Xiao Qiao is a research analyst for a Connecticut-based hedge fund, focused on trading commodity futures. He graduated with a PhD in Finance—and was a teaching assistant to renown economist Eugene Fama. Notably, Xiao has also worked directly with trading legend Blair Hull on two quantitative research projects, which concern market timing and return predictability. The main objective of this episode with Xiao, is to learn how a research analyst thinks about things directly related to research, and ways that you can do better market research for yourself. On top of this, Xiao, based on his experience, shares a few tips for those who have an urge to study something—but are unsure about what to study, and some of the differences he's observed between the world of academia and working as a practitioner.