AQuA: Recursively Self-Improving Quantitative Trading Research Agents

MengdiWang10 · x · 2026-08-15

This post introduces AQuA, a system for recursively self-improving quantitative trading research agents, based on a new paper. AQuA comprises two separate LLM-driven research systems: one for symbolic factor discovery and another for trainable model development. The systems do not share agents, memories, or candidate spaces; instead, each independently closes its own research loop by retaining validated evidence to guide subsequent proposals, achieving recursive self-improvement at the research process level. Experiments show the factor system achieved a combined Information Coefficient (IC) of about 0.190 on a crypto universe, while the model system achieved a per-stock IC of +0.0843 on US equities, converting it into a strategy with a Sharpe ratio of up to +2.50 after costs.

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