Why banks like Barclays are testing quantum computing

Barclays and JPMorgan Chase have been experimenting with IBM's quantum computing technology since December, when they joined the tech company's Q network. Salvatore Cucchiara at Morgan Stanley last week articulated the bank's hope of speeding up portfolio optimizations like Monte Carlo simulations with the help of quantum computing. True Positive Technologies, which creates investment strategies for institutional investors with the use of machine learning, has been working with quantum computers since 2014 for portfolio optimization and scenario simulations. Dr. Marcos Lopez de Prado, who founded Guggenheim Partners' Quantitative Investment Strategies business and is now CEO of True Positive, argues that quantum computing will solve financial firms' need for increased computing capacity in the future, while requiring less energy than traditional computers suck up. "Quantum computing will become increasingly important over time," he said.