Indonesia’s Azmi Fauzi joined WorldQuant BRAIN as a consultant because he wanted to learn more about quantitative finance.
What city do you call home?
I was born and grew up in Bandung, the capital city of Indonesia’s West Java province. Bandung is famous for its culinary scene, art, education and creativity. I enjoy everything here, and no matter where I go, I always return. Bandung is my home.
Where did you go to university and what did you study?
I attended Universitas Komputer Indonesia, a computer university in Bandung. I studied business and management, specializing in finance. The university curriculum included many things that are based on information and communication technology. It really helped me to learn programming, e-commerce and many other things.
How did you get interested in quantitative finance?
I had an interest in finance when I went to university. I discovered that the financial world is getting more complex and that quants are sometimes called the alchemists of Wall Street because they use math and algorithms to try to find the best strategy for trading. Intrigued, I jumped at the chance to learn more about quantitative finance with WorldQuant.
Why did you want to become a BRAIN consultant?
I learned quantitative finance by participating in WorldQuant’s International Quant Championship in 2019. It was a great experience for me, and I wanted to learn more. So when the BRAIN platform was announced, I applied to become a BRAIN consultant.
What is your favorite part about being a BRAIN consultant?
My favorite part about being a BRAIN consultant is that you have the chance to work anywhere and anytime.
What do you like most about the BRAIN platform?
The BRAIN platform offers a lot of datasets, including fundamental data, earnings estimates and news, so you can try to implement many ideas. The interface has many new features you can use to make your work easier.
When it comes to your research methodology, how do you come up with ideas for new alphas?*
I usually try to associate an event that happens in the market with fundamental knowledge I have learned. Then I look for research papers or articles that could help me find the correlation or impact on the different variables. Based on that, I look at the dataset and operators I think will be suitable with the theory I have in mind and do experiments using expression language.
How has your experience working with WorldQuant helped shape your career goals?
Back when I started with the International Quant Championship, math was not my strong point. Working with WorldQuant has pushed me beyond my limits. I have to understand the theory behind the expression and translate my ideas through mathematical models. I have explored many things with WorldQuant and picked up skills I never had before. The platform has been an enabler for me to explore new things.
What advice would you give others considering getting involved with WorldQuant BRAIN?
The learning process is long — learn consistently and have patience. Keep up with the news and trends of the economy and markets. Try to explore the operators and datasets that the BRAIN platform provides.
What do you like doing in your free time?
Aside from finance, I have an interest in coffee. I like to spend my free time learning coffee brewing and roasting. Indonesia is one of the biggest coffee producers in the world, and sometimes I involve myself in promoting coffee from my region, too.
*Alphas are mathematical models that seek to predict the future price movements of various financial instruments?
