London Seminar: Rob Carver: Heisenberg's Backtest

Please note that this event will take place IN PERSON on Friday, 6 March, 2026 in London at 6pm London time (1pm New York time).

In collaboration with Imperial College MathSoc!

Full title: Heisenberg's Backtest

Speaker: Rob Carver

Abstract: What is a backtest for? In fact, like electrons, backtests have two contradictory natures. Firstly, they tell how well a particular trading strategy would have done in the past. Secondly, they help you design a strategy that will perform well in the future. These are not the same thing. In this talk Rob discusses this problem and how to reconcile these two objectives.

Venue: Huxley Building, Imperial College London, 180 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ

Biography: Robert Carver is an independent systematic futures trader and writer. He is a visiting lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, and is research advisor to Stylus Capital, a hedge fund trading digital assets. He is the author of four books: “Systematic Trading", "Smart Portfolios", "Leveraged Trading" and "Advanced Futures Trading Strategies".

Until 2013 Robert worked for AHL, a large systematic hedge fund, and part of the Man Group. He was responsible for the creation of AHL's fundamental global macro strategy, and then managed the funds multi billion dollar fixed income portfolio. Prior to that Robert worked as a research manager for CEPR, an economics think tank, and traded exotic derivatives for Barclays investment bank. He spent his early career in the Middle East.

Robert has a Bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Manchester, and a Masters degree, also in Economics, from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Links:

Rob's blog: https://qoppac.blogspot.com/