Fire Up Your iPad, Build Your Own Algo

If you have an Apple iPad you can build your own trading algorithm with UBS QUOD Studio, the first offering from the bank's 'UBS Quant on Demand Executing Consulting Platform.'

According to a company press statement, UBS QUOD Studio allows "UBS algorithmic trading team members to collaborate with clients to rapidly design, simulate and develop execution strategies for trading in the securities markets."

Unlike other iPad apps that are available from Apple, UBS says that "[t]his app will remain proprietary to UBS and will not be deployed in the App Store."

"Our aim is to turn the process of product development and execution consulting on its head -- making our platform client-centric and more immediate," says Owain Self, global head of algorithmic trading at UBS.

Self adds, "The first tool we are launching in this family is 'UBS QUOD Studio' -- an iPad-based application that delivers a next-generation, rapid algorithmic development framework. UBS Quant on Demand will, over time, deliver a series of highly sophisticated and automated quantitative, consultative and personalized solutions to clients 'on demand.'"

According to Phil Allison, global head of cash for UBS: "What makes QUOD Studio unique is that UBS is custom fitting our technology to meet client needs, not vice-versa. Traders can simulate performance of algorithms before they build them - so they can try "what if" scenarios to see how the outcomes may change when various components and triggers are changed."

UBS claims that with the UBS QUOD Studio iPad app, "a process that used to take months -- requiring quantitative analysts and developers to code thousands of lines of commands and engage in weeks of testing and adjustments -- is now possible in 24 hours."

UBS will make the new platform available immediately for UBS specialist-driven clients in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. It will be rolled out across the Asia-Pacific region later this year. Phil Albinus is the former editor-in-chief of Advanced Trading. He has nearly two decades of journalism experience and has been covering financial technology and regulation for nine years. Before joining Advanced Trading, he served as editor of Waters, a monthly trade journal ... View Full Bio