How we can apply Machine Learning in Finance

A basic introdution to machine learning

A simple introduction into machine learning and AI

A very interesting approach to explain Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning

An introduction to Artificial Intelligence with many real life examples

Machine learning and neural networks for image recognition

The first course in a series on machine learning from the Stanford Computer Science Department

The first course of the MIT Open Course Ware

Applying machine learning to analyzing the Limit Order Book - A Deep Learning Approach

Machine learning and deep learning for image recognition

Examining two of the main problems with machine learning, regression, and classification

In case you want to do it yourself: the journey of a guy teaching himself AI and machine learning and where to get information and courses from

Deutsche Asset Management ETF Strategist Rob Bush explains factors

If you have a good investing idea that uses ETFs, do you convert this into an ETF and then track the index or instead go ahead and launch the proposition as a new ETFs? So many choices and so little time

At the recent Morningstar conference in the US, Tom Lydon interviews Heather Fischer, Vice President of ETF Platform Management, Charles Schwab about their announcement to extend the number of ETFs offered on a commission free basis.

In this video ETF report from Doug Fabian, we hear a very straight forward explanation as to what was driving the severe sell-off in the markets during July. It is good to hear some good news on the China front. A recent communication with one of the traders on the delta one desk at Morgan Stanley provided me with the performance stats for all 19 China based ETFs, 12 of which now have at least one year of track record. With the exception of one, all of the other 11 had returned at least 14.5% during that first year.

In many ways when choosing to invest using ETFs, one is leaving the investment process within the ETF to others. In this video featuring John Reilly, Chief Investments Officer at Implemented Portfolios, he explains in very straightforward terms the benefits of using ETFs when constructing your portfolio.

In this video Craig Lazzara, Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI discusses why smart beta is a misnomer. At Twenty20 we like the smart beta debate that is getting louder by the day, and not for the reason you most likely think. ETFs themselves have come under incredible scrutiny in a way one could only dream of with other less transparent financial products. Now it is the turn of smart beta.

While most investors were cat napping during the early days of smart beta, Rob Arnott was busy forging ahead with his Rafi index constructions. In this video, John Authers from The Financial Times interviews Rob to help better understand when crowding in a trade could turn smart into not so smart investing.

Jim Simons talks us through on his thoughts about what did or did not cause the 2010 flash crash for all of those seven minutes. With Michael Lewis back in the news with his new book, Flash Boys, it is quite sobering to hear a less than hysterical view on high frequency trading from a person who views Twenty20 places a lot of store by.

Our Country Rotation iBasket continues to include exposure to MSCI India, and with the recent elections in India now a couple of weeks behind us, it seems there might be scope for at least one of the BRIC countries to leave behind the difficult trading conditions of the last couple of years. This video from Ewen Cameron Watt provides some insight and analysis on how the markets may react to the election results.

Not all ETFs are created equal, and likewise not all emerging markets are the same. With a number of developed market equity indices heading for record high, the likelihood that there is value to be found further afield seems ever more likely. This brief note from Sophia Whitbread, Portfolio Manager for the Dreyfus Global Emerging Markets Fund reinforces that view.

For many years the average individual in the UK saved less than their continental cousins. Not in the future, as the budget of 2014 will be remembered as the defining moment when the savings game finally changed. Following the example from the US, expect a larger percentage of retail investors to start taking control of their investment needs by using Exchange Traded Funds. This will likely happen as they progress through their career and will persist beyond retirement age. Having learned how to responsibly save and invest over many years, it is hardly likely that a huge percentage will blow their pension on a new Lamborghini. For those that do, good luck to them!

In the world of ETFs investing it is amazing how often market professional misconstrue the issue of liquidity. Although ETFs trade like stocks, the relationship between the market makers and the ETFs managers makes for a different price formation process. In this video David Abner, Head of Capital Markets at WisdomTree talks through the issues of ETF liquidity and explains the intricacies of the market making process.

This video is from one of my favorite authors Don Tapscott who did the rounds with his book Wikinomics some 8 years ago. From the non-profit organization TEDD, Tapscott presents his recipe for fixing Wall Street. Of particular note is his emphasis on the role that transparency plays and on that basis it would be interesting to know what his views are on the ETF industry?

Predicting what is going to happen next in the financial markets is famously difficult, but if you are Eric Schmidt, then predicting the future is seemingly much easier. By the way, if you are watching this on a laptop or PC, then one thing is clear, Mr Google considers you a dinosaur!

Props to Sebastian da Cunha for flagging up the Harvard Business Review article by Niraj Dawar on LinkedIn recently. In the context of the investment management industry what should the fees be when offering investment management services? With the continuing rise in popularity of model portfolios, the race to the bottom in fees charges, suggests to me some practitioners have got it badly wrong. Sure many active managers have underperformed their benchmark but there is more to what constitutes skill and performance than first meets the eye. So would it ever make sense in investment management to offer the same product for different fees when offered under different circumstances?

Catch the next wave of investment utilities as the San Francisco based iShares investment team provides an overview of how they construct a goal orientated ETF portfolio. Expect more of these types of tools in the years ahead. Fidelity comes to mind with their Navigator tool, but do not expect this topic to be dominated by the super sized investment managers. Imagine a future where investment solutions actually met the goals of an end investor. Now that would be impressive!

Joanne Hill, Head of Investment Strategy at ProShares Advisors, talks to Tom Lydon from ETFTrends about the benefits of constructing a Bond ETF such that it is insensitive to the potential of rising interest rates. With taper talk still very much on the menu you can be sure this topic will not go away.

When designing a new ETF it is so easy to get blinded by your own good idea. Heaven forbid that one might design an ETF from the viewpoint of an end investor. Why do so many ETFs have so little assets under management, is it because there is simply too many products on offer? This timeless clip sees Steve Jobs reply to a member of the awkward squad who forgets technology should be designed for the benefit of the customer and not for the benefit of the programmer.

ETFs are disrupting the cosy world of fund management post RDR? In this classic video from Clayton Christensen he carefully explains the ideas behind his thesis of disruptive innovation. Subsequently one can quite quickly see how the impact of ETFs on the investment world is a text book case study of that disruption in action.

Innovation can be an awkward thing. As one recalls the view from one or two individuals over the last couple of years that do not get the ETF thing, one can only laugh out loud at Steve Ballmer and his tirade against the prospects of the iPhone.

Steve Cucchiaro, CIO of Windhaven Investments, possibly the biggest user of ETFs in the US, shares his thoughts on a number of investment themes and opportunities in the markets with Tom Lydon at the Morningstar ETF Invest Conference

Here’s a short piece from journalist and editor of Shares magazine, Russ Mould, on some of the themes that will drive the markets in 2014

The rise of the ETF Strategist continues. Here’s the latest update from Morningstar’s analyst Andy Gogerty. One can only guess how out of date his stats will be for ETF Managed Portfolios when he reports back at next year’s conference

From the economist who is now also famous for his Northern Soul dancing skills, comes this critique of how the ideas of the Russian economist Kondratieff can be applied to our understanding of the business cycle

In what seems like next to no time at all, smart beta funds all of a sudden seem to be attracting the smart money. Dan Draper Managing Director of Global ETFs, Invesco PowerShares shares his thoughts with Tom Lydon at the Morningstar ETF Invest Conference.

Irene Bauer, a partner at Twenty20 Investments and panel speaker at the IR Magazine Think Tank – Europe, Winter 2012, explains why exchange traded funds are proving so popular with the investment community and the different ways they are used by portfolio managers.

David Marsh, author of the book "The Euro: The Battle for the New Global Currency", and Chairman of the advisory board of London & Oxford, draws from a wealth of experience on the Eurozone countries from his years as a financial journalist and editor. In this video he talks about the creation and the history of the Euro currency, from its success during the first years to its current problems and potential outcomes.

If you are a novice to ETFs, this video put together by iShares gives a good introduction on some of the aspects of ETFs. While ETFs may seem like stocks, they are quite different in how they are put together. The video explains the portfolio management of an ETF, how ETFs are traded and provides detailed insight into the creation and redemption process.

Nobel Laureate Harry Markowitz is best known for his pioneering work on Modern Portfolio Theory. More than 50 years after its first publication, his research is still being utilized by fund managers and institutional investors around the world to maximize returns and reduce risks. In this interview, he talks about the typical mistakes made by small investors and the best way to diversify.

If the finance industry could design products with only a fraction of the beauty and utility that Jonathan Ive has become famous for while working at Apple, the world would be a better place. His tribute to Steve Jobs is the one that carries the most weight because nobody will have worked closer to him than Jonathan Ive will have done.

As we hurtle towards the brave new world of 2013, in the UK the FSA led retail distribution review (RDR) is resulting in the biggest free for all shake up of the fund management industry. With so many business models changing by the day, one can only imagine ‘What would Google do?’ if they were left to re-design the finance industry.

John Maynard Keynes seems to be more popular now than ever before, and with the European Debt Crisis continuing to loom large, and the on-going debate around a centralized bailout fund not yet resolved (21st Oct 2012) his popularity continues apace.

This interview with the author of the provocative book, Super Crunchers, captures the spirit of how some of the professional insiders of the finance industry exploit vast amounts of market data and economic data to gain an edge when looking to deliver alpha and outperform their peers.

The application of forecasting models is well known in the world of finance, but more recently the success of quantitative prediction scored a major success when ex baseball forecaster Nate Silver managed to outperform almost all political pundits by predicting the outcome of the US election on a state by state basis.

We are now in an era where the ETF industry offers a wide range of products that target emerging market investment returns with a growing demand for ever more exposures. In Ruchir Sharma’s compelling book, he offers his thesis which in short asks that the investment world should more strongly than ever before differentiate amongst the various emerging market countries.