Quant Glossary

Definitions of key quantitative finance and investing terms.

Quantitative Investing

Quantitative investing is an approach to portfolio management that uses mathematical models, statistical techniques, and large datasets to make investment decisions. Instead of relying on human judgment or …

Read more

Factor Investing

Factor investing is a systematic approach that targets specific characteristics, called factors, which have historically been associated with higher returns or lower risk. Common equity factors include Momentum, …

Read more

Alpha

Alpha refers to the portion of investment returns that cannot be explained by overall market movements. It represents value added through strategy design, security selection, or portfolio construction …

Read more

Beta

Beta measures a portfolio’s sensitivity to overall market movements. A beta of 1 means the portfolio tends to move in line with the market, while a beta above …

Read more

Momentum Investing

Momentum investing is based on the observation that stocks which have performed well recently tend to continue outperforming in the near future, while recent losers often keep underperforming. …

Read more

Value Investing

Value investing focuses on identifying stocks that trade at low prices relative to their fundamentals, such as earnings, book value, or cash flows. The underlying idea is that …

Read more

Quality Factor

The Quality factor targets companies with strong financial health, stable earnings, and efficient capital usage. Typical metrics include Return on Equity, profit margins, low debt levels, and consistent …

Read more

Low Volatility Investing

Low Volatility investing focuses on stocks that exhibit smaller price fluctuations compared to the broader market. Contrary to traditional finance theory, lower-risk stocks have historically delivered competitive, and …

Read more

Multifactor Models

Multifactor models combine several factors, such as Momentum, Value, Quality, and Low Volatility, into a single investment framework. Instead of relying on one return driver, multifactor strategies diversify …

Read more

Portfolio Optimization

Portfolio optimization is the process of converting stock signals into actual portfolio weights while balancing expected returns and risk. This is typically done using mathematical techniques such as …

Read more

Backtesting in Quant Finance

Backtesting involves simulating a strategy’s performance using historical data to evaluate its behavior across different market conditions. It is a foundational step in quantitative research. A proper backtest …

Read more

Drawdown

Drawdown measures the decline from a portfolio’s peak value to its lowest point before recovery. It represents the magnitude of losses investors experience during downturns. Maximum drawdown is …

Read more

Sharpe Ratio

The Sharpe Ratio measures risk-adjusted returns by dividing excess return over the risk-free rate by portfolio volatility. A higher Sharpe Ratio indicates more efficient returns per unit of …

Read more

Market Regimes

Market regimes refer to distinct environments characterized by trends, volatility, and risk sentiment. Common regimes include bull markets, bear markets, and high-volatility phases. Quant strategies often use regime …

Read more

Systematic Investing

Systematic investing relies on predefined rules to guide every investment decision, from stock selection to rebalancing. This contrasts with discretionary approaches driven by human judgment. Systematic frameworks enhance …

Read more

Risk Management in Quant Strategies

Risk management is central to quantitative investing. It encompasses position sizing, diversification, drawdown controls, volatility targeting, and regime-based exposure adjustments. Quant risk frameworks continuously monitor portfolio behavior and …

Read more

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio turnover measures how much of a portfolio is bought and sold over a given period, usually expressed as a percentage. A turnover of 50% means that half …

Read more

Rebalancing Frequency

Rebalancing frequency refers to how often a portfolio updates its holdings based on new signals or changes in market conditions. Common schedules include weekly, monthly, or quarterly rebalancing. …

Read more

Stock Universe Selection

Stock universe selection defines which securities are eligible for inclusion in a strategy. This is one of the most important yet underestimated steps in quantitative investing. A universe …

Read more

Overfitting in Quant Models

Overfitting occurs when a model captures random noise in historical data rather than genuine patterns. Such models perform exceptionally well in backtests but fail when deployed in live …

Read more

Out-of-Sample Testing

Out-of-sample testing evaluates a model on data that was not used during its development. This step helps determine whether observed performance reflects real predictive power or merely overfitting. …

Read more

Z-Score Normalization

Z-score normalization is a statistical technique used to standardize data by converting values into deviations from their mean, measured in standard deviations. In quant investing, Z-scores allow different …

Read more

Correlation vs Causation

Correlation measures how two variables move together. Causation implies that one variable directly influences the other. In quantitative finance, confusing the two is a common and costly mistake. …

Read more

Factor Neutralization

Factor neutralization is the process of removing unintended factor exposures from a portfolio or signal so that performance reflects the desired sources of return. In quantitative investing, stocks …

Read more

Exposure Management

Exposure management refers to actively controlling how much risk a portfolio takes across different dimensions such as market beta, sectors, factors, or individual stocks. In quantitative strategies, exposures …

Read more

Mean Reversion

Mean reversion is the tendency of asset prices or financial metrics to move back toward their long-term average after extreme deviations. In investing, this concept suggests that stocks …

Read more

Trend Following

Trend following is an investment approach that seeks to profit from sustained price movements, buying assets that are rising and reducing exposure to those that are falling. It …

Read more

Signal Decay

Signal decay refers to the gradual loss of predictive power of an investment signal over time. A factor or indicator that once generated strong returns may weaken as …

Read more

Ensemble Models

Ensemble models combine multiple individual models or signals into a single framework to improve stability and predictive power. Instead of relying on one strategy, ensembles aggregate several approaches, …

Read more

Risk Parity

Risk parity is a portfolio construction method that allocates capital so that each asset or component contributes equally to overall portfolio risk, rather than allocating based on expected …

Read more

Optimization Constraints

Optimization constraints are rules imposed during portfolio construction to ensure practical, diversified, and risk-aware allocations. Without constraints, mathematical optimizers may produce extreme or unrealistic portfolios. Common constraints include …

Read more

Liquidity Filters

Liquidity filters exclude stocks that are difficult to trade efficiently due to low volume or wide bid-ask spreads. They are essential for translating model outputs into executable portfolios. …

Read more

Slippage Modeling

Slippage modeling estimates the difference between theoretical trade prices and actual execution prices. It accounts for bid-ask spreads, market impact, and timing delays. Backtests that ignore slippage often …

Read more

Market Impact

Market impact refers to the price movement caused by executing a trade. Large orders can push prices against the trader, reducing realized returns. Impact increases with trade size …

Read more

PCA in Quant Finance

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a statistical technique used to reduce dimensionality by identifying the main drivers of variation in data. In quant finance, PCA helps uncover underlying …

Read more

Feature Engineering

Feature engineering is the process of transforming raw data into meaningful inputs for quantitative models. It involves selecting, cleaning, normalizing, and combining variables to improve predictive power. Examples …

Read more

Regime Detection Models

Regime detection models attempt to identify different market environments, such as bull markets, bear markets, or high-volatility phases. These models analyze variables like trend strength, volatility, correlations, or …

Read more

Model Drift

Model drift refers to the gradual deterioration of a model’s performance as market behavior changes. Signals that once worked may weaken due to competition, regulation, or evolving investor …

Read more