Do traders really use John Hull?

John Hull’s book, Options, Futures and Other Derivatives, is often considered the bible of derivatives markets. But one question keeps coming up, particularly on specialist forums such as r/quant on Reddit:

👉 Do quantitative traders and researchers actually read Hull?

Spoiler: yes… and no.

📘 John Hull: a foundational theoretical text

First published in the 1980s, John Hull’s book is an academic classic taught at leading finance schools such as LSE, HEC Paris and Imperial College London.

The book covers:

• Derivatives: options, futures and swaps.
• Valuation models such as Black–Scholes.
• Risk management and hedging concepts.

It provides a solid foundation for understanding how derivatives markets work and is often recommended to aspiring quantitative traders and risk managers.

💼 What professionals say on Reddit

In the r/quant discussion, several people from quantitative finance shared their views.

Here is what emerged:

🧩 1. A fundamental book, but rarely used daily

“Hull is the basics. No one reads it every day, but everyone should have understood it once.”

Traders recognise that Hull provides an intellectual foundation, but real trading strategies rely on much more complex models. It is a little like knowing Newtonian physics before studying quantum mechanics.

⚙️ 2. Reading for learning, not application

“The strategies I use have nothing to do with what you read in Hull…”

The book remains academic. Modern tools such as C++, Python and advanced stochastic calculations dominate trading floors. Quants rely more on in-house models and real data than on the book’s theoretical examples.

🧠 3. A symbolic and cultural reference

“To be credible in the industry, you should at least be able to cite Hull.”

Even if many no longer use it actively, knowing Hull is part of financial culture. It is a way to show an understanding of market structure and the underlying mathematical logic.

📉 4. A book some consider outdated

Some traders believe Hull no longer reflects today’s markets: derivatives are now too complex and volatility models too dynamic.

More specialised books such as Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance or Steven Shreve’s Stochastic Calculus for Finance are often preferred.

🧮 Should you read John Hull in 2025?

Yes, but with perspective. John Hull’s book remains an essential starting point for understanding the fundamentals of markets finance, particularly:

• option pricing;
• interest rates;
• risk hedging.

But it is no longer enough to perform as a modern quant. Traders now use complex computational frameworks, machine learning and high-frequency data.

👉 To go further, see:

• QuantStart — a resource for learning modern quantitative finance;
• Investopedia — accessible explanations of derivatives concepts;
• Paul Wilmott’s Blog — practitioners’ perspectives.

⚖️ Conclusion: between myth, culture and reality

John Hull is not dead. It has simply become a rite of passage, foundational reading that people then move beyond.

In other words: every serious quantitative trader has read Hull… but none has it to hand when coding a strategy.

Do traders still read John Hull? → Yes, to learn the basics. In practice, they use more advanced tools.

Is Hull still relevant? → Yes for understanding concepts, no for direct algorithmic trading applications.

What should you read after Hull? → Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance, Stochastic Calculus for Finance (Shreve), and resources such as QuantStart.