Renaissance Technologies

Renaissance is one of the most successful systematic trading funds, a style that uses computers to exploit small anomalies in the market. Led by Jim Simons, a prize-winning mathematician, the group has a heavily science-based ethos, hiring PhDs rather than Wall Street traders, and working from a “campus” on Long Island.

In a speech given to the International Association of Financial Engineers in May 2007, Simons modestly said:

There is no real substitute for common sense except for good luck, which is a perfect substitute for everything.

He started his trading career, making directional bets on commodities, with just $600,000. He bought sugar at 20 cents a pound and the price quickly reached 60 cents. The fund grew by a factor of ten within a year.