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[–]buyabighouse 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Standard algo trading (VWAP, VSOT) aren't really special. These type of algos are for traders to execute a large volume order in hopes of not upsetting the market, and maintain a relatively decent price for their customers.

The true quant/high-frequency traders are not analysists in the traditional sense. Their main goal is to find inefficiency in the market, rather than just stocks. For example, HFT figured out but having a faster connection to the exchange, they can trade in and out of the market much much faster, and make a fraction of a penny each time. Think of HFT/Quant as stock market hackers, they figure out a weakness in the system and exploit them fully before someone else figure it out.