> So if you are writing your own trading models you should start by answering the question of what's your alpha when compared to everyone else....
This has been true of markets since well before computers got involved. When thousands of atomic participants are involved, what's your edge? The truth though is that participants "cluster" and "herd", and algos do too. Witness the correlation between all the algo hedge funds. Markets are prone to group psychology. Savvy, often contrarian-minded (or at the least "independent" minded) individuals always did, and still do, have a chance, and that includes algorithmic originality.
This has been true of markets since well before computers got involved. When thousands of atomic participants are involved, what's your edge? The truth though is that participants "cluster" and "herd", and algos do too. Witness the correlation between all the algo hedge funds. Markets are prone to group psychology. Savvy, often contrarian-minded (or at the least "independent" minded) individuals always did, and still do, have a chance, and that includes algorithmic originality.