The Compass

ATS Trading Solutions · The Compass

Find Your Way Through ATS

A curated map through the ideas, evidence and practice of systematic trading under uncertainty.

ATS has grown into a large body of work. There are foundations, research studies, long-form series, current market reports, practitioner conversations and deeper explorations of the kind of markets systematic traders actually inhabit.

The Compass exists so that none of it has to be approached as a chronological archive. It is the organised way in.

Choose the route that matches the question you are trying to answer.

The Compass guides. The Vault retrieves. Use The Compass when you want a curated path through the ATS framework. Use The Vault when you already know what you are looking for and want to search the complete archive.

Choose your route

Route 01

Start Here

New to ATS, or simply want the map before choosing a direction? Begin with the page that explains how the major ideas fit together.

Open Start Here →
Route 02

Foundations

The core machinery of systematic trading: systems, edge, sizing, diversification, noise, drawdowns, backtesting, equity curves and process.

Explore Foundations →
Route 03

Research & Evidence

The empirical work: fat tails, outlier distributions, variance, volatility, correlation, compounding, path dependence and robustness.

Explore Research & Evidence →
Route 04

Complex Markets

Complex adaptive systems, emergence, reflexivity, fractals, embedded agents, path dependence and the limits of prediction.

Explore Complex Markets →
Route 05

Practice

Where principles become machinery: system architecture, portfolio construction, position sizing, execution, rollover and implementation.

Explore Practice →
Route 06

Reports & Conversations

Current market observation, historical trend reports and conversations with systematic managers, researchers and practitioners.

Explore Reports & Conversations →

How the pieces fit together

Not sure where to begin?

If you are new to systematic trading, begin with Start Here and then move into Foundations.

If you already understand the basic machinery, go directly to Outlier Hunting or choose Research & Evidence, Complex Markets, Practice or Reports & Conversations.

There is no required reading order. The Compass is not a syllabus. It is a way of keeping a large body of work navigable as it continues to grow.

The territory will continue to expand. The job of The Compass is to make sure the reader never has to wander through it without a map.

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