David Harding (mathematician)
Encyclopedia
David Winton Harding is a British
investment manager and philanthropist who is the founder, chairman and head of research of Winton Capital Management
. He is a leading manager of investment funds, having previously co-founded Man AHL
(formerly Adams, Harding & Lueck). Harding favours quantitative investment strategies, using scientific research as the basis of trading decisions. His philanthropic works include the establishment of a chair at the University of Cambridge
and a center at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
, both dedicated to the study of risk, and the foundation of a research programme into the physics of sustainability at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory
.
, where he graduated in 1982 with a first class honours degree. Later that year he began a traineeship at Wood Mackenzie, a stock broker
. After two years, he joined a futures brokerage, Johnson Matthey & Wallace, as a trader in commodity futures.
s (CTAs) in the United Kingdom. At Sabre
, he drew on his scientific background to design trading programs for futures markets. He remained with Sabre for two years, until he met Michael Adam and Martin Lueck, with whom he founded Adam, Harding & Lueck (AHL) in 1987.
Harding, Adam and Lueck created AHL as a quantitatively focused CTA, and the firm quickly became well-regarded in the investment management industry. In 1989, after two years in operation, ED & F Man (which later became the Man Group
) purchased a 51 percent stake in the firm. When Man bought the whole firm in 1994, Harding became head of the Man Quantitative Research division. In 1996, he left the company to set up his own firm. According to Barron's, Harding had left Man after becoming frustrated by lack of focus on research and the bureaucracy of working in a large firm.
in 1997, naming it after his middle name. he is the chairman and head of research at the firm, and is also the majority owner. According to Hedge Fund Review magazine, Harding's aim when developing Winton was to demonstrate that a business can be successful based on empirical
scientific
research
, rather than relying on marketing. Inspired by U.S. hedge fund management company Renaissance Technologies
, Harding recruited scientists to the firm in order to create a strong research environment and to use quantitative, statistical research of market trends to inform his trading decisions.
Harding launched the Winton Futures Fund with $1.6 million in assets in 1997, and by 2009 the fund had returned on average 18 percent net per year. , Harding had launched two more Winton funds and his firm held a total of $22.6 billion in assets.
As the founder of Winton and co-founder of AHL—two of the largest hedge fund managers in Europe—Harding has been described by industry commentators as "one of the pioneers of the hedge fund industry". He has been ranked among the top 50 hedge fund managers worldwide by Alpha magazine
, and he was listed at 158 on the Sunday Times Rich List 2010
.
and to provide donations to other causes. Through the Winton Foundation, Harding funded in perpetuity a new professorship at the Statistical Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, the Winton Professorship of the Public Understanding of Risk
, aimed at increasing understanding of the mathematics of risk for individuals and organisations. Harding is also the patron of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
in Berlin
, which opened in 2009.
In 2010, Harding pledged a donation of £20 million to the Cavendish Laboratory
, the University of Cambridge's Department of Physics, to establish The Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability, a research programme to apply theoretical physics to issues of the sustainability of natural resources. The donation to the Cavendish is the largest since it was created in 1874. Harding is also one of the managers of the Winton Fund for the Physics of Sustainability, which manages the programme's funding. In 2011 Winton Capital management began a five-year sponsorship of the Royal Society prize for popular science books which was rechristened the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
investment manager and philanthropist who is the founder, chairman and head of research of Winton Capital Management
Winton Capital Management
Winton Capital Management is a British investment management firm, founded by David Harding. It is a UK-authorised investment manager trading as a commodity trading advisor . The company's trading decisions are guided by models developed from scientific research and mathematical analysis. It...
. He is a leading manager of investment funds, having previously co-founded Man AHL
Man Group
Man Group plc is a British alternative investment management business. It provides a range of funds for institutional and private investors globally. The company manages about US$68 billion and employs around 1,700 people in 15 locations worldwide.Man’s headquarters are at Riverbank House...
(formerly Adams, Harding & Lueck). Harding favours quantitative investment strategies, using scientific research as the basis of trading decisions. His philanthropic works include the establishment of a chair at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and a center at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
The Max Planck Institute for Human Development is located in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1963 and is one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society ....
, both dedicated to the study of risk, and the foundation of a research programme into the physics of sustainability at the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory
Cavendish Laboratory
The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the university's School of Physical Sciences. It was opened in 1874 as a teaching laboratory....
.
Education and early career
Harding studied natural sciences, specialising in theoretical physics, at St. Catharine's College, University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where he graduated in 1982 with a first class honours degree. Later that year he began a traineeship at Wood Mackenzie, a stock broker
Stock broker
A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...
. After two years, he joined a futures brokerage, Johnson Matthey & Wallace, as a trader in commodity futures.
Investment management
In 1985, Harding became a futures trader at Sabre Fund Management, which was one of the first commodity trading advisorCommodity trading advisor
A commodity trading advisor is an asset manager who follows a set of systematic investment strategies in futures contracts and options on futures contracts. The advisors originally operated predominantly in commodities markets, but today they invest in any liquid futures market. They are...
s (CTAs) in the United Kingdom. At Sabre
Sabre
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
, he drew on his scientific background to design trading programs for futures markets. He remained with Sabre for two years, until he met Michael Adam and Martin Lueck, with whom he founded Adam, Harding & Lueck (AHL) in 1987.
Harding, Adam and Lueck created AHL as a quantitatively focused CTA, and the firm quickly became well-regarded in the investment management industry. In 1989, after two years in operation, ED & F Man (which later became the Man Group
Man Group
Man Group plc is a British alternative investment management business. It provides a range of funds for institutional and private investors globally. The company manages about US$68 billion and employs around 1,700 people in 15 locations worldwide.Man’s headquarters are at Riverbank House...
) purchased a 51 percent stake in the firm. When Man bought the whole firm in 1994, Harding became head of the Man Quantitative Research division. In 1996, he left the company to set up his own firm. According to Barron's, Harding had left Man after becoming frustrated by lack of focus on research and the bureaucracy of working in a large firm.
Winton Capital Management
Harding founded the investment management firm Winton Capital ManagementWinton Capital Management
Winton Capital Management is a British investment management firm, founded by David Harding. It is a UK-authorised investment manager trading as a commodity trading advisor . The company's trading decisions are guided by models developed from scientific research and mathematical analysis. It...
in 1997, naming it after his middle name. he is the chairman and head of research at the firm, and is also the majority owner. According to Hedge Fund Review magazine, Harding's aim when developing Winton was to demonstrate that a business can be successful based on empirical
Empiricism
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence,...
scientific
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, rather than relying on marketing. Inspired by U.S. hedge fund management company Renaissance Technologies
Renaissance Technologies
Renaissance Technologies is a hedge fund management company of about 275 employees and more than $ billion in assets under management in three funds...
, Harding recruited scientists to the firm in order to create a strong research environment and to use quantitative, statistical research of market trends to inform his trading decisions.
Harding launched the Winton Futures Fund with $1.6 million in assets in 1997, and by 2009 the fund had returned on average 18 percent net per year. , Harding had launched two more Winton funds and his firm held a total of $22.6 billion in assets.
As the founder of Winton and co-founder of AHL—two of the largest hedge fund managers in Europe—Harding has been described by industry commentators as "one of the pioneers of the hedge fund industry". He has been ranked among the top 50 hedge fund managers worldwide by Alpha magazine
Absolute Return + Alpha
-Description:Absolute Return + Alpha was launched in September 2009, as a subsidiary of financial publisher Euromoney Institutional Investor. AR was formed when two magazines, Alpha and Absolute Return were combined. The magazine publishes both online and print content...
, and he was listed at 158 on the Sunday Times Rich List 2010
Sunday Times Rich List 2010
The Sunday Times Rich List 2010 was published on 25 April 2010.Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the Sunday Times Rich List...
.
Philanthropy
Harding has supported a number of philanthropic causes, in particular through donations to educational and research institutions. He established the Winton Charitable Foundation, for which he is a trustee, to fund an endowed position at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and to provide donations to other causes. Through the Winton Foundation, Harding funded in perpetuity a new professorship at the Statistical Laboratory of the University of Cambridge, the Winton Professorship of the Public Understanding of Risk
Winton Professorship of the Public Understanding of Risk
The Winton Professorship of the Public Understanding of Risk is a professorship within the Statistical Laboratory of the University of Cambridge. It was established in 2007 in perpetuity by a benefaction of £3.3m from the Winton Charitable Foundation, and is the only professorship of its type in...
, aimed at increasing understanding of the mathematics of risk for individuals and organisations. Harding is also the patron of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Max Planck Institute for Human Development
The Max Planck Institute for Human Development is located in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1963 and is one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society ....
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, which opened in 2009.
In 2010, Harding pledged a donation of £20 million to the Cavendish Laboratory
Cavendish Laboratory
The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the university's School of Physical Sciences. It was opened in 1874 as a teaching laboratory....
, the University of Cambridge's Department of Physics, to establish The Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability, a research programme to apply theoretical physics to issues of the sustainability of natural resources. The donation to the Cavendish is the largest since it was created in 1874. Harding is also one of the managers of the Winton Fund for the Physics of Sustainability, which manages the programme's funding. In 2011 Winton Capital management began a five-year sponsorship of the Royal Society prize for popular science books which was rechristened the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books.