“Quants” say their bosses don't understand them

A staggering two thirds of quantitative analysts (Quants) think their supervisors do not understand the work they do, according to a survey from training firm “7city Learning”.
The poll of almost 400 active quants and risk professionals reveals a significant gap in understanding between them and their supervisors.

Quants and risk managers have been pointed to by many economists as one of the principle reasons the global financial crisis escalated so precipitously.

Yet 86% of quants feel their supervisors' level of understanding of the job of a quant is the same or worse than it was a year ago. In addition, 70% feel that the level of understanding of the role of quants within their institutions has decreased or has not changed at all from a year ago.

Paul Wilmott, director of 7city's Certificate in Quantitative Finance course, says: "These numbers are alarming. They indicate that even with the events of the past year, financial institutions are still not taking the importance of financial education seriously, especially as it pertains to improving relationships and understanding between quants and their managers."
A recent report by financial regulatory agencies called on financial services firms to make substantial and sustained investments in IT infrastructure if they are to overcome severe underlying weaknesses in their risk management capabilities.

The Senior Supervisors Group (SSG) that comprises watchdogs from seven countries (United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom) says that underlying weaknesses in governance, incentive structures, information technology infrastructure and internal controls require substantial work to address.