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Writing a Financial Services App in Python

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  Writing a Financial Services App in Python Cai Gengyang <gengyangcai@gmail.com> - 2015-11-19 03:59 -0800
    Re: Writing a Financial Services App in Python Jeremy Leonard <jrmy.lnrd@gmail.com> - 2015-11-19 07:02 -0800
      Re: Writing a Financial Services App in Python Cai Gengyang <gengyangcai@gmail.com> - 2015-11-19 07:24 -0800
        Re: Writing a Financial Services App in Python Michael Torrie <torriem@gmail.com> - 2015-11-19 09:07 -0700
    Re: Writing a Financial Services App in Python Michael Torrie <torriem@gmail.com> - 2015-11-19 09:00 -0700
      Re: Writing a Financial Services App in Python Cai Gengyang <gengyangcai@gmail.com> - 2015-11-19 08:20 -0800
        Re: Writing a Financial Services App in Python Michael Torrie <torriem@gmail.com> - 2015-11-19 10:25 -0700
    Re: Writing a Financial Services App in Python William Ray Wing <wrw@mac.com> - 2015-11-19 21:58 -0500

#99051 — Writing a Financial Services App in Python

From YCombinator's new RFS, This is the problem I want to solve as it is a severe problem I face myself and something I need. I want to write this app in Python as I heard that Python is a great language that many programmers use ... How / where do I start ? The problem is detailed below :

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Saving money is hard and Americans are particularly bad at it. Because the personal savings rate has largely been falling since the early 80s, we don't have sufficient cushions to face economic shocks, weather unexpected unemployment, or even enjoy our retirements.
Its simply too hard to find good ways to save or to invest. Savings accounts only pay a fraction of what's needed to keep up with inflation. Picking individual stocks and bonds exposes investors to huge volatility and does nothing to guarantee a return.

While investors can dampen their volatility through various exchanges or closed ended funds, the reality is that few have the expertise needed to properly mix those funds, rebalance them, and optimize them for taxes to capture the best possible return (no matter how you define that) given each dollar of invested capital. Even if investors were able to pick optimal investment strategies, they'd find that that fees are a huge drag on performance.

This seems to us like something software should help solve. We'd like to see teams tackling each of the component issues around saving and investing, along with ones tackling the entire package.


Thanks alot !

Cai Gengyang

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#99061

On Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 7:00:05 AM UTC-5, Cai Gengyang wrote:
> From YCombinator's new RFS, This is the problem I want to solve as it is a severe problem I face myself and something I need. I want to write this app in Python as I heard that Python is a great language that many programmers use ... How / where do I start ? The problem is detailed below :
> 
> FINANCIAL SERVICES
> 
> Saving money is hard and Americans are particularly bad at it. Because the personal savings rate has largely been falling since the early 80s, we don't have sufficient cushions to face economic shocks, weather unexpected unemployment, or even enjoy our retirements.
> Its simply too hard to find good ways to save or to invest. Savings accounts only pay a fraction of what's needed to keep up with inflation. Picking individual stocks and bonds exposes investors to huge volatility and does nothing to guarantee a return.
> 
> While investors can dampen their volatility through various exchanges or closed ended funds, the reality is that few have the expertise needed to properly mix those funds, rebalance them, and optimize them for taxes to capture the best possible return (no matter how you define that) given each dollar of invested capital. Even if investors were able to pick optimal investment strategies, they'd find that that fees are a huge drag on performance.
> 
> This seems to us like something software should help solve. We'd like to see teams tackling each of the component issues around saving and investing, along with ones tackling the entire package.
> 
> 
> Thanks alot !
> 
> Cai Gengyang

What platform do you want the app to target (web/desktop/etc...)?

Jeremy

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#99062

It will be a web-based application. 

Something like this : https://www.slicedinvesting.com/, but with different, better, more features and also graphics , forums, a system to track your daily, monthly expenses and earnings, a graphical tutorial system to teach users financial literacy , learn and utilise ways to invest and trade their money properly and create computerised trend following systems to trade stocks in the stock market. 

The truth is, very few individual investors really know how to properly trade stocks , and hedge funds are open to mainly very wealthy clients. Computerised and automated trend following systems can legally create huge profits for investors if a disciplined automated systems are utilised. 

I for example, am a terrible trader because of having almost zero discipline and thus keep losing money. My plan is to create such an all-in-one platform to help individual users like myself who might not have millions of dollars to invest in professional hedge funds properly invest , trade , keep track of their money and also network with our individual investors. 



On Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 11:03:50 PM UTC+8, Jeremy Leonard wrote:
> On Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 7:00:05 AM UTC-5, Cai Gengyang wrote:
> > From YCombinator's new RFS, This is the problem I want to solve as it is a severe problem I face myself and something I need. I want to write this app in Python as I heard that Python is a great language that many programmers use ... How / where do I start ? The problem is detailed below :
> > 
> > FINANCIAL SERVICES
> > 
> > Saving money is hard and Americans are particularly bad at it. Because the personal savings rate has largely been falling since the early 80s, we don't have sufficient cushions to face economic shocks, weather unexpected unemployment, or even enjoy our retirements.
> > Its simply too hard to find good ways to save or to invest. Savings accounts only pay a fraction of what's needed to keep up with inflation. Picking individual stocks and bonds exposes investors to huge volatility and does nothing to guarantee a return.
> > 
> > While investors can dampen their volatility through various exchanges or closed ended funds, the reality is that few have the expertise needed to properly mix those funds, rebalance them, and optimize them for taxes to capture the best possible return (no matter how you define that) given each dollar of invested capital. Even if investors were able to pick optimal investment strategies, they'd find that that fees are a huge drag on performance.
> > 
> > This seems to us like something software should help solve. We'd like to see teams tackling each of the component issues around saving and investing, along with ones tackling the entire package.
> > 
> > 
> > Thanks alot !
> > 
> > Cai Gengyang
> 
> What platform do you want the app to target (web/desktop/etc...)?
> 
> Jeremy

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#99067

On 11/19/2015 08:24 AM, Cai Gengyang wrote:
> It will be a web-based application.

Contract it out.  Or attract people who are interested in making an open
source application.  What you are thinking of is a massive undertaking.

Web-based application design is even more complicated than desktop app
design.  Web development involves many different languages.  Requires a
working knowledge of:

- Python programming
- a web framework for processing events like Django or web2py or
something similar
- html
- css
- SQL
- Javascript, including jquery and probably others

To say nothing of the algorithms necessary to implement the trend
analysis you speak of.

> I for example, am a terrible trader because of having almost zero 
> discipline and thus keep losing money.

Something tells me if the people you're trying to help have zero
discipline, then I don't think software is really going to help them.
Computers are just tools.

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#99065

On 11/19/2015 04:59 AM, Cai Gengyang wrote:
> 
> From YCombinator's new RFS, This is the problem I want to solve as it
> is a severe problem I face myself and something I need. I want to
> write this app in Python as I heard that Python is a great language
> that many programmers use ... How / where do I start ? The problem is
> detailed below :

I'm afraid you're going to be discouraged.

Well the first step is you have to learn programming.  And you don't
start with such a large problem, I assure you.  You start by learning
the language by following the tutorials, writing small programs to
become familiar with programming and the language itself.  Then you
become familiar with related things like algorithms and data structures,
and how to use them with and from Python (or any language).  Eventually
you add to that graphical user interface development.

After that then you might be in a position to start thinking about how
to design and build a program that does what you were talking about.

There honestly are no shortcuts.  Python is a great language, and is
easy to learn, but it's not like you can start cranking out full-blown
applications magically.  In the hands of experienced programmers, yes
Python is incredibly fast and flexible for cranking out working apps.

You might try checking out a Python application development framework
that can produce apps that will run on Android and iOS (and Windows and
Linux) called Kivy.  I would think mobile should be your target platform
for such an app.

> <snip>

> This seems to us like something software should help solve. We'd like
> to see teams tackling each of the component issues around saving and
> investing, along with ones tackling the entire package.

Are you wanting to contract with some programmers to create this
application for you?

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#99069

Sure ... is this : https://www.codecademy.com/learn/python a good place to learn Python ?

Are you wanting to contract with some programmers to create this application for you? ---- Eventually I will have to find programming co-founders and employees to create and iterate the product as user feedback streams in. But I will write the initial prototype myself because I plan to be the main programmer / founder , but yes ... eventually I will need 1 or even 2 co-founders and when the platform gains enough users, we will have to hire programmers and sales/ business people. But this will be a tech-heavy company and all the main founders and employees should be excellent programmers. But for the moment, I plan to write the initial prototype myself ... 


On Friday, November 20, 2015 at 12:00:34 AM UTC+8, Michael Torrie wrote:
> On 11/19/2015 04:59 AM, Cai Gengyang wrote:
> > 
> > From YCombinator's new RFS, This is the problem I want to solve as it
> > is a severe problem I face myself and something I need. I want to
> > write this app in Python as I heard that Python is a great language
> > that many programmers use ... How / where do I start ? The problem is
> > detailed below :
> 
> I'm afraid you're going to be discouraged.
> 
> Well the first step is you have to learn programming.  And you don't
> start with such a large problem, I assure you.  You start by learning
> the language by following the tutorials, writing small programs to
> become familiar with programming and the language itself.  Then you
> become familiar with related things like algorithms and data structures,
> and how to use them with and from Python (or any language).  Eventually
> you add to that graphical user interface development.
> 
> After that then you might be in a position to start thinking about how
> to design and build a program that does what you were talking about.
> 
> There honestly are no shortcuts.  Python is a great language, and is
> easy to learn, but it's not like you can start cranking out full-blown
> applications magically.  In the hands of experienced programmers, yes
> Python is incredibly fast and flexible for cranking out working apps.
> 
> You might try checking out a Python application development framework
> that can produce apps that will run on Android and iOS (and Windows and
> Linux) called Kivy.  I would think mobile should be your target platform
> for such an app.
> 
> > <snip>
> 
> > This seems to us like something software should help solve. We'd like
> > to see teams tackling each of the component issues around saving and
> > investing, along with ones tackling the entire package.
> 
> Are you wanting to contract with some programmers to create this
> application for you?

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#99072

On 11/19/2015 09:20 AM, Cai Gengyang wrote:
> Sure ... is this : https://www.codecademy.com/learn/python a good
> place to learn Python ?

Why not have a look first at the many tutorials, including the ones on
Python's web site?  You need to explore feasibility first before you go
too far. Python is not the only language out there. I happen to like it,
but there are other popular choices.  An experienced developer can pick
up and program in any language very quickly.

Also you need to know a lot more than just programming in Python.  You
will need to know the various web development technologies and languages.

I don't say this just to discourage you up front.  I say this from a lot
of sad experience.  Your goals are *very* ambitious.  I've seen fairly
straightforward web apps stretch out into years and many tens of
thousands of dollars with whole teams of programmers.  And it does not
appear you have any programming experience at all yet.

Forget about a web app for now.  Work on the pieces like the algorithms
needed for doing the analysis you require.  Do some simple programs that
only do console input and output.

> Are you wanting to contract with some programmers to create this
> application for you? ---- Eventually I will have to find programming
> co-founders and employees to create and iterate the product as user
> feedback streams in. But I will write the initial prototype myself
> because I plan to be the main programmer / founder , but yes ...
> eventually I will need 1 or even 2 co-founders and when the platform
> gains enough users, we will have to hire programmers and sales/
> business people. But this will be a tech-heavy company and all the
> main founders and employees should be excellent programmers. But for
> the moment, I plan to write the initial prototype myself ...

Sounds ambitious! Hope you have a business plan in mind from the start.

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#99121

> On Nov 19, 2015, at 6:59 AM, Cai Gengyang <gengyangcai@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> From YCombinator's new RFS, This is the problem I want to solve as it is a severe problem I face myself and something I need. I want to write this app in Python as I heard that Python is a great language that many programmers use ... How / where do I start ? The problem is detailed below :
> 
> FINANCIAL SERVICES
> 

[Big edit]

You might enjoy reading the note here:  http://www.wsj.com/articles/an-algo-and-a-dream-for-day-traders-1439160100?mod=djem10point

Which, among other things, points out that DIY algorithmic trading is the latest DIY craze.

Bill

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