When Barry Johnson began writing his 592-page tome “Algorithmic Trading & DMA” in 2006, it was going to be a beginner’s guide. Then everything changed in 2008.
Johnson showed his draft to trading professionals who said the book was a more thorough text than a primer. Concurrently, his mother Margaret, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2003, saw the disease come out of remission aggressively.
So Johnson forged on and continued research on his book, while at the same time learning more about the incurable form of cancer his mother faced. Myeloma is a cancer that affects the plasma cells, found in bone marrow and is responsible for antibody production.
Prior to this, he was a software developer building systems that analyzed risk for banks and was fascinated by the world of finance, working his way from the back office and software to the high profile front line IT desk.
“I wanted to learn more about market microstructure and how to apply it for trading rules and ended up writing this book,” Johnson said. “One of the aims of the book is to try and marry all the various research studies that have been carried out with the practice of execution.”
The book explains algorithmic trading from the ground up, moving from market basics to order types and then to execution algorithms like volume-weighted average pricing and implementation shortfall. Later chapters, not included in the original manuscript, cover portfolio and multi-asset trading, data mining and artificial intelligence.
In 2009, after a brief recovery, his mother succumbed to her cancer.
After taking time to grieve the loss, Johnson finalized the book and began shopping it to publishers. After negotiations with a major publisher failed to produce the desired charitable contribution to MyelomaUK, in honor of his mother, he opted to self-publish instead.
“I just want to get the name of the cancer, myeloma out there,” Johnson said, when asked about the decision to self-publish. “A lot of people haven’t heard of multiple myeloma and it is often confused with melanoma.”
Multiple myeloma is currently incurable.
The book is dedicated to Johnson’s mother, as you might expect, and self-published by 4Myeloma Press. “Algorithmic Trading & DMA” is available for $39.20 at Amazon.com. Net proceeds are earmarked for the charity Myeloma UK.
