AQR posted a 2027 quantitative prediction markets summer analyst role in Greenwich, signaling a deeper push into event-contract trading across finance, crypto, sports, politics and culture.
The intern is tasked with finding reliable trading strategies and may help build or improve existing ones, suggesting AQR's work has moved beyond exploration after Cliff Asness said in November the fund was only considering the space.
AQR had already advertised an experienced prediction-markets quant role at up to $260,000 salary earlier this year, while profitable Polymarket or Kalshi traders can command total pay of up to $2 million.
The effort also extends AQR's sports analytics work, with senior hire Christian Berry joining in July after founding a startup for systematic Kalshi strategies.
Institutional interest is rising fast: Kalshi said in May volumes from such clients had surged 800% in six months, and Cantor Fitzgerald launched block trades for hedge-fund clients on Wednesday.
Will the influx of Wall Street giants like AQR destroy the lucrative arbitrage opportunities that originally made prediction markets attractive?
Are quantitative mega-funds quietly transforming everyday cultural and sports events into the next massive high-frequency trading playground?
How can retail traders survive in prediction markets when AI-driven hedge funds and institutional algorithms begin dominating event contract liquidity?