Draft:Renee Yao
{{AFC submission|d|bio|u=Jerbhen|ns=118|decliner=Ca|declinets=20250528002303|ts=20250502231239}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Renee Yao
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place = China
| other_names =
| occupation = Hedge fund manager
| years_active =
| known_for = Founder of a women-owned hedge fund
| notable_works =
| employer = Citadel LLC
Millennium Management
| alma_mater = Columbia University
University of Kansas
}}
Renee Yao is an American hedge fund manager who is the founder and chief investment officer of Neo IVY Capital Management.{{Cite web|url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bsvuoi563xza54qha1og/portfolio/younger-cheaper-smaller-smarter-meet-the-new-breed-of-quants|title=Younger, Cheaper, Smaller, Smarter: Meet the New Breed of Quants|date=August 24, 2017|website=Institutional Investor}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2023-10-05/can-ai-beat-the-market-do-we-want-it-to-podcast|title=Can AI Beat The Market? Do We Want It To?|date=5 October 2023|website=Bloomberg}}
Early life and education
Yao was born in China. During her childhood, she became interested in mathematics and computer science when her uncle, who was a member of a Chinese supercomputer research team, took her to the Galaxy-I supercomputer facility.
Yao pursued her undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas, where she graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was president of American Women Mathematician (AWM) KU Chapter.{{Cite web|url=https://awmchapter.ku.edu/Minutes/AWM20080204.pdf |title=President for AWM KU Chapter}} She studied under Bozenna Pasik-Duncan and authored a paper titled An Optional Trading Strategy of a Financial Portfolio.{{Cite web|url=https://pasik-duncan.ku.edu/ksacg/graduate_students.html |title=Graduate Students}} After earning her degree from Kansas, Yao continued her education at Columbia University, where she earned a Master of Arts in statistics after quitting her PhD.{{Cite web|url=https://thehedgefundjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/thfj_2019_tomorrows_titans.pdf |title=Tomorrow's Titans 2019 |first=Hamlin |last=Lovell |website=The Hedge Fund Journal}}{{Cite web|url=https://databento.com/blog/quants-worth-following-renee-yao |title=Quants worth following: Renee Yao}}
Career
Yao began her career in 2009 as a quantitative research analyst at Citadel LLC, where she joined the mid-frequency statistical arbitrage team.{{Cite web|url=https://informaconnect.com/emex-americas/speakers/renee-yao/ |title=Renee Yao}} Later, she joined the WorldQuant unit of Millennium Management, where she managed her own book. Later, she worked at HAP Capital.
In early 2015, Yao founded Neo Ivy Capital Management, a quantitative hedge fund that specializes in trading publicly traded equity securities using artificial neural networks and deep learning-based strategies.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ken-griffin-has-had-dozens-of-hedge-fund-founders-work-at-citadel-2020-3|title=Billionaire Ken Griffin's Citadel has a sprawling alumni network of more than 80 hedge funds. Take a look at our exclusive list.|first=Bradley Saacks, Shayanne|last=Gal|website=Business Insider}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1469324D:US|title=Neo Ivy Capital Management LLC - Company Profile and News|website=Bloomberg.com}} Initially supported by Millennium Management, Neo Ivy became an independent entity in 2016. Yao describes her methods as representative of a "third generation quant" approach, involving algorithms designed to adapt to changing market conditions.{{Cite web|url=https://lynk.global/insights/neo-ivy-capital-renee-yao|title=Neo Ivy Capital's Renee Yao: The Woman Who Quants|website=Lynk}} Neo Ivy Capital Management oversees a diversified portfolio, selected entirely through automated processes without human intervention.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-strategy-stock-picking-ai-renee-yao-how-it-works-2021-1|title=An ex-hedge fund quant researcher whose firm uses AI to pick stocks breaks down how her fast-moving strategy works — and shares why it's superior in chaotic market environments|first=Vicky Ge|last=Huang|website=Business Insider}}
Yao is a frequent invited speaker at events such as Quant Strats USA, WiDS Pittsburgh{{Cite web|url=https://www.alphaevents.com/events-quantstratsus/speakers/renee-yao|title=Quant Strats USA, WiDS Pittsburgh}}, Columbia Mathematics of Finance's 2025 Future of Portfolio Management (Lars Tyge Nielsen Memorial) Conference{{Cite web|url=https://www.rebellionresearch.com/portfolio-management-in-2025|title=2025 Future of Portfolio Management}}, and the Hedge Fund Association's 2025 Alternative Investment Insights.{{Cite web|url=https://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=784402&f=4935&m=637659&s=12239&t=9a320410e4099ffbeae51b6271b3fba98b8b261c113f3c02a43a7cb10500443c&trk=feed-detail_main-feed-card_reshare_feed-article-content|title=2025 Alternative Investment Insights}}
Recognition
Yao has been recognized by the Hedge Fund Journal as "Tomorrows Titan" in 2019 and Business Insider in 2020 as "10 Leaders transferring investing North America" for her work in applying artificial intelligence in the investment sector.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-and-bond-market-outlooks-comments-from-2-investing-transformers-2021-4 |title=2 market experts break down the biggest evolutions in the stock and bond markets since the 2020 crisis — and why the retail-investor revolution is only just beginning |first=Akin |last=Oyedele |date=April 29, 2021|website=Business Insider}}
References
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{{Draft categories|
:Category:American hedge fund managers
:Category:Columbia University alumni
:Category:University of Kansas alumni
}}