| Topic Name: |
SAS vs S-Plus |
| Message Name: |
Thanks for the great answer! |
| Date Posted: |
08/25/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
I am head of quant research at one of the very biggest investment managers. I know the dominant software used at at the biggest quant firms/quant departments: Barclays Global Investors, SSGA, Deutsche Asset Management, First Quadrant, GMO, Panagora, Numeric, MSAM, GSAM, etc.
I am expert in all 3 languages you mention. Learn SAS before S-Plus. It will make you more marketable, period. Re. SAS vs. Matlab, Matlab is a little more intuitive and is superior at matrix manipulation. It is fine for smaller problems, such as asset allocation decisions where you might be dealing with fewer than 100 securities. But SAS is far superior at handling large datasets (Matlab is limited in its ability to handle character types), has a seamless SQL interface, and far greater built-in statistical and econometric capability. Quant investment management is often more about handling vast quantities of data than anything else.
P.S. The is the first time I've ever visited this site, and while it's interesting to browse the boards, 75% of the info posted here is flat out wrong.
Good luck. |
| Message: |
You're right, much of the info here is bogus, but you haven't seen the worst of it until you read the I-Banking board.
Having accumulated +10 yrs Matlab experience, I've become so enamored with it, it'll be hard to use anything else.
While on the subject (and considering that few people who know anything ever visit these boards), I'd like to ask for some career advise. I have an MS in engineering from a top 5 school, and an MBA in finance from a so-so school (hey, it was free). What I really want is to break into risk management, even if it's just as a programmer. If I could only do one thing right now, which would be more value added for my career, get a risk management certification from PRMIA, or learn SAS?
Thanks in advance. If you don't want to post your answer here write me at servoengineer@yahoo.com.
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