Why don't independent quants exist? Well it comes down to opportunity cost and scalability. Even with a million dollars and 10% returns (which is higher than average) you would only bring in $100,000 the first year. If you took that $100,000 as a salary and kept investing with a 10% return you only make $100,000. Working for yourself and trading has large risks and fluctuations. Most quants starting their first job will make between $80k-$100k plus a bonus and other benefits like 401k and healthcare. From this perspective it is easier to work for someone else where you are compensated more and have less stress and risk.

Now if you are really good at investing you'll want to scale your operation so you make a lot more than $100k. To do this you'll need investors and this will require other costs such as hiring a lawyer to set up your fund and manage all the investing regulations. As you get more capital you'll also need to hire people to do the accounting, data engineering, trading, and quant finance as you won't have enough time to invest all of the money. Now you end up working for investors and not yourself AND you now will spend most of your time running a firm and not doing the quant finance research unless you find a partner to help with the business side.

Overall people typically end up working for someone else or starting their own firm. Both are from from being independent as you either work for a firm or for investors and both are demanding.


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