2009. The Financial Modeler's Manifesto, written by Emanuel Derman and Paul Wilmott, was a proposal for more responsibility in quant finance. In short, make models that are adequate, robust and transparent. And this includes models, solvers, calibration ... (unfortunately not alwys distinguished)
What has happened in reality? We still want to close gaps by increasing model complexity and adjusting pricing by exposure modeling and what have you.
Traps are often hidden in plain sight - as written in The Worst Kind of Pricer, but some are more principle, like Innovation Risk, the Problem with Expected Returns, the late insight that Diversification does Not Work and so on.
Challenges come from complexity economy, econophysics, ... research ...
Provocatively speaking there is still a lot of plumbing and it seems we now have
more data but not more knowledge.
What we, at UnRisk, can contribute: advanced solvers, calibration schemes utilizing clever technologies, helping to avoid that more informations in the models get lost in the numerical jungle. And this is our brand promise: create open innovation and partnering. Algorithmic financial mathematics, if you want.
I am glad to see from the questions and the engagement that young quants are energized by the motivation to explore new things and take actions pushing quant finance in a better direction .... great for the field, for them and us.
Picture from sehfelder
