Markets & Research
This stream is for students who want to understand why a trade might exist before anyone opens a backtest. The work is part market reading, part hypothesis design and part honest criticism of attractive-looking signals.
Example work
A few examples of what this stream could pick up inside SSI Labs.
01
Compare whether a short-term reversal idea behaves differently in quiet and high-volatility periods.
02
Map how funding, basis, order flow or liquidity might create pressure in crypto futures.
03
Write the first research note for a signal: market reason, universe, data needed, failure cases and tests.
Work
What this stream owns
- Form market hypotheses that can be proved wrong.
- Define the instrument, universe, holding period and economic reason for a signal.
- Work with software members to make sure the test matches the market idea.
- Look past the headline return and ask what turnover, drawdown, costs and capacity are saying.
- Explain the idea clearly enough that someone else can push back on it.
Preparation
What to build toward
- Market structure: order books, liquidity, funding, basis, fees and execution costs.
- Basic statistics and comfort reading backtest output.
- Python or notebooks for exploratory work is useful, but clear reasoning matters more at the start.
- Writing: short memos that explain the idea, assumptions and what would disprove it.
Fit
Who should look here
- You read market moves and immediately ask what mechanism caused them.
- You are comfortable saying an idea is interesting but not testable yet.
- You want to learn quant research from the market side, not just from code.
Reading
Further reading
A short list for understanding the work behind this stream.
- Market microstructure: a survey
A broad academic map of price formation, market design, transparency and trading frictions.
- Trading Mechanics and Market Structure
A useful primer on limit order markets, dealer markets, transparency and how trading rules shape markets.