An intriguing look at how technology is changing financial markets, from an
innovator on the frontlines of this revolution
Nerds on Wall Street tells the tale of the ongoing technological transformation of the
world's financial markets. The impact of technology on investing is profound, and author
David Leinweber provides readers with an overview of where we were just a few short years
ago, and where we are going. Being a successful investor today and tomorrow--individual or
institutional--involves more than stock picking, asset allocation, or market timing: it
involves technology. And Leinweber helps readers go beyond the numbers to see exactly how
this technology has become more responsible for managing modern markets. In essence, the
financial game has changed and will continue to change due entirely to technology. The new
"players," human or otherwise, offer investors opportunities and dangers. With
this intriguing and entertaining book, Leinweber shows where technology on Wall Street has
been, what it has meant, and how it will impact the markets of tomorrow.
David Leinweber is a Haas Fellow in Finance at the Haas School of
Business at UC Berkeley, and founding Director of the Center for Innovative Financial
Technology at Berkeley. He is the founder of two pioneering financial technology firms and
successfully managed multibillion-dollar institutional portfolios for many years. Dr.
Leinweber has consulted, published, and lectured widely on the use of advanced technology,
artificial intelligence, and intelligence amplification in finance-always in an easy and
accessible way-and has earned the reputation as "class clown of the quantitative
investing industry." He received BS degrees in physics and electrical engineering
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in applied mathematics from
Harvard University.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Ted Aronson.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
Part One 1: Wired Markets.
Chapter 1: An Illustrated History of Wired Markets.
Chapter 2: Greatest Hits of Computation in Finance.
Chapter 3: Algorithm Wars.
Part Two: Alpha as Life.
Chapter 4: Where Does Alpha Come From?
Chapter 5: A Gentle Introduction to Computerized Investing.
Chapter 6: Stupid Data Miner Tricks.
Part Three: Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence Amplification.
Chapter 7: A Little AI Goes a Long Way on Wall Street.
Chapter 8: Perils and Promise of Evolutionary Computation on Wall Street.
Chapter 9: The Text Frontier: AI, IA, and the New Research.
Chapter 10: Collective Intelligence, Social Media, and Web Market Monitors.
Chapter 11: Three Hundred Years of Stock Market Manipulations: From the Coffeehouse to
the World Wide Web.
Part Four: Nerds Gone Wild: Wired Markets in Distress.
Chapter 12: Shooting the Moon: Stupid Financial Technology Tricks.
Chapter 13: Structural Ideas for the Economic Rescue: Fractional Homes and New Banks.
Chapter 14: Nerds Gone Green: Nerds on Wall Street, off Wall Street.
Index.
About the Web Site.
353 pages, Hardcover