Oxford Algorithmic Trading Programme

Algorithmic trading has been around since the 1970s, but the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence has accelerated its advance substantially. This allows trading algorithms to find market efficiencies and recognise profitable patterns on their own accord, which allows for the performance of these algorithms to often exceed those of professional traders and financial advisors. Trading occurs at an immense pace, making it impossible for a human trader to stay on top of everything.

Successful algorithmic trading will lead to the breaking up of a large order into multiple smaller pieces, the spreads being traded on to be narrowed, the possibility of providing liquidity, and the benefit of you focussing more of your time on issues where human intelligence and judgement add the most value.

Algorithmic trading strategies differ to manual trading where you will be susceptible to human emotion. The algorithmic trading system removes human emotion and irrational decisions from the market. Using algorithmic trading strategies ultimately leads to lower transaction costs because of the saved opportunity cost of constantly having to monitor the markets.