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- 67% of survey respondents felt that there is the same amount or less understanding of the role of quants than there was a year ago at home institutions
According to the results of 7city Learning’s annual survey of Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF) program alumni, which were released today, only 33% of survey respondents felt that there is a greater understanding of the role of quants in their larger institutions than there was a year ago. The second in the now-annual survey series, the results also demonstrated that there has been little on-the-ground change among quants and risk management professionals in the past year.
Survey results indicated that while people in the management function are taking more interest in the work of quants than they did a year ago, there is still a general lack of understanding at the management level. Sixty-nine percent of quants surveyed are being asked for more explanation of their work than they were a year ago, but only 31% felt that their supervisors understood the work of a quant “very well.” Sixty-seven percent of respondents felt that at their home institutions, there is the same amount or less understanding of the role of quants than there was a year ago.
Other results were more positive, and indicated that several positive steps have been made over the past year, including:
- 60% of respondents indicated that quants are no longer being blamed for the financial crisis at their home institutions, while 20% still felt that quants were still taking the blame. This was considered to be unchanged from a year ago
- 58% of respondents said that they were being consulted more in risk management discussions than they were a year ago
- 60% of respondents said that they believe that quants today are more aware of the implications of their actions on the market as a whole than they were a year ago
Paul Wilmott, Course Founder and Co-Director of the CQF, commented, “While I am happy to see that some progress has been made in the past year, it is nonetheless disappointing to see that with all that has happened in the financial markets, there has still been relatively little change in the understanding of the role of quants at major financial institutions. This just further highlights the need for management-level education in quantitative finance and risk management topics.”
Philip Bennett, a CQF Alumnus working as a Quantitative Strategist, said, “I do believe that gradual improvements have been made in the past year, but there is still a great deal of ambiguity and uncertainty around what quants do. The job description seems to change and grow in complexity on a daily basis. The CQF program and the skilled faculty involved have been instrumental in providing the comprehensive understanding needed to be successful. The continued access to course materials and the life-long learning program are invaluable in keeping up-to-date with new developments in the field.”
The survey, which was conducted in June by 7city Learning, was designed to both assess the current state of quants and risk management professionals and examine the progress made over the past year. The survey targeted over 1400 CQF alumni who currently work as quants, risk management professionals and in other capacities at financial institutions all over the world.
