Dr. William Ziemba’s an academic, a practitioner, gambler, trader and an author. He’s worked with and consulted to many well-respected names in the field, such as; Edward Thorp, Blair Hull and the very successful horse bettor, Bill Benter.
In the beginning, horse betting was William’s field of expertise (he even published a book titled, Beat The Racetrack!) And in many ways, for William, horse betting worked as a gateway to trading financial markets—which he’s been doing since 1983.
Now in current times, William manages a fund; Alpha Z Advisors—which started trading in July 2013 and as of May 2017, has returned 527%. Much of William’s trading revolves around calendar anomalies, arbitrage strategies and behavioral biases…
Topics of discussion:
- William speaks about his research into calendar anomalies, what causes anomalies to exist, and how William’s bet on a real-life stock market anomaly for many years.
- Characteristics of using Kelly Criterion as a formula for position sizing, situations where it may be preferable to use half-Kelly, a word of caution about overbetting.
- Why many successful traders come from a gambling background, William’s experience in horse racing, and is it easier to make money in sports betting?
William Ziemba: Mathematician, gambler, trader and author. (Photo by Antonis Georgiadis)
Links and resources mentioned:
- WilliamTZiemba.com
- Beat the Racetrack [Amazon]
- Investing in the Modern Age [Amazon]
- Calendar Anomalies and Arbitrage [Amazon]
- The Kelly Capital Growth Investment Criterion [Amazon]
- The Adventures of a Modern Renaissance Academic [Amazon]
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