Co-founder and Head of Quantitive Research: Dr. Don Huang

 

The Beginning: Choose risk and strive for greatness

 

Kelvin (CEO and Co-Founder of AQUMON) and I have been friends for many years, and I can count on him to keep things running smoothly at work.

 

He first came up with the idea that algorithms and big data could be a better way for wealth management. Since I thought it was forward-thinking, and it matched my quantitative research area, the spark of this idea turned into AQUMON today.

 

Like any other startups, things were tough and resources were limited when we first started.

 

Our first office was at a tiny house next to the Hong Kong University of Technology, and we had to do a lot of things on our own, including cleaning. Once we clogged the bathroom and had to get a manure truck for manure hauling.

 

Though the condition wasn’t the best back then, Alibaba saw the passion we have through our cramped office when they came for due diligence; that left them with a positive impression. 

 

The Present: Bet on the unstoppable rise of digital wealth management   

 

AQUMON has grown faster than expected since its inception due to three factors:

 

1.    Timing: We leverage smart technology and opened up the untapped market in the Asian digital wealth management space. AQUMON is the first independent robo advisor in Hong Kong to be licensed by HKSCF.

 

2.    Location: Having offices in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen, AQUMON seizes the growing opportunities the Greater Bay Area has to offer and set a solid foundation for FinTech.

 

3.    People: Our success is reflected in the support and help we received from our families, friends, and shareholders. We also have a team of seasoned young professionals who have the ideas, creativity, and energy to shape a better world.

 

Compared to traditional asset management, digital wealth management is different in three ways. 

 

Firstly, by using a scientific approach, we see investment as a stochastic optimization process – where we use Bayesian inference to constantly add new information to update probabilistic judgement for our algorithms.

 

Based on these probabilistic judgements, we then optimize portfolios while balancing returns and risks for investors.  

 

This scientific approach has attracted many PhDs and experts from the field of mathematics and science to AQUMON – about 70% of our employees had graduated from HKUST and are on the research side. 

 

I always encourage our team members to share their insights and findings -- we share challenges and celebrate successes together. We value transparency, innovation, and adaptability; I believe this helps with business development.

 

AQUMON has grown rapidly over the past years. 

 

One of our highlights is that we’ve partnered with China Asset Management (HK) to provide strategies for offshore fund distribution in 2018. Furthermore, our flagship product has a total return of 113.7% from 2019 to 2020, with an annualized return of around 46%.

 

The future: Take a leap of faith and trust them

 

Traditionally, investment focuses on macro levels, such as the macro economy and politics. It is also subject to key person risk, where fund managers have a significant impact on the performance of the company. 

 

On the other hand, quantitative investment strategies emphasis on micro-control; precision and science are its main advantages.

 

Although robo advisors are relatively new in Asia and quantitative investing only makes up for 16% of the Chinese market, the huge trading volume and liquidity of the Chinese market are favourable for quantitative investing. This untapped market has the potential to reach a trillion-dollar scale.

 

The quantitative investment industry is on the rise. In terms of digital wealth management, AQUMON will continue to develop new strategies. 

 

Over the past two years, we have set a solid foundation in China and we are hoping to launch more private equity products in China this year. Additionally, we are preparing to launch CTA and Fixed Income quantitative funds in mainland China to further expand our business.

 

Advice for the younger generation

 

1. Dream big and take risks

 

Life is like an option: the downside is limited while the upside is infinite. So like a Call Option, you need to increase the volatility to make yourself more valuable.

 

2. Choose the right path and head to a promising future

 

You should work in an industry that you are passionate about and has growth potential.

 

3. Choose a reliable team 

 

A good R&D atmosphere helps you grow professionally and individually. Enjoy the work you do and use your skills and creativity to bring positive changes to the world.

 

 

 

 

About us

As a leading startup in the FinTech space, AQUMON aims to make sophisticated investment advice cost-effective, transparent and accessible to both institutional and retail markets, via the adoptions of scalable technology platforms and automated investment algorithms.

AQUMON’s parent company Magnum Research Limited is licensed with Type 1, 4 and 9 under the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. In 2017, AQUMON became the first independent Robo Advisor to be accredited by the SFC.

AQUMON’s major investors include the HKUST, Cyberport, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund and the Bank of China International's affiliate.

 

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