ABSTRACT Hybrid quantum‐classical optimization has emerged as a promising direction for addressing financial decision problems under current quantum hardware constraints. In this work we present a practical end‐to‐end portfolio optimization pipeline that combines (i) a continuous mean‐variance and Sharpe‐ratio formulation, (ii) a QUBO/CQM‐based discrete asset selection stage solved using D‐Wave's hybrid quantum annealing solver, (iii) classical convex optimization for computing optimal asset weights, and (iv) a quarterly rebalancing mechanism. Rather than claiming quantum advantage, our goal is to evaluate the feasibility and integration of these components within a deployable financial workflow. We empirically compare our hybrid pipeline against a fund manager in real time and indexes used in Indian stock market. The results indicate that the proposed framework can construct diversified portfolios and achieve competitive returns. We also report computational considerations and scalability observations drawn from the hybrid solver behavior. While the experiments are limited to moderate sized portfolios dictated by current annealing hardware and QUBO embedding constraints, the study illustrates how quantum assisted selection and classical allocation can be combined coherently in a real‐world setting. This work emphasizes methodological reproducibility and practical applicability, and aims to serve as a step toward larger‐scale financial optimization workflows as quantum annealers continue to mature.
ABSTRACT Hybrid quantum‐classical optimization has emerged as a promising direction for addressing financial decision problems under current quantum hardware constraints. In this work we present a practical end‐to‐end portfolio optimization pipeline that combines (i) a continuous mean‐variance and Sharpe‐ratio formulation, (ii) a QUBO/CQM‐based discrete asset selection stage solved using D‐Wave's hybrid quantum annealing solver, (iii) classical convex optimization for computing optimal asset weights, and (iv) a quarterly rebalancing mechanism. Rather than claiming quantum advantage, our goal is to evaluate the feasibility and integration of these components within a deployable financial workflow. We empirically compare our hybrid pipeline against a fund manager in real time and indexes used in Indian stock market. The results indicate that the proposed framework can construct diversified portfolios and achieve competitive returns. We also report computational considerations and scalability observations drawn from the hybrid solver behavior. While the experiments are limited to moderate sized portfolios dictated by current annealing hardware and QUBO embedding constraints, the study illustrates how quantum assisted selection and classical allocation can be combined coherently in a real‐world setting. This work emphasizes methodological reproducibility and practical applicability, and aims to serve as a step toward larger‐scale financial optimization workflows as quantum annealers continue to mature.
Quantum computing, leveraging principles such as superposition and entanglement, has shown remarkable potential in solving complex optimization problems. Quantum annealing (QA) is particularly effective for combinatorial optimization and has gained increasing attention in financial applications. However, financial decision-making problems typically involve conflicting objectives, such as the trade-off between minimizing risk and maximizing returns, posing challenges for current QA approaches in efficiently encoding multi-objective problems and constraints. To address this gap, we propose the first quantum annealing framework for bi-objective weighted portfolio optimization based on the trend ratio model, integrating D-Wave's latest constrained quadratic model (CQM) hybrid solver. Our approach offers flexibility to accommodate diverse investor preferences. Experimental evaluations using real-world U.S. stock market data demonstrate the effectiveness of our method, showing higher-quality solutions and faster runtimes compared to classical multi-objective optimization algorithms. These promising results highlight the significant potential of quantum computing in practical financial optimization scenarios.
This paper investigates and compares quantum and classical investment strategies for portfolio construction under realistic trading and allocation constraints. The study considers a multi-period portfolio re-balancing setting in which asset weights are subject to lower and upper bounds, class-level exposure restrictions, and turnover limitations. On the quantum side, the portfolio selection problem is reformulated as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) model through a finite binary encoding of asset weights, and subsequently embedded into a constrained quadratic model (CQM) solved by a hybrid quantum-classical optimization workflow. On the classical side, benchmark allocation strategies are introduced to provide an economically meaningful reference for performance assessment. The proposed framework jointly evaluates portfolio efficiency from two complementary perspectives: business performance, measured through return, volatility, and a measure of the trade-off between them, the Sharpe ratio; and computational performance, assessed through solver structure, constraint handling, and hardware execution characteristics. The resulting comparison provides a rigorous basis for understanding the practical role of quantum annealing in constrained portfolio optimization, while clarifying both its modeling advantages and its current implementation limitations relative to established classical approaches.
Quantum annealing has emerged as a promising computational paradigm for solving large-scale combinatorial optimization problems that are intractable for classical algorithms. Financial portfolio optimization, which involves balancing expected returns against risk under multiple practical constraints, represents one of the most challenging optimization tasks in quantitative finance. Traditional approaches based on mean-variance theory, heuristic meta-optimization, and classical quadratic programming often struggle to scale efficiently as the dimensionality of assets and constraints increases. This study explores the application of quantum annealing techniques to financial portfolio optimization by formulating the problem as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization model suitable for quantum hardware. The paper provides a systematic mapping of portfolio objectives and constraints into the Ising Hamiltonian framework and analyzes how quantum tunneling and probabilistic state transitions can enhance convergence toward near-global optima. Comparative insights between classical solvers and quantum annealing-based approaches are discussed in terms of solution quality, computational efficiency, and scalability. Furthermore, the study highlights current hardware limitations, embedding challenges, and noise effects that influence optimization performance. The findings indicate that quantum annealing offers substantial potential for accelerating portfolio optimization in high-dimensional financial systems, particularly in scenarios involving complex constraints and dynamic market conditions, thereby establishing a foundation for future quantum-driven financial decision-support systems.
The increasing complexity of financial markets has heightened the demand for advanced computational methods capable of optimizing portfolios under multi-dimensional constraints involving risk, return, diversification, and liquidity. Traditional optimization frameworks, such as mean-variance analysis and heuristic meta-optimization, are limited by their scalability and sensitivity to non-convex, high-dimensional data structures. This study explores the application of quantum algorithms to portfolio optimization, demonstrating how Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), Quantum Annealing, and Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) can address computational bottlenecks inherent in classical approaches. Quantum computation offers the potential to encode complex financial systems as Hamiltonian functions, allowing parallel exploration of vast solution spaces through superposition and entanglement. This enables faster convergence toward optimal portfolio allocations while simultaneously accounting for multi-factor correlations and dynamic market conditions. The research further investigates the role of hybrid quantum–classical optimization pipelines, in which quantum solvers perform core optimization tasks while classical systems manage data preprocessing and constraint validation. Empirical modeling and simulation indicate that quantum-based approaches can outperform conventional methods in risk-adjusted return optimization, efficient frontier computation, and real-time portfolio rebalancing. By bridging the gap between quantum computing and financial engineering, this study contributes to the development of next-generation financial analytics systems, aligning with the broader goal of achieving more adaptive, transparent, and data-resilient financial decision-making.
Quantum annealing (QA) represents a promising optimization technique to achieve both quantum and classical advantages and address real-world applications such as quantum finance, enabled by the rapid advancements in quantum computing (QC) in recent years. This study represents the first attempt to explore a novel weighted portfolio optimization model based on a new assessment strategy, trend ratio (TR), and extends its application to international stock markets, including DJIA, TSX, CAC, and FTSE. It utilizes the D-Wave Advantage quantum system and a hybrid solver to demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency in solving enterprise-scale financial problems. Experimental findings demonstrate that QA outperforms both classical and state-of-the-art quantum-inspired optimization techniques in evaluating returns and risks, including metrics such as daily profit factor (DPF), maximum drawdown (MDD), and TR. Furthermore, QA exhibits outstanding search capabilities, facilitating rapid identification of high-performance portfolios within a remarkably short timeframe. Statistical tests are adopted to prove that QA significantly improves solution quality while requiring less computational cost.
In this work, we introduce a new workflow to solve portfolio optimization problems on annealing platforms. We combine a classical preprocessing step with a modified unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) model and evaluate it using simulated annealing (classical computer), digital annealing (Fujitsu’s Digital Annealing Unit), and quantum annealing (D-Wave Advantage). Starting from Markowitz’s theory on portfolio optimization, our classical preprocessing step finds the most promising assets within a set of possible assets to choose from. We then modify existing QUBO models for portfolio optimization, such that there are no limitations on the number of assets that can be invested in. Furthermore, our QUBO model enables an investor to also place an arbitrary amount of money into each asset. We apply this modified QUBO to the set of promising asset candidates we generated previously via classical preprocessing. A solution to our QUBO model contains information about what percentage of the whole available capital should be invested into which asset. For the evaluation, we have used publicly available real-world data sets of stocks of the New York Stock Exchange as well as common ETFs. Finally, we have compared the respective annealing results with randomly generated portfolios by using the return, variance, and diversification of the created portfolios as measures. The results show that our QUBO formulation is capable of creating well-diversified portfolios that respect certain criteria given by an investor, such as maximizing return, minimizing risk, or sticking to a certain budget.