Career Insights: Quant and Factor Investing

CFA Institute Live Webinars

Presentation

Recorded 7 March, 2024

Overview

Factors are distinguishable attributes that can be used to explain the historical performance of a security (risks and returns). Quantitative factor investing is a systematic investment approach that uses factors to identify and exploit persistent risk and return relationships in the market. In this webinar, Dr. Tarun Sanghi, CFA, will discuss the basics of quantitative factor investing and career opportunities to come in this space in the next few years. He will also share some career lessons that he has learned along the way.

Learning Outcomes

Gain an understanding of quantitative factor investing.
Review factor models, including forecasting returns.
Discuss career experiments and learning opportunities.
Learn about next-generation quants.

This is the archived version of a live webinar that took place on 7 March 2024.

About the Speaker(s)

Dr. Tarun Sanghi, CFA, is a senior quant at StarMine, which is now part of the London Stock Exchange Group Business. His work involves the application of his computational and statistical expertise to develop data-driven quantitative models for stock selection, risk estimation, and portfolio optimization. Dr. Sanghi has been leveraging his multidisciplinary background to solve quantitative equity investment and portfolio allocation problems for more than eight years.

Before joining StarMine, Dr. Sanghi was a research analyst (2019–2020) at an Asian and emerging market–focused hedge fund, and a quantitative strategist (2015–2019) at a US-equity-focused hedge fund. There he performed factor research and developed computational tools to build interpretable nonlinear stock selection and risk estimation factor models. He also developed an investment propensity model to capture the behavioural biases of retail investors.

He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from BITS Pilani, India, in 2005, and a master’s degree and doctorate in mechanical science and engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States, in 2009 and 2015. He was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation in 2022 and is currently a member of the CFA Society of San Francisco, USA.

Litesh Gada is extremely passionate about equity investments and has almost 15 years of professional experience in private equity, investment management, direct tax (advisory), mergers and acquisitions (tax and regulatory), and corporate finance. He has rich and in-depth knowledge in valuation, investment structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and transfer pricing. Gada has hands-on experience in the entire investment process from deal initiation until disbursement of money to the companies. He has been responsible for monitoring and handholding portfolio companies on a regular basis. Gada’s core expertise is to assist midsize and small companies that have growth potential in raising funds and scaling operations. Gada is a CFA® charterholder, chartered accountant (CA), and company secretary (CS). He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in commerce from Mumbai University.

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