Shashank Yadav on Why AI Agents Will Replace Hedge Funds
Shashank Yadav on Why AI Agents Will Replace Hedge Funds
Podcast26 min 7 sec
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Note: AI-generated summary based on third-party content. Not financial advice. Read more.
Quick Insights

Investors should utilize Fraction AI’s Index tool to build and backtest autonomous trading agents using natural language, focusing on Hyperliquid as the primary execution venue for both crypto and macro assets like Gold and Oil.

A high-conviction strategy identified for these agents is Mean Reversion, which involves buying assets after a multi-day downturn specifically when relative volume spikes.

To ensure long-term profitability, prioritize "stable" strategies that perform across various parameters and favor agents with lower trade frequencies to prevent transaction fees from eroding gains.

When deploying capital, use "scoped permissions" or API keys with withdrawal functions disabled to ensure the AI agent can only execute trades and cannot move funds out of your wallet.

The most effective approach for retail investors is a hybrid model: provide the creative market thesis (e.g., Solana momentum) and let the AI handle the rigorous backtesting and 24/7 execution via Perpetual Swaps.

Detailed Analysis

Fraction AI (Index Product)

• Fraction AI has launched a product called Index that allows users to create autonomous AI trading agents using natural language (no coding required). • The platform currently integrates with Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange, to execute trades. • Core Functionality: * Users provide a market idea or belief (e.g., "I think momentum is building on Solana"). * The AI discusses the idea with the user, providing pushback or validation based on historical data and current news. * The AI converts the idea into a coded strategy and performs backtesting. * Once validated, the agent executes trades autonomously on the user's behalf.

Takeaways

Democratization of Hedge Funds: The platform aims to move sophisticated trading strategies from elite firms like Goldman Sachs to the general public. • Strategy Validation: Users should use the AI to "dogfood" ideas. The founder ran 25,000 strategies in parallel to find stable ones; retail investors should focus on backtesting for stability across different parameters rather than just high returns. • Future Marketplace: Fraction AI plans to launch a feature allowing users to "rent" or "license" high-performing agents created by others, creating a meritocratic marketplace for trading intelligence.


Perpetual Swaps (Perps)

• The podcast highlights Perps as the primary "growth driver" for AI agentic trading in crypto. • Compared to Futures and Options, Perps are described as the "purest form" of taking a directional position. • Key Advantages Mentioned: * Simplicity: Unlike options, they don't require knowledge of "Greeks" or complex physics/math equations. * No Expiry: Unlike futures, there is no need to "roll over" contracts at the end of the month. * Leverage: They allow for capital efficiency which is ideal for automated agents.

Takeaways

Asset Expansion: While currently focused on crypto, the guest predicts that all assets—including Real World Assets (RWAs), equities, and commodities—will eventually be traded via Perps on-chain. • Efficiency: For the general investor, trading via agents on Perp platforms like Hyperliquid may be more efficient than traditional manual trading due to the system's ability to manage funding rates and leverage 24/7.


Hyperliquid

• Mentioned as the primary execution venue for Fraction AI agents. • It is noted for expanding its asset offerings beyond crypto to include traditional equities, oil, and gold.

Takeaways

Unified Trading: Investors looking for a single venue to trade both crypto and traditional macro assets (commodities/equities) through AI agents should monitor Hyperliquid's integration with tools like Index.


Investment Themes & Strategy Insights

Noise vs. Signal: In finance, there is a high noise-to-signal ratio. The guest advises against "fitting models to data" (which leads to following noise) and instead suggests starting with a fundamental idea and using AI to validate it. • Mean Reversion Strategy: One of the most successful strategies identified during beta testing was: * Condition: Market has gone down for several days/hours. * Filter: Relative volume is high (indicating a "build-up"). * Action: Buying against the downward trend when volume spikes often resulted in profit. • Transaction Costs: A major risk factor identified is "over-trading." High frequency can lead to transaction fees eating all profits. • Stability: A strategy is only "good" if it works across various parameters. If a strategy only works with one specific setting, it is likely unstable and risky.

Takeaways

Quality over Quantity: Investors should favor agents that trade only when "confident" rather than those that trade frequently. • Human-AI Collaboration: The most effective "hedge fund" model for the general public is currently seen as a human providing the creative "idea" and the AI handling the "validation and execution."


Risk & Security

Private Key Safety: A major concern for AI trading is giving models access to private keys. • Sandbox Environment: Fraction AI addresses this by ensuring the agent never has access to the user's wallet. It operates in a "sandbox" using a proprietary language (DSL) that can only call specific trading APIs. • Permission Limits: The agents are restricted from withdrawing or sending funds to external wallets; they can only place trades within the platform.

Takeaways

Security Check: When using any AI trading tool, investors should ensure the tool uses "scoped permissions" or API keys that disable "withdraw" functions to prevent theft by the agent or an exploit of the AI model.

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Episode Description
Shashank Yadav joins this episode of AI Supercycle to discuss how AI trading agents are coming for hedge funds, how Fraction AI is building that infrastructure, and more. Shashank Yadav is Co-Founder of Fraction AI, ex-Goldman Sachs AI researcher. The Rollup is where the leaders of digital assets and finance converge. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Shashank's Background 01:32 Goldman Sachs AI Role 03:35 Risk Over Returns 04:19 Perps: Biggest Driver 05:35 How Index Works 07:04 Will AI Push Back? 09:07 Why Perps & Hyperliquid 10:46 Goldman Advisor Today 11:21 Index Is Live 11:57 25,000 Strategies Run 13:38 Best Strategy Revealed 14:51 Trade Less, Win More 16:47 Prediction Markets Next 18:15 Market Structure Future 19:24 The YouTube Analogy 21:22 Agent Marketplace Coming 22:32 AI Security Concerns 23:47 No Wallet Access 25:02 How To Get Started Website: https://therollup.co/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd... Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast Follow us on X: https://www.x.com/therollupco Follow Rob on X: https://x.com/robbieklages Follow Andy on X: https://x.com/andyyy Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh The Rollup Disclosures: https://goodidea.ventures 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥: 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘍𝘪 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴.
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