Scott Patterson (author)

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Scott Patterson
Born (1969-12-29) December 29, 1969 (age 54)
Occupation(s)Journalist, author

Scott Patterson (born December 29, 1969)[1] is an American financial journalist and bestselling author.[2][3] He is a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal and author of Dark Pools: High-Speed Traders, A.I. Bandits, and the Threat to the Global Financial System and The New York Times bestselling book The Quants.[4][5][6]

Journalism[edit]

Patterson has as Master of Arts and English degree from James Madison University.[7][8] Patterson is a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal covering government regulation of the financial industry.[8] His coverage has included high-profile interviews with Mark Cuban, Warren Buffett, Edward Thorp and others.[9][10][11]

He has been described as the "go-to guy" for high-tech journalism, covering topics such as dark pools, flash crashes, algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading (HFT).[3][12][13][14][15]

Patterson is an active critic of high-frequency trading, citing HFT as a major cause of market volatility and preferential treatment of select firms, yet acknowledging HFT role as market makers.[16] He is a proponent of greater government oversight on the markets, pointing out that they cannot keep up with Wall Street innovation. He names this as a cause of decreased public confidence in the markets.[17][18] Patterson attributes the Flash Crash to a combination of all these issues.[13]

Books[edit]

The Quants[edit]

In 2010, Patterson wrote The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It, a bestseller that was published by Crown Publishing.[19] The book outlines computer-driven quantitative trading by following the lives of four "quants." These quants are highly educated whiz kids that created complex mathematical algorithms to exploit market inefficiencies.[6]

Ultimately, the reliance on computer-driven trading was attributed to meltdowns such as Black Monday, the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management, and Great Credit Crackup.[20] The history of quantitative trading is covered, including early quants such as Edward Thorp and how much of the early knowledge was applied from lessons learned at blackjack tables.[21] The book also highlights interactions with people against quantitative trading including Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of Black Swan.[22]

Dark Pools[edit]

On June 12, 2012, Patterson released Dark Pools: High-Speed Traders, A.I. Bandits, and the Threat to the Global Financial System.[16][23][24][25][26] The book expands on The Quants to show how the rise of algorithmic trading, artificial intelligence bots, and high-frequency trading have rigged the current stock market.[13][27] Patterson also discusses how governmental agencies, like the SEC, cannot keep up with the rapid evolution of technology.[17]

These new innovations show no sign of slowing, and Patterson describes AI Bots, Dark Pools, and HFT as the future of trading.[28]

The Globe and Mail described Dark Pools as "the best book going on the issue."[16]

Reception[edit]

Patterson's debut book The Quants went on to become a New York Times Bestseller.[5] Due to the success of the first book, Patterson began working on Dark Pools to expand on the issues covered in The Quants.[7]

Patterson's style of writing has been compared to author Michael Lewis, due to his ability to relay complex financial topics in a way suitable for mass appeal.[2][23][24] His journalism has been praised for its depth, particularly in cataloging the roots of current market technologies.[29] Patterson's work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNBC, Forbes, CNN, Fortune magazine, Rolling Stone, Scientific American, and the Financial Times, among others.[2][4][19][20][21][27][30]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Scott Patterson". Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors (Collection). Gale. 2011. ISBN 9780787639952. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Cendrowski, Scott (June 22, 2012). "Reasons to fear Wall Street's high-tech traders". CNN Money. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Coyne, Shawn (June 1, 2012). "The 500 Dark Pools". Steven Pressfield Online.
  4. ^ a b Hurt, Harry. "In Practice, Stock Formulas Weren't Perfect". New York Times.
  5. ^ a b "Hardcover Business Best Sellers". New York Times. March 5, 2010.
  6. ^ a b Pressley, James (February 18, 2010). "How Quants Made a Killing—and Made a Mess". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on April 24, 2010.
  7. ^ a b Ritholtz, Barry (December 8, 2010). "A Conversation with Scott Patterson, The Quants". Ritholtz.
  8. ^ a b "Author Bio: Scott Patterson". Amazon.
  9. ^ Patterson, Scott (June 26, 2012). "Mark Cuban: High-Frequency Traders Are the Ultimate Hackers". Wall Street Journal.
  10. ^ Patterson, Scott (December 14, 2009). "In Year of Investing Dangerously, Buffett Looked 'Into the Abyss'". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ "'The Quants': It Pays To Know Your Wall Street Math". NPR. February 1, 2010.
  12. ^ Patterson, Scott (June 27, 2012). "High-Frequency Trading Has Made Markets More Efficient — Larry Tabb". Wall Street Journal.
  13. ^ a b c Patterson, Scott (June 10, 2012). "Breakdown: A Glimpse Inside the 'Flash Crash'". Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ Patterson, Scott (April 9, 2012). "Trading Mysteries Extend Deeper Than Dark Pools". Wall Street Journal.
  15. ^ Patterson, Scott (June 13, 2012). "Q & A: The Volcker Rule". Wall Street Journal.
  16. ^ a b c Erman, Boyd (July 9, 2012). "A critic sees some good in the high-frequency trader". Globe and Mail.
  17. ^ a b Falkenstein, Eric (June 20, 2012). "DARK POOLS: Despite The Scary Title, This Is A Good History Of High Speed Trading". BusinessInsider.
  18. ^ "Scott Patterson AMA". Reddit. July 6, 2012.
  19. ^ a b Patterson, Scott (January 22, 2010). "The Minds Behind the Meltdown". Wall Street Journal.
  20. ^ a b Patterson, Scott (September 22, 2011). "How Math Whizzes Helped Sink the Economy". Scientific American.
  21. ^ a b Patterson, Scott (February 11, 2010). "Wall St maths geniuses whose models did not add up". Financial Times.
  22. ^ Task, Aaron (February 11, 2010). "Rise of the Machines: How "Quant" Trading Triggered the Credit Crisis". Yahoo! Finance.
  23. ^ a b Brown, Aaron (June 26, 2012). ""Dark Pools": An Exciting Thriller That Will Teach You About Trading". Minyanville.
  24. ^ a b Carter, Jeff (July 9, 2012). "Dark Pools: High-Speed Traders, A.I. Bandits, and the Threat to the Global Financial System". Points and Figures.
  25. ^ "Jon Stewart Interviews 'The Quants' Author: Did Physicists Bring Down Wall Street?". Huffington Post. May 5, 2010.
  26. ^ Stewart, Jon (March 4, 2010). "Scott Patterson". The Daily Show.
  27. ^ a b "High Speed Threats to Global Financial Systems". CNBC. June 12, 2012.
  28. ^ "Taking The Market Out Of The Market". SeekingAlpha. June 22, 2012.
  29. ^ Covel, Michael (June 21, 2012). "Scott Patterson — Dark Pools: High-Speed Traders, A.I. Bandits, and the Threat to the Global Financial System". Michael Covel.
  30. ^ Leinweber, David (July 11, 2012). "The Algorithmic Monsters Threatening The Global Financial System". Forbes.

External links[edit]

  • Books
    • Patterson, Scott (2010). The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It. ISBN 978-0307453372.
    • Patterson, Scott (2012). Dark Pools: High-Speed Traders, A.I. Bandits, and the Threat to the Global Financial System. ISBN 978-0307887177.
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