Research at the Institute

What the Institute offers researchers

The Institute exists to teach quantitative trading and finance at the level of the research behind it, and to add to that research. Its faculty teach or have taught at Carnegie Mellon University, and the research office applies the same standard to outside work that the courses apply to coursework: a stated question, data that can be checked, and methods that survive an out-of-sample test.

The office does four things.

1. Written feedback on research

Researchers may send a draft paper, a research proposal or a replication to the research office. The faculty read it and return a written report. The report covers:

• whether the question is stated precisely;
• whether the data and sample can answer it;
• the statistical method and its assumptions, with attention to multiple testing, look-ahead and selection bias;
• whether the results survive out-of-sample and cost-adjusted tests;
• the writing.

Every report is given as written feedback. The office does not hold calls.

2. The IATACF Working Paper series

Papers that meet the Institute’s standard are published in the IATACF Working Paper series. Each paper receives a number, a date and a permanent page on this website, so that it can be cited before, or alongside, journal publication. A working paper is cited like this:

Surname, A. (2026). Title of the paper. IATACF Working Paper No. 2026-01. Institute of Algorithmic Trading and Applied Computational Finance.

Authors may list the paper on a CV and in applications, in the same way as working papers from university departments and central banks. The author keeps the copyright and may revise the paper, and submit it to a journal, at any time. Revised versions are published under the same number with a new date.

3. Use of the Institute’s name

The author of an accepted working paper may give the Institute as an affiliation on that paper and in work that follows directly from it. Holders of an Institute certificate or credential may name it, with its verification code, on a CV or profile. Any other use of the Institute’s name, for example on a fund document or a commercial product, needs the Institute’s written agreement in advance.

4. Written supervision for Fellows and credential holders

Supervision is reserved for Fellows of the Institute, for the Fellowship dissertation, and, in some cases, for credential holders who propose a substantial piece of research. It is given in writing: comments on the proposal, on each draft and on the final text. A dissertation or paper that reaches the standard is considered for the working paper series.

How to submit

Send the draft as a PDF to [email protected] with a one-paragraph abstract, the names and affiliations of all authors, and a statement of where the data come from. If the paper relies on code, say where the code can be read. The office confirms receipt by email.