Start here
Begin with the Jim Simons biography and an Odd Lots conversation. Move to the research books when you want more detail, and the philosophy section when your focus is consistency under uncertainty.
Choose a question before a resource
What are you trying to understand: a research workflow, a risk decision, or a firm’s structure? Choose one item, take notes on that question, and keep track of what you still need to investigate.
This is a short companion to QSG’s full reading list, published September 16, 2026. The original contains longer commentary and context.
Trading & systematic research
The Man Who Solved the Market
Jim Simons, Renaissance Technologies and the development of a quantitative firm.
Finding Alphas
Strategy ideas, model evaluation and the pitfalls of research.
Quantitative Portfolio Management
Data, features and the workflow of systematic strategy development.
Market Wizards series
Practitioner interviews about decisions and risk. See the Ed Thorp chapter in Hedge Fund Market Wizards.
Beat the Dealer / Beat the Market
Historical accounts connecting probability, testing and execution.
Philosophy & discipline
Meditations
Discipline and perspective under pressure.
The Art of War
Preparation, strategy and choosing engagements.
Discourses and Selected Writings
Process, control and resilience when outcomes remain uncertain.
Podcasts & conversations
These are dated conversations. Roles, firms and market conditions may have changed since recording.
Luke Ellis: systematic investing and leadership
Peter Brown: research at Renaissance Technologies
Pod shops and market structure
Giuseppe Paleologo: working at multi-strategy firms
Rich Falk-Wallace: risk and capital allocation
Joe Peta: evaluating trading talent
Dan Morillo: the economics of multi-strategy firms
Connect the reading to the research
For a practical next step, open a historical QSG research sample and use the accompanying guide to identify its inputs, assumptions and dated evidence.
- How to read index rebalance flows: connect estimated demand to liquidity and the event date.
- How to read merger arbitrage research: connect a spread to consideration, conditions and the next milestone.
You can also find the reading list on QSG’s main website.
These resources are for education. They do not provide a trading recommendation or guarantee profitable results. Read the Terms & Research Disclosures.