The Most Influential Quantitative Finance Papers in History
From portfolio theory to microstructure: ten works that built the mathematical foundations of modern markets.
Quantitative Finance Papers
Introduction
Quantitative finance is a field that rarely stands still. Breakthroughs emerge continuously,
and much of the cutting edge work is proprietary.
Part I — Foundations of Modern Finance
Portfolio Selection
Harry Markowitz · 1952
Before Markowitz, investment discourse was largely qualitative. Practitioners spoke of good stocks,
safe companies, and high-growth opportunities.