Goldman Sachs unit launches ‘quant’ equity funds aimed at Hong Kong’s retail investors
- The US asset manager joins rivals in applying machine learning to pick stocks
Goldman Sachs Asset Management said on Tuesday that it plans to introduce three quantitative equity strategies in Hong Kong that use algorithms to help managers pick stocks, joining competitors who already apply machine learning and big data analysis in stock investing.
Also called systematic investing, these strategies often rely on mathematical computations, number crunching and big data analytics to identify trading opportunities.
BlackRock and alternative investment manager PAG are among those investing heavily in developing their “quant” strategies.
GSAM, the asset management arm of the US investment bank, this month received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission to launch these quant equity funds for Hong Kong’s retail segment. These were until recently only offered to private banking and institutional investors.
The three quant equity funds are part of the seven funds it is launching in the city, which also includes other bond and debt funds.
Alison Lau, head of the quantitative investment strategies team for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan at GSAM, said the enormous amount of digital data that can be read by machines is giving portfolio managers an “information advantage”, as they develop algorithms to help them pick stocks that, hopefully, could outperform.