Perry J. Kauffman | Expert Systematic Trader

This is a continuation of our series to provide a weekly spotlight on different expert systematic traders who are the icons and inspirations for the next generations of systematic traders. This week the spotlight is on Perry J. Kauffman.

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Perry J. Kaufman is an American systematic trader, index developer, and quantitative financial theorist. He has worked in trading, research, and advisory functions at major commercial banks, securities houses, central banks, and hedge funds. Kaufman is considered a leading expert in the development of fully algorithmic trading programs.

Beginning as a “rocket scientist” in the aerospace industry, Kaufman worked on the navigation and control systems for the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory-the predecessor of the Hubble Space Telescope. Moreover, he was involved in the development of navigation systems for Project Gemini, which were later used for the Apollo missions.

Perry J. Kaufman is a highly experienced trader and portfolio manager who has worked in the industry for over four decades. After leaving the aerospace industry, Kaufman became a partner in an Illinois-based farm management company, where he developed expertise in trading commodity futures markets. In 1981, he moved to Bermuda to work as Head of Trading Systems for Transworld Oil, Ltd., before becoming a principal at Man-Drapeau Research (Singapore) in 1992. From 2003 to 2008, he worked as a portfolio manager and senior quantitative analyst for Graham Capital Management - a hedge fund with a focus on managed futures trading strategies. Currently, Kaufman is a consultant to Mizuho Alternative Investments and serves as a board member at ARIAD Asset Management GmbH. Kaufman also advises the Aquantum Group and collaborates with the company in the design of systematic trading programs and indices.

Perry J. Kaufman is an internationally recognized authority on equities and futures markets and technical analysis. A pioneer in the field, he has authored more than a dozen books on the subject, including New Trading Systems and Methods, now in its sixth edition. Kaufman has also published extensively in professional journals and magazines such as Journal of Futures Markets, Futures, Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities, and Futures Industry Magazine. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences worldwide.

For more than 40 years, Perry Kaufman has been providing fully systematic strategies for institutions and individual investors. His algorithmic methods are applied to exchange-traded futures, individual equities, ETFs, and cash markets.

Kaufman's expertise includes many applications, including short-term trading in cash and futures markets, market-neutral strategies in equities and futures, FX carry, portfolio risk management, leverage overlays, and mutual fund timing. In addition to the development of unique price theories, the research process itself has resulted in closing the gap between theoretical and actual results - a necessary step in yielding robust trading models.


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