Published December 11, 2020
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2 min read
The Globe and Mail published a story following an interview with Shary Mudassir, Co-Head of Global Equities Execution, and Foteini Agrafioti, Chief Science Officer at RBC and Head/ Co-Founder of Borealis AI. The article highlights the launch of Aiden, an AI-based electronic trading platform.
RBC and its AI Research Institute Borealis AI recently launched its first artificially intelligent computer program for trading stocks, called Aiden. The Aiden® platform is designed to enhance real-time algorithms' performance through an AI technology called Deep Reinforcement Learning, which aims to deliver the best possible execution quality to pursue improved trading results and insights for clients.
“It will buy, it will sell, it will find the right time to do that," said Foteini Agrafioti, RBC's chief science officer and head of Borealis AI. "If it makes a good decision … we reward it. We tell it, 'you did a good job, do more of that.' And if it makes a bad decision, we penalize it.”
- Foteini Agrafioti
Unlike traditional trading algorithms that use precoded rules to execute trades at best possible price, Aiden allows the algorithm to adjust its own rules in real-time and reduces “slippage” from a volume-weighted average price (VWAP).
“What we noticed is the technology and the platform was able to recognize the suddenness of changes in the market, and adapt to them and preserve performance on the trading.”
- Shary Mudassir
RBC and Borealis AI are also working on other uses of Artificial Intelligence, such as a software called NOMI, the virtual assistant, which is more personalized by predicting customers' activities after logging in, such as bill payment or spending habits.
Shary Mudassir
Co-Head of Global Equities Execution, RBC Capital Markets
Since joining RBC Capital Markets in 2009, Shary has helped revolutionize RBC’s Global Electronic Trading business. During his time at the firm, Shary has led the Algorithmic Trading, Electronic Trading and Central Risk Book Trading teams in Canada prior to his appointment to a global mandate. Shary also oversees the Artificial Intelligence team in Global Equities focusing on the development of trading capabilities using AI for RBC’s clients. Prior to joining RBC, Shary founded a software consulting firm focused on Distributed Computing. Shary holds a B.Sc. in Software Engineering (Distinction) from the University of Victoria and an MBA from the University of Calgary. He recently completed a Master in Predictive Analytics & Data Science at Northwestern University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designations.
Foteini Agrafiot
Chief Science Officer at RBC and Head/ Co-Founder of Borealis AI
Dr. Agrafioti is the Chief Science Officer at RBC and Head of Borealis AI. She is responsible for RBC’s intellectual property portfolio in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Prior to joining Borealis AI, Foteini founded and served as Chief Technology Officer at Nymi, a biometrics security company and maker of the Nymi wristband.
Foteini is the inventor of HeartID, the first biometric technology to authenticate users based on their unique cardiac rhythms. She is a TED speaker and serves on the editorial review boards of several scientific journals. Foteini was named “Inventor of the Year” in 2012 at the University of Toronto where she received a Doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering and was named one of Canada’s “Top 40 Under 40” for 2017.
