The sign of a visionary leader is the capacity to proceed forward in the face of obstacles toward accomplishing a goal or finishing a task. They experiment with fresh ideas, methods, or approaches in search of uncommon chances while maintaining their attention. People frequently describe these leaders as tough and tenacious because they’re driven to overcome obstacles and accomplish their objectives.
One such visionary leader is Dieter Marlovics, Chief Executive Officer at RoboSig. He is an experienced technology entrepreneur who gets great satisfaction from investing in, creating, and working with other entrepreneurs to facilitate innovation, form a cohesive execution plan, make an investment, and provide positive energy to help take that first step and get through the inevitable difficult times.
Dieter was born in Chicago, but his family has Austrian roots and so, growing up, he spent the first couple years of his life, as well as many summers, in Vienna. Through his teenage years, he played competitive tennis, went on to play for Northwestern University and dabbled in the US professional satellite circuit.
Dieter graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
A Bequest of Excellence
Dieter launched his first company when he was 14 years old. He genuinely enjoys collaborating with other business owners to foster creativity, create a coherent execution plan, make an investment, or offer inspiration for taking the first step and overcoming the inevitable challenges.
Dieter co-founded HyperMeals.com, his first technology company, in 1997 to enable online food ordering from nearby restaurants for delivery. He was then introduced to a small Chicago floor brokerage firm, which didn’t even have email, let alone any significant technology whatsoever.
He saw this as a golden opportunity and had some discussions with the CEO of Gelber Group, LLC, to invest in a division for electronic trading. As CIO for the next decade, Gelber Group developed into a highly successful international algorithmic trading firm with over $100 million in capital and more than nine data centers in three different countries. In 2011, Dieter sold his ownership interest.
In 2015, Dieter founded and provided seed funding for ReallyColor, LLC, which developed patented technology that enables people to turn their photos into coloring pages and custom coloring books. ReallyColor is popular with large businesses creating their own custom ReallyColor coloring books to use as unique and effective marketing tools. The company has also sold physical and digital gift cards in Toys “R” Us, BJ’s Wholesale, Sam’s Club, and others.
In addition to his other numerous business ventures, Dieter has written several book chapters and articles that discuss his leadership and management philosophy as it relates to technology. He is also a singer-songwriter, having released a handful of songs sold digitally on iTunes and other digital retailers in over a dozen different countries.
A Benchmark of Iconic Reliability
Founded in 2016, RoboSig has delivered multiple FX trading strategies and a variable yield cash management alternative that have delivered consistently superior returns at low risk when compared with traditional solutions. RoboSig’s thesis is that the global monetary system acts as a giant ‘rubber band ball.’ When pieces are stretched, they are always, at least partially, pulled back. RoboSig seeks to mine this global stability that allows the world economic engine to function.
Below are the primary product offerings by RoboSig:
RoboSig CMA PLUS- Cash Management Alternative PLUS RoboSig CMA PLUS adds a bit of leverage with the goal of outperforming conventional low-risk investments like commercial paper, ST bonds, CDs, and so on by offering better returns. The $6 trillion+/day foreign exchange market’s deep liquidity and flexibility are used by this autonomous FX trading strategy to generate steady returns in the context of today’s rate environment.
RoboSig ALPHA- Similar to RoboSig CMA, RoboSig ALPHA is a SaaS platform that has been tuned to produce alpha returns with a far lower risk profile than conventional fund trading strategies. You choose how much alpha you want to produce before “turning the dial” to the maximum level of leverage you are prepared and able to use. RoboSig’s team of quantitative engineers and trading professionals consults with clients to best service their risk appetite.
In the world of finance, a lengthy live track record is paramount. Simulated back tests are valuable in how they present the potential of a trading strategy, but when you are looking to find third party capital allocations, without a live track record you will have to find a partner willing to take a chance on you. The initial live client track for RoboSig launched in 2016, and the results were phenomenal.
Between then and March 2020, RoboSig fiduciary clients had allocated over $270Million of their own capital (or their investors’ capital) onto the RoboSig strategy. When Covid hit the markets in 2020, many of our clients were greatly affected by the volatility and so decided to shut down many of their funds. Unfortunately, while the RoboSig strategy was able to handle the Covid surprise quite well considering, 2020 was definitely the year the business was in survival mode.
RoboSig did survive and is currently executing an aggressive growth phase. In 2022, the company raised some money and launched a proprietary trading account.
Dieter says, “It made total sense to fund our future operational growth by using our own product, which has the unique ability of monetizing itself.”
Additionally, in partnership with Arb Asset Management, the RoboSig strategy will be available to qualified investors for private placement via the Arb RoboSig Alpha Gen Fund, which is being launched in January 2023.
Adding to this scenario, Dieter says, “Not only is the fund an easy way for qualified investors anywhere in the world to place their own capital onto the RoboSig FX Strategy, but all RoboSig team members are participating via their own personal allocations of cash into the fund. I feel that if the team who developed and is running the strategy day in and day out has their own skin in the game, it sends a very strong message of trust to our investors and partners.”
A Team that Exhibits Sheer Brilliance
The RoboSig dream team has created autonomous, systematic, and AI-supported market-neutral currency trading techniques to develop the most consistent risk-adjusted returns ever seen in the FX sector. These strategies are combined with automated risk management.
In addition to Dieter as CEO, other individuals whose names are success pillars of RoboSig’s unparalleled achievements are listed below:
Richard Preschern – CIO/Co-founder: From 2000 to 2014, Richard worked as an independent FX trader and electronic market-maker on and off the CME. After that, he shifted his attention to creating completely automated FX methods. In addition to determining the firm’s continuing research agenda, Richard is in charge of managing the strategic direction for the RoboSig product. In 1997, Richard earned a B.S. in Economics from Northwestern University and is expecting to complete his MBA from Quantic in 2023.
Yixin Xie, CFA, Quantitative Engineering and Analysis Manager: At League Trading, LLC, Yixin worked as a quantitative trader, building, and creating algorithmic trading systems in the area of agricultural commodities before joining RoboSig. He is in charge of and directs the quantitative engineering and analysis effort. Yixin is a CFA® charter holder and possesses a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Accounting from the University of Tulsa as well as a master’s in mathematical finance from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Chun “James” Kan, System Operations Manager: Since 2005, James has worked in the trading sector. At Lerner Trading Group, LLC, he participated in a market-making team on the CBOT trading floor and at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Before that, he worked as a researcher in the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
Shielded by Top-Tech Advancements
Any bank, prime broker, or private execution infrastructure can integrate with RoboSig technology. With the help of AI supported calibrations and eventual inline machine learning, the RoboSig FX strategy detects and exploits price anomalies to maximize both its returns and Sharpe/Sortino ratios.
Evolving with the Emerging Technologies
Dieter believes that RoboSig is only at the cusp of seeing what things like AI, Machine Learning, and other automated technologies will evolve into. He expresses, “In my opinion, what human beings bring to any situation will not be artificially replicated in whole. Emotions, ethical decision-making, and moral judgments are things that can’t be created artificially as it all has to be learned in order for any autonomous system (or human being) to truly understand it.”
As humans, the idea of what is considered ethical or moral stems primarily from survival instincts developed and passed down over millennia entrenched in the human experience. An artificially intelligent technology could conceivably learn these things in a much shorter amount of time, but it will do so from a machine experience perspective, not a human one. Dieter’s view of successful automation now and in the future leans more towards ‘auto-pilot’ vs. ‘autonomous.’
He shares, “In our case, the RoboSig FX Strategy does trade autonomously; however, there is always a team of people watching every trade and ready to intervene if an emergency ever warrants it since, in the world of finance, capital preservation is key.”
Indulging in the Pearls of Wisdom
Sharing a valuable piece of advice for budding aspirants who are willing to venture into strategy optimization and risk management solutions in the modern industry, Dieter shares, “The best products and services are created from a place of need versus a place of wanting to create something great. That doesn’t mean you can’t decide you want to build the next best thing and be successful at it, but it comes with its own set of additional challenges.”
He sheds light on a scenario, stating, “In the case of RoboSig, Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer, Richard Preschern, created the initial concept of the RoboSig strategy as a risk management tool he needed to utilize as a hedge for his own market-making endeavors.”
Embracing the Future Roadmap
The future of RoboSig will consist of growing the total amount of capital allocated to the strategy. Its projected R&D pipeline is also quite deep. Dieter believes that the RoboSig strategy has the ability to branch out into other asset classes beyond only trading in the FX space. This will require some serious R&D work to prove out and will be an integral part of RoboSig’s next chapter.
The Words of an Adept Leader
I was born in Chicago, but my family has Austrian roots, and so, growing up, I spent the first couple years of my life as well as many summers in Vienna. Through my teenage years, I played competitive tennis, went on to play for Northwestern University, and dabbled in the US professional satellite circuit. These days, my most important role is to be a dad. I started my first business when I was 14 years old and truly enjoy working with other entrepreneurs to facilitate innovation, form a cohesive execution plan, make an investment, and provide positive energy to help take that first step and get through the inevitable difficult times.
In 1997, I co-founded my first technology startup called HyperMeals.com, which enabled online food ordering from local restaurants for delivery. In 1999, I saw an opportunity in the electronic futures trading space when I noticed a small Chicago floor brokerage firm didn’t so much as have email, let alone any meaningful technology whatsoever. I pitched the CEO of Gelber Group, LLC, to fund the building of an electronic trading division inside the firm. Over the next decade, as Chief Information Officer and my incessant entrepreneurial drive, Gelber Group evolved to become a highly profitable global algorithmic trading firm with over $100 Million in capital and more than nine data centers in three different countries. I sold my ownership stake in 2011.
In 2015, I launched and provided seed funding for ReallyColor.com where we built patented technology that lets you turn your photos into coloring pages and custom coloring books. The company is still around today and going strong. ReallyColor is a popular draw for large businesses creating their own custom ReallyColor coloring books to use as unique and effective marketing tools. We’ve also sold physical and digital gift cards in Toys “R” Us, BJ’s Wholesale, Sam’s Club, and others.
In 2019, I joined RoboSig as Chief Technology Officer and, in 2021, was asked to lead as CEO.
