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Dennis Grashoff trading research team who work with the trading desk on a project-by-project basis – aimed at enhancing the way the team executes to minimise costs and reduce market impact . The asset manager first incorporated trading researchers into its workflow in 2016 – somewhat earlier than many firms across the street . This is something that Berendsen says has had tangible results on the way the institution executes , in particular around its level of passive trading .
“ We have large quant strategies in developed and emerging markets ,” he explains . “ For trading many different stocks , it makes sense to trade relatively passively . In general , the quant strategies do not expect to have a lot of short-term alpha , so then you don ' t need to be trading extremely aggressively in the market .”
Research is rocket fuel The team ’ s trading researchers are Robeco ’ s not-so-secret sauce . Also based in Rotterdam with the low touch team are Lars ter Braak and Martin van der Schans , making up Robeco ’ s entire global trading research refit . The pair sit on the desk with the execution team and have regular updates with the trading desk . According to Van der Schans , having a trading research offering is essential for assessing the wider picture of the markets , allowing the traders to focus their attention on what ’ s taking place on their blotters day-to-day .
“ The world of the traders is [ centralised around ] the trades they have to finish on a particular day ,” he says . “ For research , you need a bit more focus and some distance from what ' s going on . The skillset is different . Traders
Robbert Wijgerse Issue 79 // thetradenews . com // 19