Here are 100 books that Statistics and Data Analysis for Financial Engineering fans have personally recommended if you like Statistics and Data Analysis for Financial Engineering. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Asset Management: A Systematic Approach to Factor Investing

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why Ernest loves this book

As the book’s name suggests, it focuses on factor investing – i.e. long-term investments. Example: what do you think is the real (inflation-adjusted) return of the US stock vs bond markets over time? What is the best way to hedge inflation? (The answer may surprise you!) Nevertheless, a trader will also find inspiration in many of the market themes discussed. Example: Why is a mean-reverting strategy equivalent to shorting realized volatility?

This book has even less math than my 1st book pick, since Andrew Ang used it for his investment class for MBAs. Andrew was a well-known finance professor at Columbia University (where Warren Buffet got his Master’s). He is now Head of BlackRock (AUM=$9.5T!) Systematic Wealth Solutions. I have exchanged emails with him, and he is very friendly and patient with questions.

By Andrew Ang ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Asset Management as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Stocks and bonds? Real estate? Hedge funds? Private equity? If you think those are the things to focus on in building an investment portfolio, Andrew Ang has accumulated a body of research that will prove otherwise.
In his new book Asset Management: A Systematic Approach to Factor Investing, Ang upends the conventional wisdom about asset allocation by showing that what matters aren't asset class labels but the bundles of overlapping risks they represent. Making investments is like eating a healthy diet, Ang says: you've got to look through the foods you eat to focus on the nutrients they contain. Failing…


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Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Book cover of Advances in Financial Machine Learning

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why Ernest loves this book

By now, you may notice that I like to recommend textbooks. I use this bestseller for my course in Financial Machine Learning at Northwestern University, but really, nobody interested in financial machine learning hasn’t read this book. The topics are highly relevant to every investor or trader – I read it at least 5 times to digest every nugget and have put them to very productive use in my trading as well as in my fintech firm predictnow.ai. It covers basic techniques such as random forest to advanced techniques such as Hierarchical Risk Parity, which is a big improvement over traditional portfolio optimization methods.

Marcos used to be Head of Machine Learning at AQR (AUM=$143B), and now is the Global Head of Quant Research at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. He is also very approachable to his readers and students. There was seldom an email or message from me to which…

By Marcos Lopez de Prado ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Advances in Financial Machine Learning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn to understand and implement the latest machine learning innovations to improve your investment performance

Machine learning (ML) is changing virtually every aspect of our lives. Today, ML algorithms accomplish tasks that - until recently - only expert humans could perform. And finance is ripe for disruptive innovations that will transform how the following generations understand money and invest.

In the book, readers will learn how to:

Structure big data in a way that is amenable to ML algorithms Conduct research with ML algorithms on big data Use supercomputing methods and back test their discoveries while avoiding false positives

Advances…


Book cover of Option Trading: Pricing and Volatility Strategies and Techniques

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why Ernest loves this book

Disclaimer: I like Euan’s books not because he is a friend and has endorsed my books. Long before we became friends, I have bought his book, and said to myself “Wow! This is the first book about options trading that is not just a bunch of trite statements about payouts from various straddles and spreads positions!” It talks about some unique arbitrage opportunities that only professionals knew about. On the other hand, the amount of mathematics is very manageable, and can largely be skipped without affecting the practical applications of the concepts. 

By Euan Sinclair ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Option Trading as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An A to Z options trading guide for the new millennium and the new economy Written by professional trader and quantitative analyst Euan Sinclair, Option Trading is a comprehensive guide to this discipline covering everything from historical background, contract types, and market structure to volatility measurement, forecasting, and hedging techniques. This comprehensive guide presents the detail and practical information that professional option traders need, whether they're using options to hedge, manage money, arbitrage, or engage in structured finance deals. It contains information essential to anyone in this field, including option pricing and price forecasting, the Greeks, implied volatility, volatility measurement…


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Book cover of The Guardian of the Palace

The Guardian of the Palace by Steven J. Morris,

The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is real—but hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.

When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to act…

Book cover of Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading

Ernest P. Chan Author Of Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business

From my list on quantitative trading for beginners.

Why am I passionate about this?

A noted quantitative hedge fund manager and quant finance author, Ernie is the founder of QTS Capital Management and Predictnow.ai. Previously he has applied his expertise in machine learning at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center’s Human Language Technologies group, at Morgan Stanley’s Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence Group, and at Credit Suisse’s Horizon Trading Group. Ernie was quoted by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, and the CIO magazine, and interviewed on CNBC’s Closing Bell program. He is an adjunct faculty at Northwestern University’s Master’s in Data Science program and supervises student theses there. Ernie holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University.

Ernest's book list on quantitative trading for beginners

Ernest P. Chan Why Ernest loves this book

Finally, for those who are not afraid of math, they should read this book because there is a lot of heavy-duty math. The good news for the rest of us is you can ignore all the math and still get a lot out of it, especially knowledge about market microstructure and how to find the theoretically optimal trading strategies given some assumptions about the price dynamics. Even if you don’t want to or can’t solve those darn stochastic differential equations, you can still implement a numerical approximation. At the minimum, you will learn common trading lingo such as “walking the book” or “the ITCH feed”.

By Alvaro Cartea , Sebastian Jaimungal , Jose Penalva

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The design of trading algorithms requires sophisticated mathematical models backed up by reliable data. In this textbook, the authors develop models for algorithmic trading in contexts such as executing large orders, market making, targeting VWAP and other schedules, trading pairs or collection of assets, and executing in dark pools. These models are grounded on how the exchanges work, whether the algorithm is trading with better informed traders (adverse selection), and the type of information available to market participants at both ultra-high and low frequency. Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading is the first book that combines sophisticated mathematical modelling, empirical facts and…


Book cover of Modern Mathematical Statistics with Applications

Chris Conlan Author Of Algorithmic Trading with Python: Quantitative Methods and Strategy Development

From my list on mathematics for quant finance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a financial data scientist. I think it is important that data scientists are highly specialized if they want to be effective in their careers. I run a business called Conlan Scientific out of Charlotte, NC where me and my team of financial data scientists tackle complicated machine learning problems for our clients. Quant trading is a gladiator’s arena of financial data science. Anyone can try it, but few succeed at it. I am sharing my top five list of math books that are essential to success in this field. I hope you enjoy.

Chris' book list on mathematics for quant finance

Chris Conlan Why Chris loves this book

One of my favorite professors, Gretchen Martinet, used this to teach a course called “Mathematical Statistics” when I was at the University of Virginia. It is an extremely profound course full of dense but fundamental mathematical proofs in classical statistics. 

You will learn why the formula for the normal distribution is the way it is, why the sum of squares appears everywhere in statistics, and how to fit a linear regression by hand. In the same way calculus elevates our understanding of rates of changes, the book elevates your understanding of samples, averages, and distributions. Quant trading requires an intuitive sense of how data, models, and aggregates work, making this content essential for your success.

By Jay L. DeVore , Kenneth N. Berk ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Modern Mathematical Statistics with Applications as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Modern Mathematical Statistics with Applications, Second Edition strikes a balance between mathematical foundations and statistical practice. In keeping with the recommendation that every math student should study statistics and probability with an emphasis on data analysis, accomplished authors Jay Devore and Kenneth Berk make statistical concepts and methods clear and relevant through careful explanations and a broad range of applications involving real data.

The main focus of the book is on presenting and illustrating methods of inferential statistics that are useful in research. It begins with a chapter on descriptive statistics that immediately exposes the reader to real data. The…


Book cover of The Tiger That Isn't: Seeing Through a World of Numbers

Karen C. Murdarasi Author Of Why Everything You Know about Robin Hood Is Wrong: Featuring a pirate monk, a French maid, and a surprising number of morris dancers

From my list on challenging your preconceptions.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer and historian, I’m all about rabbit holes. When something I’ve never heard about before catches my interest, I have to find out more—and sometimes I end up writing whole books on the subject! I have a head full of bizarre little nuggets of information, and I love reading books, like the ones here, that tell me something new and change my way of thinking. 

Karen's book list on challenging your preconceptions

Karen C. Murdarasi Why Karen loves this book

A book on statistics that is interesting? Yes, actually. And The Tiger that Isn’t is more than just interesting, it’s useful. Maths was never my strong point at school, but even someone who never got the hang of quadratic equations can learn to ask useful questions when faced with bamboozlingly large numbers and dodgy ‘averages’. 

This book offers a way to see through statistics that are used to conceal information as much as to reveal it. It’s worth reading just for the section on rice and random distribution. And the tiger in the title? It’s what happens when you think you see a pattern (in this case, stripes in the undergrowth), but there is no pattern at all. 

By Andrew Dilnot , Michael Blastland ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Tiger That Isn't as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mathematics scares and depresses most of us, but politicians, journalists and everyone in power use numbers all the time to bamboozle us. Most maths is really simple - as easy as 2+2 in fact. Better still it can be understood without any jargon, any formulas - and in fact not even many numbers. Most of it is commonsense, and by using a few really simple principles one can quickly see when maths, statistics and numbers are being abused to play tricks - or create policies - which can waste millions of pounds. It is liberating to understand when numbers are…


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Book cover of Oaky With a Hint of Murder

Oaky With a Hint of Murder by Dawn Brotherton,

Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New York’s wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, it’s time to dig into the details and see…

Book cover of The Numbers Game: The Commonsense Guide to Understanding Numbers in the News, in Politics, and in Life

Tim Harford Author Of The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics

From my list on think clearly about data.

Why am I passionate about this?

Tim Harford is the author of nine books, including The Undercover Economist and The Data Detective, and the host of the Cautionary Tales podcast. He presents the BBC Radio programs More or Less, Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy, and How To Vaccinate The World. Tim is a senior columnist for the Financial Times, a member of Nuffield College, Oxford, and the only journalist to have been made an honorary fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.

Tim's book list on think clearly about data

Tim Harford Why Tim loves this book

I should declare an interest here: I present a BBC Radio show that Blastland and Dilnot created. This book was effectively my “how to” manual on the way into the studio that they had vacated. It’s a wise and varied guide to the power and the pitfalls of data, poetically written and full of subtle wisdoms.

By Michael Blastland , Andrew Dilnot ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Numbers Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Strunk and White of statistics team up to help the average person navigate the numbers in the news

Drawing on their hugely popular BBC Radio 4 show More or Less, journalist Michael Blastland and internationally known economist Andrew Dilnot delight, amuse, and convert American mathphobes by showing how our everyday experiences make sense of numbers.

The radical premise of The Numbers Game is to show how much we already know and give practical ways to use our knowledge to become cannier consumers of the media. If you've ever wondered what "average" really means, whether the scare stories about cancer…


Book cover of Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing

Luke Hunt Author Of Police Deception and Dishonesty: The Logic of Lying

From my list on the cluster-f*ck we call policing.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Associate Professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Philosophy. I worked as an FBI Special Agent before making the natural transition to academic philosophy. Being a professor was always a close second to Quantico, but that scene in Point Break in which Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze fight Anthony Kiedis on the beach made it seem like the FBI would be more fun than academia. In my current position as a professor at the University of Alabama, I teach in my department’s Jurisprudence Specialization. My primary research interests are at the intersection of philosophy of law, political philosophy, and criminal justice. I’ve written three books on policing.

Luke's book list on the cluster-f*ck we call policing

Luke Hunt Why Luke loves this book

I love this book because it reminds us of the many ways that technology can affect justice.

It is tempting to think sophisticated tactics such as “predictive policing” can solve all problems relating to human bias. However, Brayne shows that data and algorithms do not eliminate bias and discretion. Instead, high-tech police tools simply make bias less overt and visible, which erodes the public’s ability to hold the police accountable.

I especially enjoyed how the book flips the script, considering diverse ways to use these tools to help the public. For example, how can municipalities use technology to analyze the underlying factors that contribute to policing problems in the first place?

By Sarah Brayne ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Predict and Surveil as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The scope of criminal justice surveillance, from the police to the prisons, has expanded rapidly in recent decades. At the same time, the use of big data has spread across a range of fields, including finance, politics, health, and marketing. While law enforcement's use of big data is hotly contested, very little is known about how the police actually use it in daily operations and with what consequences.

In Predict and Surveil, Sarah Brayne offers an unprecedented, inside look at how police use big data and new surveillance technologies, leveraging on-the-ground fieldwork with one of the most technologically advanced law…


Book cover of Counting: How We Use Numbers to Decide What Matters

Carolyn Purnell Author Of The Sensational Past: How the Enlightenment Changed the Way We Use Our Senses

From my list on everyday things we take for granted.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a historian who’s spent far too much time thinking about how the color magenta contributed to climate change and why eighteenth-century humanitarians were obsessed with tobacco enemas. My favorite historical topics—like sensation, color, and truth—don’t initially seem historical, but that’s exactly why they need to be explored. I’ve learned that the things that seem like second nature are where our deepest cultural assumptions and unconscious biases hide. In addition to writing nonfiction, I’ve been lucky enough to grow up on a ranch, live in Paris, work as an interior design writer, teach high school and college, and help stray dogs get adopted.

Carolyn's book list on everyday things we take for granted

Carolyn Purnell Why Carolyn loves this book

I had never really given much thought to counting until I read this book, but in the very first chapter, Stone made me rethink everything I thought I knew about “one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.” She shows that every time we count, we’re making cultural assumptions. For example, what counts as a fish? And what makes the color of the fish more relevant than other features? Counting reveals that while these choices may seem intuitive, basic, and meaningless, they have very real impacts on people’s lives. Especially when we use numbers to measure things like merit, poverty, race, and productivity, those fundamental assumptions matter more than we care to admit.  

By Deborah Stone ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Counting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Early in her extraordinary career, Deborah Stone wrote Policy Paradox, a landmark work on politics. Now, in Counting, she revolutionises how we approach numbers and shows how counting shapes the way we see the world. Most of us think of counting as a skill so basic that we see numbers as objective, indisputable facts. Not so, says Stone. In this playful-yet-probing work, Stone reveals the inescapable link between quantifying and classifying, and explains how counting determines almost every facet of our lives-from how we are evaluated at work to how our political opinions are polled to whether we get into…


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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Book cover of The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics

Donald Barclay Author Of Disinformation: The Nature of Facts and Lies in the Post-Truth Era

From my list on understanding, untangling, and coping with problematic information.

Why am I passionate about this?

In my career as an academic librarian, I was often asked to teach students to think about the credibility of the information they incorporate into their academic, professional, personal, and civic lives. In my teaching and writing, I have struggled to make sense of the complex and nuanced factors that make some information more credible and other information less so. I don’t have all the answers for dealing with problematic information, but I try hard to convince people to think carefully about the information they encounter before accepting any of it as credible or dismissing any of it as non-credible.

Donald's book list on understanding, untangling, and coping with problematic information

Donald Barclay Why Donald loves this book

I constantly recommend The Data Detective because it serves as an unmatched handbook for making sense of the statistical data to which we are constantly exposed.

What I like about it, besides its lively, readable style, is that the book convincingly and clearly explains 1) why we need statistical data to make informed decisions, 2) the factors that go into producing reliable statistics, 3) the factors that can produce unreliable statistics, and 4) how any statistics, reliable or not, can be misused to deceive us.

The author, Tim Harford, is an economist who writes for the Financial Times and hosts the brilliant podcast Cautionary Tales.

By Tim Harford ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Data Detective as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From “one of the great (greatest?) contemporary popular writers on economics” (Tyler Cowen) comes a smart, lively, and encouraging rethinking of how to use statistics.

Today we think statistics are the enemy, numbers used to mislead and confuse us. That’s a mistake, Tim Harford says in The Data Detective. We shouldn’t be suspicious of statistics—we need to understand what they mean and how they can improve our lives: they are, at heart, human behavior seen through the prism of numbers and are often “the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us.” If we can toss…


Book cover of Asset Management: A Systematic Approach to Factor Investing
Book cover of Advances in Financial Machine Learning
Book cover of Option Trading: Pricing and Volatility Strategies and Techniques

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