281 · The Purely Systematic Wizard Trader w/ Marsten Parker

Ian Cox Podcast Leave a Comment

Starting in classical violin and computer programming, Marsten Parker’s path took a transformative turn when he ventured into trading. Despite a rocky start, his disciplined, algorithm-driven approach led to consistent returns, earning him recognition in Jack Schwager’s book, “Unknown Market Wizards”. We get to learn about his transition from discretionary trading to systematic trading, emphasizing the importance of statistical analysis over emotional decision-making. Marsten used his programming skills to create fully automated trading systems to take advantage of breakouts, mean reversion, IPO opportunities, and other strategies.

About Marsten Parker

Marsten has been a full-time individual systematic trader for over 20 years. He is featured in Jack Schwager’s book, Unknown Market Wizards.

Marsten is also the designer and developer of RealTest, a multi-strategy portfolio-level backtesting software. He has continued to evolve RealTest over the years as his primary tool for researching trading strategies.

(Please note that this interview mentions Jim Simons, the renowned American hedge fund manager, mathematician, and philanthropist, which was recorded prior to the announcement of his passing.)

Trading Disclaimer

Trading in the financial markets involves a risk of loss. Podcast episodes and other content produced by Chat With Traders are for informational or educational purposes only and do not constitute trading or investment recommendations or advice.

Topics & Timestamps:

Please note: Exact times will vary depending on current ads.

  • 0:00 Introduction and Background
  • 7:55 Early trades and market exposure
  • 10:22 Targeted annual goals 
  • 12:45 Marsten hates trading
  • 16:30 Early algo trading
  • 20:09 Long short Algo strategies
  • 25:25 Statistical sweet spot of trades
  • 31:30 Changing strategies due to a new market 
  • 36:12 Mean reversion strategy issues
  • 42:00 Avoiding the Meme stocks
  • 49:11 How to avoid curve fitting
  • 56:00 Why don’t more traders go systematic?
  • 58:43 How to reach Marsten

Marsten Parker

Links & Resources