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Professor Álvaro Cartea has been appointed as the new Director of the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance

22 September 2021

Professor Álvaro Cartea has been appointed as the new Director of the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance (OMI), a world-leading academic research institute at the University of Oxford that specialises in machine learning and data analytics within quantitative finance.

Professor Cartea brings significant expertise in algorithmic trading, mathematical finance, financial economics, asset pricing and energy markets to the leadership role. The Oxford-Man Institute is in its 15th year of continuous operation at an exciting time within quantitative finance for advances in machine learning, vast data availability and high-performance computing.

Álvaro is currently Professor of Mathematical Finance in the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, and a member of the Mathematical and Computational Finance Group. He is founding member and Deputy Chairman of the Commodities & Energy Markets Association (CEMA). Before coming to Oxford, Álvaro was Reader in Mathematical Finance at University College London. He was also previously JP Morgan Lecturer in Financial Mathematics, Exeter College, University of Oxford. Álvaro obtained his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2003.

Additionally, Álvaro is the Editor-in Chief of the Applied Mathematical Finance Journal and a member of the Editorial Boards of the Market Microstructure and Liquidity Journal, the Journal of Commodity Markets and the Journal of Energy Markets.

Álvaro succeeds Professor Stephen Roberts FREng as OMI Director, who leaves the role after five years of successful leadership. Having pioneered the OMI’s transition into machine learning and data analytics research in quantitative finance, Professor Roberts joins an exclusive set of former OMI Directors who have made significant contributions in the fields of quantitative finance, machine learning and statistical modelling. Former OMI Directors include Neil Shephard, now the Frank B. Baird Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University, and Terry Lyons, Wallis Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence.

The University of Oxford and Man Group have worked in collaboration since 2007 when Man Group provided cornerstone funding for the OMI and simultaneously opened its co-located commercial research laboratory. Together, the OMI and Man Group’s lab have provided new educational and commercial employment opportunities for quantitative finance researchers, developing and implementing cutting-edge advances in machine learning within systematic investment management.

Professor Álvaro Cartea, Director of the Oxford-Man Institute, says:

“This is a unique opportunity to be part of a world-class research institute. I look forward to working alongside leading academics, young researchers and industry participants to address fundamental problems in quantitative finance with a strong focus on data-driven models.”

Luke Ellis, CEO of Man Group, says:

“We are delighted that Professor Álvaro Cartea will be leading the Oxford-Man Institute as Director, and look forward to his deep expertise in quantitative finance and algorithmic trading both strengthening the OMI’s academic research and opening new pathways for collaboration with Man Group. Our unique collaboration with the University of Oxford has enabled the firm to implement real-world applications of cutting-edge quantitative finance research, most recently in machine learning and data analytics, thereby ensuring we remain at the forefront of systematic investing and delivering value for our clients.

Professor Sam Howison, Head of Mathematics, Physics and Life Sciences Division, University of Oxford, added:

“I am delighted that Álvaro is taking on the leadership of the OMI at such an exciting time. The OMI's interdisciplinary focus on quantitative finance, and its highly valued partnership with Man Group, are distinctive on the world stage but very much in keeping with Oxford's holistic view of science as it tackles the challenges of the 21st century. I wish Álvaro and OMI every success over the coming years.”