What does a quant do? 

“When explaining my work to family and friends, I often say, 'Remember how at school we used to complain to the teacher that all this maths e.g. second-order derivatives would never be used in real life? Well, it turns out we were wrong! As a quant, you need a deep understanding of mathematics.’On a serious note, quants ensure that our traders can see real time updates to pricing and risks all day long. Take risk, for example - it could be how much a bond's value changes if interest rates move by just 1 basis point (0.01%). If the rates actually move, we need to provide the updated prices immediately.We develop applications that use various statistical models and data sources to recalculate the prices and risks as quickly as possible. We continuously try to improve our calculation speed, create new tools for the traders, improve our algorithms and many more.”

How do you become a quant?

“To become a quant, you should have a degree in Mathematics, Engineering, or Physics, while knowledge of finance and the ability to code efficiently are also essential. If your aim is to become a quantitative analyst, I'd advise taking relevant university or online courses that teach Maths, Programming, and Finance. Of course, most skills are learnt in the industry!At Danske Bank, we look for people who are pleasant to work with - intelligent, curious, and quick learners. After joining the bank, you will spend many days reading Quant books and familiarising yourself with the ins and outs of our Quant Library and code base. Regular visits to the trading floor in Copenhagen are also beneficial for learning and meeting the traders.”

Is it a competitive field? 

“Definitely! There are multiple reasons for this. You compete with top mathematicians to get a role in Quantitative Finance. Companies are very selective about whom they hire, given the time it takes to train a new quant.”

What value does your work add to the bank and our customers? 

“Well, for example, if our models do not update prices and risks, traders might make decisions based on outdated information or they might not be able to trade at all.  Traders trade on behalf of our corporate clients, so anything they do can impact the clients’ financials. Our models are used for Value at Risk calculations, so some of the bank’s capital requirements are impacted if we make an error.”

Do you meet any misunderstandings about your job?

“All the time! Many of my friends have seen ‘The Big Short’ movie and think we are a group of geeks who are too shy to even talk.In reality, quants interact with traders regularly! We must understand traders’ needs and explain technical details to non-technical stakeholders. You need to be able to collaborate, make quick decisions, and respond promptly.”

What is the best thing about your job?

“The main motivator for me is being surrounded by an incredibly intelligent team and traders who are easy to communicate with. You are truly valued for the work you do and your suggestions for improvements are always appreciated! There are also many different areas you can explore, from optimising our real-time flows and improving our algorithms to analysing historical data. It’s also really rewarding if a trader is satisfied with improvements in speed or the accuracy of the calculations we deliver.”

What makes your job difficult?

“You are given a lot of responsibility and there are times where a small mistake can cause massive damage to the entire trading floor. You also often must accept a trade-off of implementing something quickly and following good coding practices. You often must be on your feet and react quickly.”

Could your role be replaced by AI one day? Or how could it reshape in the future?

“AI is definitely going to reshape the work of quants to better support our traders. Trade automation (low-latency trading) and Business & Customer Intelligence (insights into our historical data etc.) are some of the areas where AI is helpful. While I can't disclose specifics, we're working on some exciting ideas.”