Hitesh Mittal

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Hitesh Mittal is an American financial technology entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of BestEx Research, a company that provides algorithmic trading solutions for equities, futures, and foreign exchange markets.
== Background ==
=== AQR Capital Management ===
Mittal joined AQR Capital Management in January 2012 as global head of trading, overseeing the firm's trading operations across all asset classes and managing a 24x7 trading desk. He also founded AQR's advanced systematic trading (AST) group to automate execution of equities, FX, and futures trading using internally developed algorithms.
However, Mittal's tenure at AQR ended abruptly in August 2015. On August 9, 2015, AQR terminated Mittal's employment following reports of his involvement in an SEC investigation related to his previous employer, Investment Technology Group (ITG).
=== Investment Technology Group (ITG) ===
Prior to AQR, from February 2001 to August 2011, Mittal served as global head of algorithmic trading and liquidity management at ITG. In this role, he was responsible for ITG's algorithmic trading and ITG's ATS POSIT globally.
In August 2015, ITG agreed to pay $20.3 million in fines, interest, and profit disgorgement related to running a secret trading project that allegedly relied on confidential client information and improper trading in the firm's "dark pool". While Mittal was not formally named in the SEC action, his role in the project was reported by several news outlets.
=== Regulatory Investigation and Legal Action ===
In August 2015, Mittal took a voluntary leave of absence from AQR amid the SEC investigation into his former employer, ITG. ITG subsequently agreed to pay $20.3 million to settle SEC allegations related to its dark pool operations
In July 2018, Mittal filed a complaint with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against ITG, claiming the firm had wrongly implicated him in the SEC probe, leading to his termination from AQR.
In October 2019, a FINRA arbitration panel awarded Mittal more than $6 million in his case against ITG. This award was one of the largest granted by a FINRA panel in recent years.
=== BestEx Research ===
In 2017, Mittal founded BestEx Research with the goal of providing research-driven, high-performance execution algorithms for all regions and asset classes. 
Under Mittal's leadership, BestEx Research has introduced several innovative products, including:
* IS Zero: A new category of execution algorithm designed to minimize implementation shortfall for low-urgency trades.
* Strategy Studio: A platform providing no-code algo customization, A/B testing, and automation tools for buy- and sell-side clients.
==== Awards and Recognition ====
Under Mittal's leadership, BestEx Research has won several industry awards, including:
* Best Algorithmic Trading Provider in the Waters Rankings
* Best Buy-Side Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) tool in Waters Technology's Buy-Side Technology Awards 
==== Patents and Publications ====
Mittal has won three patents with his colleagues related to trading algorithms and has published several research papers on market structure.
== Education ==
Mittal holds an MBA in finance from New York University and a Bachelor of Engineering in computer science from JNV University, India.
== References ==	
Category:ITG - Former Employees
Category:ITG
Category:AQR
Category:AQR - Former Employees
Category:Algorithmic Trading
Category:Financial Technology
Category:BestEx Research