, we will find the most suitable signal by observing the data to optimise the company’s forecast signal — known as Alpha.

2. Draw up trading strategies

We establish a “trading strategy” based on Alpha, use experimental and machine learning models to test it, and determine the final strategy based on the simulated results.

3. Coding for automatic trading

Finally, we use trading strategies to write automated trading programs and continue optimising the strategy based on trading data.
It is obvious that “coding” is a very important skill when we conduct transactions. Whether using large amounts of data or machine learning, we need top programming capabilities. Therefore, we are not only traders but also engineers!”

 

A senior quantitative researcher’s day is a constant race against time — what does a day in the life of Kronos quantitative researcher Fisheep look like?

9:00 - 10:00 AM
Check the latest market trend and fix system errors

“The cryptocurrency market is 24/7, and we use HFT (high-frequency trading) strategies to navigate it. Fixing real-time issues is the key to successful transactions. For example, when there’s significant market movement, the signals might work in an unexpected way.After diagnosing the problem, the team immediately began to discuss and eliminate errors to capture the biggest profit we can in this movement.”

10:00 - 11:00 AM
Reconciliation, confirm that the trading results are correct

“After eliminating the most urgent problems, we would check the execution results of the program from the previous day to confirm whether the transaction is consistent with the company’s accounting record. The main reason is that some cryptocurrency exchanges use data loopholes to sell currencies at a price slightly higher than our set price, so the set profit and accounting are different. To prevent similar situations from happening again, this confirmation action has become a daily routine.”

11:00 - 12:00 PM
Check the production log and resolve the error message

“When running the program, we record all the details in the “production log”. The program gives output and messages the next day, and we would analyse these results and correct the error messages.”

1:00 - 2:00 PM
Regular team meeting

“In the weekly meeting, we report our research progress and share the recent market trend. In addition, we would also discuss the latest research directions and suggestions at the meeting, and any wild ideas would also be put forward at this time.”

2:00 - 6:00 PM
Routine work and innovative research

“After dealing with all urgent work items in the morning, we would focus on updating the strategy model and conducting market research for the rest of the day. Because the cryptocurrency market is volatile, we must adjust the parameters with the market trends and update the strategy model frequently.
In addition to constantly optimising existing strategies, we would brainstorm new research directions and conduct complete simulation experiments based on these new ideas. I recently studied the correlation between market growth and a new indicator. After running trading procedures, backtesting, and eliminating the noise in the financial market, I repeatedly verified the hypothesis to determine whether this indicator is suitable for our strategy”.

 

“The most unexpected creative strategies often come from intense discussions among colleagues.”

“Quantitative trading is rare in Taiwan, not to mention quantitative trading of cryptocurrency, which really highlights our uniqueness. However, because of the scarcity of this industry and technology in Taiwan, many experts passionate about quantitative trading have chosen to join Kronos. It also gave me the opportunity to discuss and learn from my talented colleagues.”
 

“Also, Kronos colleagues are not shy about challenging each other’s ideas. What impressed me was that a team presented a new strategy at the meeting. When the host shared the key points of the trading strategy, the colleagues pointed out a critical omission of the strategy.. Instead of only  asking questions, colleagues in the meeting suggested their own version of the code and possible solutions! After repeated revisions on the whiteboard, a completely unexpected strategy first appeared, which was tested by the market and demonstrated excellent performance. I feel that everyone on the team is working hard to make the company better and I am proud of being a part of Kronos!

If you are also interested in quantitative trading and want to compete with experts in such a fast-paced environment, Kronos is your best choice.”