Quantitative Finance Events in 2026

Quantitative finance often has a reputation for being opaque and intimidating, but the reality is that much of the field now lives in surprisingly accessible places: conferences, workshops, competitions, and short programs designed to bring people in rather than keep them out. Today, these events are one of the main ways students and early-career professionals learn more about the industry and how firms can evaluate talent beyond a GPA or a polished résumé.

For students, these programs offer an opportunity to understand how their coursework/learnings show up in practice, and to meet people who are already working in the jobs many students are aiming for. For early-career professionals, the same events serve a different purpose: a way to fill in gaps, pick up new techniques, and network with peers at neighboring firms.

This article highlights the most prominent quantitative finance conferences, competitions, and events taking place in 2026.

Trading Competitions

Organized by Quant Firms

IMC Prosperity - a global trading competition in which you and your team will use your Python skills to create a trading strategy to out-trade your competition on a virtual market. Winners will receive rewards from a $50,000 prize pool.

Citadel Terminal AI Competition - an AI programming game in which players code algorithms to compete head-to-head, tower-defense style. Winners get access to job opportunities with Citadel and large cash prizes.

Citadel Datathon - a global competition in which participants work in teams to solve a financial puzzle in a large complex dataset. Winners get fast-tracked to employment opportunities with Citadel.

Citadel Trading Invitational - a program for first and second year undergraduates to apply your skills while gaining insights into the day in the life of a trader at a global asset management firm.

Cubist Hackathon - an event held in NYC where students compete to build models from publicly available datasets from NYC's Open Data Project. Winners get exclusive employment opportunities with Cubist Systematic Strategies.

Organized by Universities

Berkeley Trading Competition - the West Coast's premier intercollegiate trading competition hosted by Traders at Berkeley with over $20,000 in cash prizes.

Cornell Quant Fund Trading Competition - compete in your choice of an options, crypto, or equities trading challenge and get the opportunity to win up to $9,000 in cash prizes. The Cornell Trading Competition will be live in Fall 2026.

Duke FinTech Trading Competition - a 3-month long event in which student traders from around the world create paper trading accounts and compete in a bracket system for the #1 overall spot. Winners will get recognized by the event's sponsors, including the quantitative finance hedge fund called Schonfeld.

UChicago Trading Competition - a competition for undergraduate students in which they compete in simulated trading, connect with each other, and network with sponsor firms and employers. This is one of the oldest, and most-respected trading competitions in the U.S.

Yale Undergraduate Trading Competition - a trading competition for both undergraduate and graduate students at universities across the United States with over $10,000 in cash prizes.

Rotman International Trading Competition - compete with peers from 40+ universities across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, using decision cases based on real-world conditions delivered on the industry-leading RIT Market Simulator platform.

Discovery Programs

AQR Early Engagement Day - an extraordinary opportunity for first and second year undergraduates to learn from AQR professionals, including senior leadership. You'll also gain an inside track into AQR's summer internship program.

Bridgewater Investment Immersion Program - a three-day in-person event designed to give students exposure to Bridgewater's unique culture and systematic approach to understanding how the world works.

Discover Citadel - a two-day event that will allow you to discover Citadel's culture and opportunities in Quantitative Research and Trading.

Discover DRW - a dynamic, two-day event designed to immerse you in the world of quantitative trading

Flow Traders E-House Day - join Flow Traders for an interactive, virtual opportunity to learn about ETFs and Flow's core business strategy from a Trader and Recruiter at the firm.

Jane Street AMP - a five-week summer program for recent high school graduates interested in math and computer science. There is no cost to attend AMP and all living costs will be covered by Jane Street. Jane Street also hires teaching assistants to help out with this program.

Jane Street FTTP - an opportunity for first-year undergraduates to learn more about Jane Street's innovative trading and technology models through a series of classes and team-based mock trading simulation games.

Five Rings Winternship - a 4-week long program that includes immersion in hands-on projects, classroom instruction, in-house built strategy games, and mock trading. You'll also be a part of a series of trading talks and activities in NY.

Virtu Financial Women's Winternship - a hands-on curriculum on a wide array of topics, including trading, market structure, data analytics and visualization, and regression modeling.

Akuna Capital Trading Sneak Peek Week - a crash course on options trading collaborating with Akuna traders, as they teach you risk management, game theory, and optimal decision making

FutureFocus Quants (Trading & Research) - an immersive, five-day program offers a front-row seat to the strategies, data, and decision-making that drive one of the most advanced trading firms in the world.

Quant Conferences

Princeton Fintech & Quant Conference - a unique opportunity for leaders and students in fintech and quant trading-related fields to directly interact.

QuantVision 2026: Fordham’s Quantitative Conference - Fordham University’s premier quantitative conference, presents a thought-provoking symposium that converges the most innovative minds in quantitative finance.

Closing Remarks

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