Kecheng Shi

Portrait of Kecheng Shi in a light blue shirt

Hi, I’m Kecheng. I earned my master’s in Mathematics of Finance at Columbia, and I’m based in New York. I enjoy taking a mathematical idea through to working code, then testing it against real market data. My research has taken me from trading strategies in Shanghai to cross-asset portfolios in New York.

I’m curious by nature and skeptical of a result that looks too good—including my own. I want to understand what drives it, which assumptions matter, and what would change my mind. I also enjoy making complicated ideas easier to discuss, something I practiced as a teaching assistant for Machine Learning for Finance.

Outside work, I’m a 2300-rated blitz chess player. I enjoy making decisions under pressure, then going back to understand what I missed. That habit of thinking, testing, and reviewing carries into my research. The projects below give you a closer look at how I work.

Projects & research.

Public project · AlgoTrading

Strategy research & paper trading

Signals connected to paper orders and risk checks

Made research runs traceable from signals to paper orders. I connected EMA–ADX and Z-score strategies, Alpaca paper execution, and independent risk monitoring with saved configurations and order telemetry.

PythonAlpacaPostgreSQL

Numeraxial · Professional research

Cross-asset portfolio research

Equity, macroeconomic, and FX data used to build a portfolio allocation

Made three allocation methods comparable on consistent market data. At Numeraxial, I standardized Bloomberg inputs to compare mean–variance, Black–Litterman, and HRP portfolios on drawdowns, turnover, and risk contributions.

PythonSQLBloomberg

Columbia · Academic project

Factor risk & portfolio construction

59 industry and six style factors connected to portfolio weights

Linear and neural models produced similar saved test errors. I modeled factor-adjusted equity returns, then compared historical portfolio profit, exposures, and risk across both models.

PythonNumPySciPy

CQF · Academic study

SPY classification study

Features passed through a decision tree for classification

Tuning improved the saved same-day classification score. I compared baseline and tuned XGBoost models; the same-day target and feature-selection timing limit forecasting claims.

Pythonscikit-learnXGBoost

Experience

Numeraxial LLC Quantitative Research Intern

July 2025 – Present

Standardized market data and built reusable research tools to compare market regimes and portfolio allocations under constraints. Project details

Western Securities Co., Ltd. Quantitative Analyst Intern

January 2024 – July 2024

Tested EMA–ADX and Z-score cryptocurrency strategies, evaluating parameter sensitivity, trading costs, turnover, value at risk (VaR), and drawdowns.

Skills & technologies

Python systematic trading backtesting portfolio risk machine learning factor models portfolio construction XGBoost SQL regime analysis paper trading data validation feature engineering Black–Litterman mean–variance HRP HMM VaR drawdown analysis trading costs parameter sensitivity turnover risk contributions stock-specific risk trend following mean reversion feature selection regularized regression neural networks weighted least squares clustering Bloomberg pandas NumPy SciPy scikit-learn PostgreSQL Alpaca Docker Git

Education

Columbia University M.A. in Mathematics of Finance

September 2024 – December 2025

GPA: 3.94/4.0

Teaching assistant · Machine Learning for Finance (MATH GR5430)

Coursework

Machine Learning, Time Series Modeling, Stochastic Process, Programming for Computational Finance, Numerical Methods, Derivatives Trading, Option Pricing.

Low Library and Alma Mater at Columbia University
Low Library · Columbia University

University of Liverpool B.Sc. in Mathematics with Finance

September 2020 – May 2024

GPA: 3.83/4.0 · First-class honours (WES report)

Coursework

Stochastic Theory, Linear Statistical Models, Mathematical Risk Theory, Applied Probability, Derivative Securities, Numerical Methods, Operational Research, Statistics and Probability, Financial Reporting.

Victoria Building and University Square at the University of Liverpool
Victoria Building · University of Liverpool

Certificates

Background & interests

Work authorization: Currently on OPT · STEM OPT

Where I’ve studied and worked

World map showing the locations described below

New York Based here

I studied Mathematics of Finance at Columbia and now work on quantitative research at Numeraxial.

Liverpool

I completed my B.Sc. in Mathematics with Finance at the University of Liverpool.

Suzhou & Shanghai

I studied in Suzhou and worked as a quantitative analyst intern at Western Securities in Shanghai.

Languages

  • EnglishBilingual
  • ChineseBilingual
  • Spanish
  • French

Outside work