Traders and AI scientists at RBC and
Borealis AI collaborate to deliver a real-world AI solution to help
improve trading results and insights for clients in a measurable
and explainable way
NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - RBC Capital Markets
today announced the launch of Aiden®, an AI-based
electronic trading platform that uses the computational power of
deep reinforcement learning in its pursuit of improved trading
results and insights for clients.
The Aiden® platform was developed jointly by RBC
Capital Markets and Borealis AI, a world-class AI research center
created by RBC, as traders and AI scientists worked side-by-side to
create the initial bold concept and deliver a real-word solution.
In doing so, both organizations undertook one of the biggest
challenges in the field of AI today – applying deep reinforcement
learning into a constantly changing environment like equities
trading, with measurable and explainable results for its users.
"Aiden® speaks to our long-term commitment to
leverage next-generation AI technology to create differentiated
solutions for our clients," Bobby
Grubert, Co-Head of Global Equities, RBC Capital Markets,
said. "Aiden® is the result of a massive collaborative
effort between RBC employees, including traders and AI scientists,
and our partners at Borealis AI. Aiden® is at the
beginning of its journey and we see great potential to further
expand its capabilities and redefine execution, while remaining
true to its client-centric foundation."
"After several years of comprehensive research, testing and
fine-tuning, we are proud to bring a new standard of execution
excellence to clients," Dr. Foteini Agrafioti, Chief Science
Officer at RBC and Head of Borealis AI, said. "Together, we are
continuing our exploration of deep reinforcement learning, while
advancing the development of responsible AI for our clients."
The Aiden® platform has shown the ability to navigate
the challenges of fluid and dynamic market conditions in real-time,
without the need for continuous re-coding like traditional trading
algorithms. Utilizing hundreds of pre-programmed data inputs and
its ability to make more than 32 million calculations per order,
the Aiden® platform is able to execute trading decisions
based on live market data, dynamically adjust to new information
and learn from each of its previous actions.
"The market volatility we have seen during COVID-19 has been a
great proving ground for Aiden®," Shary Mudassir,
Co-Head of Global Equities Execution, RBC Capital Markets, said.
"Aiden® was able to recognize the sudden changes in the
market and adapt to them, allowing it to preserve performance. The
Aiden® platform is part of our vision to be one of the
best in the world at unlocking the potential of Artificial
Intelligence and delivering those insights to our clients in an
explainable way."
The first live Aiden® solution, a volume-weighted
average price (VWAP) algorithm, was designed to help improve
clients' trading performance by reducing slippage – the difference
between the expected price of a trade and the price at which the
trade is executed.
"The Aiden® VWAP algorithm has demonstrated, under a
standardized evaluation framework used to eliminate bias, the
ability to significantly reduce slippage against market VWAP in the
U.S. equity market," Jas Sandhu,
Head of Equities Algorithmic Trading, RBC Capital Markets, said.
"There are plans to expand the Aiden® application to RBC
Capital Markets' full suite of electronic trading algorithms."
The Aiden® platform is currently available to RBC
Capital Markets clients who are trading in U.S. and Canadian
equities, and there are plans to introduce the platform to
additional clients across its geographical markets in the coming
months.
The Aiden® platform follows in the footsteps of a
similar trading innovation introduced by RBC Capital Markets in
2011 called THOR, a smart-order-routing technology that helped
address the problem of disappearing liquidity and assisted clients
with competing with High Frequency Traders.
"Aiden® continues our track record of working
with our clients to better understand and address their key
challenges and create value through innovation in a responsible and
transparent way," Grubert added. "Today's
Aiden® announcement is just the first step in what
we believe will be additional possibilities for how we can expand
the application of artificial intelligence to trading intelligence
for our clients."
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with
a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading
performance. Our success comes from the 86,000+ employees who bring
our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients
thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank, and one of the largest
in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified
business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional
experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 34 other countries. Learn
more at rbc.com.
We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives
through donations, community investments and employee volunteer
activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.
About Borealis AI
Borealis AI is a world-class
AI Research center backed by RBC. Recognized for scientific
excellence, Borealis AI uses the latest in machine learning
capabilities to solve challenging problems in the financial
industry. Led by award-winning inventor and entrepreneur Foteini
Agrafioti, and with top North American scientists and engineers,
Borealis AI is at the core of the bank's innovation strategy and
benefits from RBC's scale, data and trusted brand. With a focus on
responsible AI, natural language processing and reinforcement
learning, Borealis AI is committed to building solutions using
machine learning and artificial intelligence that will transform
the way individuals manage their finances and their futures. For
more information please see: www.borealisai.com.
For more information on the Aiden® platform,
please visit: www.rbccm.com/aiden
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SOURCE RBC Capital Markets