Quantitative investing represents an investing technique typically employed by the most sophisticated, technically advanced hedge funds. These quant shops employ fast computers to find predictable patterns within financial data. Some of the larger quant shops include but are not limited to 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...

' Medallion Fund, D. E. Shaw & Co., Barclay's Global Investments (now known as Blackrock), Numerics

Numerics

Numerics is typically the term used to describe the numerical field of employment, or its instructional program at a college or university . Numerics occupations can include sub-divisions such as tooling specialist, materials specialist, and others.-Numerical programming:Also known as numerical...

, GMO, First Quadrant, Robeco

Robeco

Robeco is a Dutch asset management firm founded in 1929 as the Rotterdamsch Beleggings Consortium . By year end 2009, the company had over € 130 billion of assets under management. It was acquired in 2001 by the Rabobank Groep.Robeco offers assets management services to both institutional and...

, etc.

Typically, quant investing is implemented by people who have spent time in the physics, math, computer science, or statistics disciplines. The condensed results of quantitative analyses, however, can be readily accessible to all far-from-quantitative investors, when presented in an intuitive framework.

The process consists of thorough examination of vast databases searching for repeating patterns—persistent occurrences of a phenomenon, correlations among liquid assets ("statistical arbitrage

Statistical arbitrage

In the world of finance and investments, statistical arbitrage is used in two related but distinct ways:* In academic literature, "statistical arbitrage" is opposed to arbitrage. In deterministic arbitrage, a sure profit can be obtained from being long some securities and short others...

" or "pairs trading"), or price-movement patterns (trend following

Trend following

Trend following is an investment strategy that tries to take advantage of long-term moves that seem to play out in various markets. The strategy aims to work on the market trend mechanism and take benefit from both sides of the market, enjoying the profits from the ups and downs of the stock or...

 or mean reversion

Mean reversion

Mean reversion is a mathematical concept sometimes used for stock investing, but it can be applied to other assets. In general terms, the essence of the concept is the assumption that both a stock's high and low prices are temporary and that a stock's price will tend to move to the average price...

).