Habit Formation, Labor Supply, and the Dynamics of Retirement and Annuitization

The decision to annuitize wealth in retirement planning has become increasingly complex due to rising longevity risk and changing retirement patterns, including increased labor force participation at older ages. While an extensive literature studies consumption, labor, and annuitization decisions, t

February 2, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Reliable Real-Time Value at Risk Estimation via Quantile Regression Forest with Conformal Calibration

Rapidly evolving market conditions call for real-time risk monitoring, but its online estimation remains challenging. In this paper, we study the online estimation of one of the most widely used risk measures, Value at Risk (VaR). Its accurate and reliable estimation is essential for timely risk con

February 2, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

The Innovation Tax: Generative AI Adoption, Productivity Paradox, and Systemic Risk in the U.S. Banking Sector

This paper evaluates the causal impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) adoption on productivity and systemic risk in the U.S. banking sector. Using a novel dataset linking SEC 10-Q filings to Federal Reserve regulatory data for 809 financial institutions over 2018–2025, we employ two

February 2, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

A Methodology to Measure Impacts of Scenarios Through Expected Credit Losses

In this paper, we present a methodology for measuring the impact of scenarios on the expected losses of exposures by leveraging the existing provisioning infrastructure within financial institutions, where scenario effects are captured through changes in probabilities of default. We then describe ho

February 1, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

ASRI: An Aggregated Systemic Risk Index for Cryptocurrency Markets

We introduce the Aggregated Systemic Risk Index (ASRI), comprising four weighted sub-indices: Stablecoin Concentration Risk (30%), DeFi Liquidity Risk (25%), Contagion Risk (25%), and Regulatory Opacity Risk (20%). Using data from DeFi Llama, Federal Reserve FRED, and on-chain analytics, we validate

February 1, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Autonomous AI Agents for Option Hedging: Enhancing Financial Stability through Shortfall Aware Reinforcement Learning

The deployment of autonomous AI agents in derivatives markets has widened a practical gap between static model calibration and realized hedging outcomes. We introduce two reinforcement learning frameworks, a novel Replication Learning of Option Pricing (RLOP) approach and an adaptive extension of Q-

February 1, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

The Extremity Premium: Sentiment Regimes and Adverse Selection in Cryptocurrency Markets

Using the Crypto Fear & Greed Index and Bitcoin daily data, we document that sentiment extremity predicts excess uncertainty beyond realized volatility. Extreme fear and extreme greed regimes exhibit significantly higher spreads than neutral periods – a phenomenon we term the “extremity premium.” E

February 1, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Was Benoit Mandelbrot a hedgehog or a fox?

Benoit Mandelbrot’s scientific legacy spans an extraordinary range of disciplines, from linguistics and fluid turbulence to cosmology and finance, suggesting the intellectual temperament of a “fox” in Isaiah Berlin’s famous dichotomy of thinkers. This essay argues, however, that Mandelbrot was, at h

February 1, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Explainable Patterns in Cryptocurrency Microstructure

We document stable cross-asset patterns in cryptocurrency limit-order-book microstructure: the same engineered order book and trade features exhibit remarkably similar predictive importance and SHAP dependence shapes across assets spanning an order of magnitude in market capitalization (BTC, LTC, ET

January 31, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Non-standard analysis for coherent risk estimation: hyperfinite representations, discrete Kusuoka formulae, and plug-in asymptotics

We develop a non-standard analysis framework for coherent risk measures and their finite-sample analogues, coherent risk estimators, building on recent work of Aichele, Cialenco, Jelito, and Pitera. Coherent risk measures on $L^\infty$ are realised as standard parts of internal support functionals o

January 31, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Short-Rate-Dependent Volatility Models

We price European options in a class of models in which the volatility of the underlying risky asset depends on the short rate of interest. Our study results in an explicit pricing formula that depends on knowledge of a characteristic function. We provide examples of models in which the characterist

January 31, 2026 · 1 min · thequant.space

The Impact of Trump-Era Tariffs on Financial Market Efficiency

This study examines the effects of Trump-era tariffs on financial market efficiency by applying multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis to the return and absolute return time series of six major financial assets: the S&P 500, SSEC, VIX, BTC/USD, EUR/USD, and Gold. Using the Hurst exponent $h(2)

January 31, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

A unified theory of order flow, market impact, and volatility

We propose a microstructural model for the order flow in financial markets that distinguishes between {\it core orders} and {\it reaction flow}, both modeled as Hawkes processes. This model has a natural scaling limit that reconciles a number of salient empirical properties: persistent signed order

January 30, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Generative AI for Stock Selection

We study whether generative AI can automate feature discovery in U.S. equities. Using large language models with retrieval-augmented generation and structured/programmatic prompting, we synthesize economically motivated features from analyst, options, and price-volume data. These features are then u

January 30, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Null-Validated Topological Signatures of Financial Market Dynamics

Financial markets exhibit temporal organization that is not fully captured by volatility measures or linear correlation structure. We study a null validated topological approach for quantifying market complexity and apply it to Bitcoin daily log returns. The analysis uses the $L^1$ norm of persisten

January 30, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Numerical Simulations for Time-Fractional Black-Scholes Equations

This paper implements an efficient numerical algorithm for the time-fractional Black-Scholes model governing European options. The proposed method comprises the Crank-Nicolson approach to discretize the time variable and exponential B-spline approximation for the space variable. The implemented meth

January 30, 2026 · 1 min · thequant.space

Adaptive Benign Overfitting (ABO): Overparameterized RLS for Online Learning in Non-stationary Time-series

Overparameterized models have recently challenged conventional learning theory by exhibiting improved generalization beyond the interpolation limit, a phenomenon known as benign overfitting. This work introduces Adaptive Benign Overfitting (ABO), extending the recursive least-squares (RLS) framework

January 29, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Alpha Discovery via Grammar-Guided Learning and Search

Automatically discovering formulaic alpha factors is a central problem in quantitative finance. Existing methods often ignore syntactic and semantic constraints, relying on exhaustive search over unstructured and unbounded spaces. We present AlphaCFG, a grammar-based framework for defining and disco

January 29, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Diverse Approaches to Optimal Execution Schedule Generation

We present the first application of MAP-Elites, a quality-diversity algorithm, to trade execution. Rather than searching for a single optimal policy, MAP-Elites generates a diverse portfolio of regime-specialist strategies indexed by liquidity and volatility conditions. Individual specialists achiev

January 29, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space

Finite-Sample Properties of Model Specification Tests for Multivariate Dynamic Regression Models

We propose a new model specification test for multiple-equation systems with cross-equation error and dynamic regressor–error dependences. Conventional tests often rely on exogeneity conditions strong enough to ensure consistency of the OLS estimator. These exogeneity conditions are violated when r

January 29, 2026 · 2 min · thequant.space