By John Cogman, CIO, Tower Research Capital

Everyone knows the archetype: the quant who grew up crushing every math olympiad and can seemingly write flawless code in their sleep.

It’s an appealing image. In many cases, it’s a motivating one. Many of the brightest minds in our firm carry pieces of that story within them.

But brilliance alone isn’t what defines a great portfolio manager. The truth is simpler and harder: technical genius will take you far, but not all the way. Quants who reach their full potential tend to share subtler traits. In this incredibly competitive job market, qualities like humility, consistency, adaptability, and self-awareness are often what set people apart.

At Tower, we’ve spent over a quarter century building quantitative trading teams whose members aren’t just talented – they bring out the best in each other’s talent. We’ve experienced firsthand the limits of the so-called “quant god.” The ones who thrive aren’t those without weaknesses, but those who account for them.

Deconstructing the Myth

Quantitative trading attracts exceptional minds. Yet even the most gifted can falter when their brilliance operates in isolation. Imagine:

• A model builder who struggles to bring ideas to production because they can’t clearly explain their work to risk or engineering.
• A researcher who thrives in controlled environments but loses their cool amid market volatility.
• A technically brilliant developer who alienates colleagues, hampering communication and project delivery.

Obviously, we’re not saying that technical skill is unimportant. But success in the real world depends on breadth as much as depth. Portfolio managers are often only as strong as their weakest link. A trader who can build sophisticated models but doesn’t understand execution risk, or who struggles to manage others, can’t fully monetize their quantitative excellence.

No one, not even the quant gods in our midst, is great at everything. But the difference between someone who plateaus and someone who grows is self-awareness. Admitting where you’re not strong is an act of intelligence, not weakness. In many cases, identifying the gap gets you halfway to solving the problem.

Why It Matters

Markets expose every weakness eventually. The only question is whether you spot it first.

Traders who achieve long-term success often have a rare steadiness to their demeanor. They’re consistent in decision-making, resilient under pressure, and level-headed when the unexpected happens. Every successful portfolio manager has faced failures and losses – none have succeeded by avoiding them altogether. What separates the best is how they respond: with calm, objectivity, and a commitment to learning rather than blame.

That stability also builds trust. Trading desks today rely on constant collaboration between teams that don’t always speak the same language: engineers, researchers, risk managers, operations, compliance. Miscommunication is easy. Ego makes it worse. When hundreds of people are interacting across domains, clear, respectful communication is at least as important as any hard skill.

Bottom line: in quantitative trading, success can’t depend on a few lone-wolf geniuses. It must be built on individuals who can navigate pressure, align with others, and act predictably when it matters most. The markets are chaotic enough. The people who work them don’t have to be.

The Real Ideal Quant Skillset

Technical excellence still matters – enormously. But it’s only one part of a complete foundation. The best traders develop a balanced toolkit that combines technical, translational, and behavioral skills:

• Technical Skills – The foundation that earns you credibility and opportunity.
  • Statistical modeling: Design and evaluate predictive frameworks that withstand real-world market noise.
  • Programming and engineering: Write efficient, scalable code, accounting for systems architecture and data pipelines.
  • Machine learning and data analysis: Apply modern methods responsibly, with awareness of overfitting and model risk.
  • Market mechanics: Grasp execution, microstructure, and how trading infrastructure affects your strategy.
    
    
• Translational Skills – The bridge that turns intelligence into influence.
  • Collaborative clarity: Communicate effectively with risk, engineering, and operations to prevent friction.
  • Cross-functional awareness: Understand how your work connects to other areas of the business.
  • Adaptability: Move fluidly between research, production, and live trading environments.
    
    
• Behavioral Skills – The multiplier that determines how you perform when tested.
  • Self-awareness: Recognize your limitations and fill them intentionally.
  • Resilience under pressure: Stay objective and rational through volatility and loss.
  • Consistency: Make stable, high-integrity decisions, even under stress.

Together, these pillars form the complete quant profile. Technical depth drives innovation, translational ability drives execution, and behavioral strength drives longevity.

Conclusion: Beyond the Myth

Finding good quants is hard work – and one of the most important aspects of our business. But in a space with so much opportunity, finding the right technical skillsets isn’t the hardest part. Finding those skillsets combined with the right soft skills and personal qualities is infinitely harder and far more valuable.

Our most successful traders aren’t necessarily the loudest, the flashiest, or the most strong-willed. They’re the ones willing to learn, collaborate, and be self-critical. You can’t optimize empathy or quantify resilience, but they move the needle more than any parameter ever could.

At Tower, we hire for that balance – exceptional minds who know their limits and push past them the right way. The myth of the quant god makes a good story, but it doesn’t build great teams. The ones who last do.