Passionate about 3 ‘M’s - Markets, Money, and Math. Currently a Masters in Financial Engineering Candidate at the National University of Singapore, which I enrolled just back in Aug 2025 to pursue my personal interests at a higher level. However, we all know learning can’t just be about sitting in a lecture theatre or drowning in papers and books. So the goal really is to put into practice knowledge that i gain through reading and through my education.
Here, I intend to write about quantitative trading research, with a focus on ideas that are academically grounded but realistically implementable by a retail trader. This site is a working journal where I basically document my projects on my thoughts about markets and test ideas.
What I Write About
My main areas of interest include:
-
Volatility Risk Premium (VRP)
Empirical evidence, signal construction, and option-based strategies. -
Options & derivatives
Short-dated options, delta/vega risk, and realistic risk management. -
Quant research & backtesting
Translating theory into code, with attention to bias, assumptions, and failure modes. -
Retail constraints
Position sizing, transaction costs, margin, and what doesn’t scale down well from institutional settings.
I try to be explicit about limitations, risks, and assumptions, not just results.
Philosophy
Most quantitative content online either:
- stays purely theoretical, or
- jumps straight to “here’s a strategy” without enough rigor.
My goal is to sit in between:
Serious analysis, clearly explained, with an honest assessment of whether an idea is actually tradable.
If an idea fails, I document why.
Background
I come from a technical background and am particularly interested in:
- stochastic thinking
- probabilistic risk
- bridging academic finance with real-world trading constraints
This site reflects that mindset.
Elsewhere
- GitHub: https://github.com/sjy1995
- Email: stephliew95@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephliewjy/
All content here is for research and educational purposes only, not financial advice.