For Subscribers

David E Shaw’s Strategy Frame (Updated w/ New Chart)

Using legendary quantitative trading pioneer D. E. Shaw as the subject - and based on our proprietary version of public datasets, Alphacution showcases new modeling capabilities about manager strategies, including components of strategy turnover (by product class), values by (GICS) sector, and positions by holding period - among other surprises...
By Paul Rowady | November 13, 2025 | For Subscribers
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Hudson River Trading Finally Sets A Hook

No doubt, options are the rage. Have been for a few years, thanks to an increasingly emboldened, crowd-sourced army of retail warriors - and timely new product developments by a consortium of exchanges, influential market makers, and other notable players in US equity options... The competition to play this game as a market maker is fierce. The cost of complexity makes this game difficult for smaller players - some of them highly experienced and long-time players - to afford to...
By Paul Rowady | October 31, 2025 | For Subscribers
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Dopamine Rush: CME, NYSE, Robinhood – Groping The Gamblers, Part II

Prediction markets - like Kalshi and Polymarket - are enjoying a beautiful day in the sun with all the new deal flow and attention from NYSE, CME, Robinhood and others. Now, the National Hockey League (NHL) is eagerly stepping up to be the first major US sports rights holder to drape itself in logo-embossed gambling. Alphacution shows the mechanics and real objectives of this sudden flurry of activity...
By Paul Rowady | October 23, 2025 | For Subscribers
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Approaching Peak Proprietary

Alphacution presents evidence for how dominant prop firms are starving smaller competitors out of business - a sign that we may be approaching some kind of peak. One of the highlights of this post is a rare, long-term chart of the rise of the top proprietary traders - including Citadel Securities, Jane Street Group, and Susquehanna International Group (SIG) - and the decline of banks in the US equity option market...
By Paul Rowady | September 26, 2025 | For Subscribers
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Optiver’s Charm Offensive – Part I (Updated)

Bloomberg's recent exposé on legendary Amsterdam-based derivatives trader, Optiver, is heavy on gloss and sabre rattling - against market leaders like Citadel Securities, Jane Street, and Susquehanna International Group - and light on strategic and competitive analysis. In Part I of this Feed post, Alphacution begins to fill that gap with data, context, and perspective...
By Paul Rowady | September 2, 2025 | For Subscribers
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