# Retail Investors Trapped in Algorithmic Hunt, Veteran Investors Forced to Write "Surrender Letters"? "Anti-Quantitative Guide" Suddenly Goes Viral, Private Equity Mogul Dan Bin Discusses the Only Way to Beat Quantitative Trading

Reporter | Yang Jian

Editor | Cheng Peng, Peng Shuiping, Du Hengfeng, Proofreader | Chen Kemin

Recently, the A-share market has continued to adjust, and quantitative funds have once again become the focus of public discussion. A sudden trend of “Anti-Quantitative Harvesting Strategy” went viral in the private equity circle over the weekend, sparking widespread debate.

Currently, the trading ecosystem of A-shares is continuously evolving. Thanks to high frequency, high precision, and homogenized features, quantitative trading has shifted from a supporting role to a mainstream force in the market. Ordinary investors now face not only human emotional counterparts but also 24-hour operating “AI machines” as trading opponents.

This shift has changed the logic of A-share trading. The success rate of traditional short-term strategies for ordinary investors has plummeted, leaving them trapped in the “hunting” of quantitative algorithms. Even seasoned investors like “Stock Enthusiast Liushahé” have helplessly written “The Human Trader’s Guide to Quantitative Trading.” So, in a market dominated by quant strategies, how can ordinary investors avoid being harvested?

Quantitative Hunting of A-shares Veteran Investor Writes “Guide” in Frustration

The transformation of the A-share trading ecosystem has profoundly impacted market participants. Quantitative trading, with its efficient data analysis, precise execution speed, and homogenized operation mode, has rapidly risen and completely reshaped the trading environment. Ordinary investors, lacking access to information, analysis speed, and execution capabilities compared to quant institutions, see their success rates in traditional short-term strategies sharply decline, falling into the trap of precise quant algorithm “hunting.”

As this trend intensifies, the proportion of quantitative trading in the entire market continues to grow. Its presence is especially prominent in small-cap, micro-cap stocks, and popular themes.

Data shows that the number of billion-yuan quantitative private funds has surpassed that of billion-yuan subjective strategy private funds. Leading quant firms have dedicated supercomputing centers capable of mining over 10,000 trading factors—from market news and investor trading habits to individual stock genetic traits and order volume changes—forming a scaled, systematic trading framework.

The core operations of quantitative trading precisely target the weaknesses of ordinary investors, causing their traditional trading methods to repeatedly fail. A veteran investor lamented on social media: “Logic no longer works; tungsten mines keep rising, but tungsten stocks in the market are falling worse than anyone; transformer orders explode, but Tebian Electric (TBEA) keeps falling for four days with big declines; nuclear power stocks ferment over the weekend, yet China Nuclear Construction opens low and declines further. Technical analysis can’t beat quant; even fundamental logic, when applied to the market, still boils down to trading techniques.”

Notably, veteran investor “Stock Enthusiast Liushahé” even wrote “The Human Trader’s Guide to Quantitative Trading,” reflecting the passive position of ordinary investors in the game against quant trading and highlighting its profound impact on the A-share trading ecosystem.

Beware of Human Nature Dislocation Return to the Essence of Value Investing

The existence of quant trading makes the A-share market’s competition more professional and brutal, forcing ordinary investors to abandon speculative short-term thinking and return to the essence of value investing.

Chen Xinwen of Heikai Capital told reporters that liquidity crises are essentially indiscriminate sell-offs, but value reversion will eventually arrive. When quant models based on volatility control passively reduce positions, and fundamental factors temporarily fail, high-quality assets may experience irrational discounts, which can be opportunities for long-term capital deployment. However, Bin warned that “collapse” should be understood more as a deep concern about strategy crowding and regulatory lag.

Data shows that by the end of 2025, the scale of domestic quant private funds has exceeded 1.8 trillion yuan, accounting for over 30% of private equity securities funds, with significant market influence. Chen Xinwen pointed out that quant de-risking is not based on company value judgments but is a mechanical execution of risk budgets, meaning even fundamentally sound blue-chip stocks are not immune in systemic deleveraging.

He emphasized that what we should truly be wary of is never the quant technology itself but the dislocation of human greed and risk perception—when everyone embraces the “algorithmic holy grail,” it may be time to return to subjective research value. The market always rewards those who penetrate noise and adhere to long-term principles, and this confidence is what helps us navigate cycles.

Private equity veteran Dan Bin previously stated clearly, “The only way to beat quant is through value investing.”

Five Major Strategies! How Ordinary Investors Can Avoid Quantitative Harvesting

For ordinary investors, the “onslaught” of quant trading presents multiple practical challenges. However, in a market dominated by quant strategies, there are still ways out. The key is to abandon traditional methods, adapt to quant logic, adhere to principles that oppose human nature, avoid套路, operate over the long term, and maintain strong discipline—learning to “dance with” quant. Industry analysis suggests that, based on the characteristics of quant trading, investors can adjust their strategies in five key areas.

1. Focus on medium- to long-term layout, abandon high-frequency trading. Quant profits mainly come from intraday and short-term volatility, but ordinary investors should prioritize trends and fundamentals, extend holding periods, and avoid 90% of quant harvesting zones. Data shows that retail investors holding stocks for over a year have a success rate four times higher than short-term traders. Select stocks with solid fundamentals and clear logic, reduce monitoring frequency, and hold long-term to escape the short-term game trap of quant.

2. Avoid “hot zones” of quant trading, choose quality targets. Quant strategies dominate in micro-cap stocks, stocks with no earnings, and stocks with continuous high openings. Ordinary investors should steer clear of these and instead select large-cap blue chips, industry leaders, stocks with confirmed earnings, and institutional holdings. These stocks have large market caps, solid fundamentals, and are difficult for quant institutions to control, with prices more aligned with intrinsic value, smoothing market volatility.

3. Cultivate anti-quant trading behaviors, establish fixed trading rules. Quant firms love to harvest retail investors’ chasing highs, panic selling, and heavy positions. Therefore, investors should avoid chasing opening highs, panic cuts, and full positions; instead, adopt staggered buying and selling, set strict stop-loss and take-profit levels, and enforce discipline to prevent human weaknesses from triggering quant algorithms.

4. Use “institutional thinking” instead of “retail intuition,” reduce market noise. Abandon retail habits like watching order books and guessing short-term rises and falls. Focus on core fundamentals such as company performance, cash flow, and sector prosperity; operate on the right side of the market by buying on dips, avoiding active quant trading in the early session, and using index funds or sector ETFs to diversify and smooth volatility, locking in market Beta returns.

5. Reduce trading frequency and improve success rate. High-frequency trading is an advantage for quant but a disadvantage for retail investors. Investors should limit weekly trades to once or less, with higher success rates than daily operations. Focus on a few high-quality main stocks, buy when prices dip to previous lows, and take profits near previous highs. Instead of competing for short-term price differences, grasp medium-term opportunities, and act decisively when the time is right—“don’t trade just for the sake of trading; wait until the right moment, even go light or hold cash if necessary.”

｜Daily Economic News nbdnews Original Article｜

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