Dr Laura Ryan

Head of Research

Dr. Laura Ryan is Head of Research and Development at Ardea, leading both the Systems and Technology and Client Solutions teams. Her work focuses on building scalable, robust technology for trading and portfolio construction, and using advanced statistical and machine learning models to support idea generation.

The Client Solutions team also delivers independent quantitative research to help clients solve complex investment problems. This includes the Ardea Capital Management Tool, designed to optimise insurance portfolios across risk, return and regulatory capital but also to provide a modelling capability for other complex investment portfolios for both institutional and wholesale investors.

Laura has 26 years of investment experience and is an internationally published academic, with research featured in journals such as The Journal of Portfolio Management, The Journal of Forecasting, The Journal of Investing, The Journal of Retirement and The Global Finance Journal, among others.

Prior to joining Ardea, she was Senior Vice President (Quantitative Research) and part of the Australian senior management team at PIMCO. Her previous roles include Manager of Quantitative Strategy at Commonwealth Bank, Quantitative Manager at AMP Capital, and Lecturer in Statistics at the Australian National University (ANU).

She holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from ANU, a Master of Quantitative Finance from UTS, and an Honours degree in Actuarial Studies from ANU. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at UTS.

Outside of Ardea, Laura is the creator of The ImPossible House, a sustainable renovation project in Sydney focused on the journey to becoming fully off-grid for water, sewage and electricity. The house has been featured on Grand Designs Australia and Better Homes and Gardens.