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Main Authors: Hoque, Mohammad Rezoanul, Ferdaus, Md Meftahul, Hassan, M. Kabir
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.10913
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author Hoque, Mohammad Rezoanul
Ferdaus, Md Meftahul
Hassan, M. Kabir
author_facet Hoque, Mohammad Rezoanul
Ferdaus, Md Meftahul
Hassan, M. Kabir
contents Reinforcement learning (RL) is an innovative approach to financial decision making, offering specialized solutions to complex investment problems where traditional methods fail. This review analyzes 167 articles from 2017--2025, focusing on market making, portfolio optimization, and algorithmic trading. It identifies key performance issues and challenges in RL for finance. Generally, RL offers advantages over traditional methods, particularly in market making. This study proposes a unified framework to address common concerns such as explainability, robustness, and deployment feasibility. Empirical evidence with synthetic data suggests that implementation quality and domain knowledge often outweigh algorithmic complexity. The study highlights the need for interpretable RL architectures for regulatory compliance, enhanced robustness in nonstationary environments, and standardized benchmarking protocols. Organizations should focus less on algorithm sophistication and more on market microstructure, regulatory constraints, and risk management in decision-making.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_10913
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Reinforcement Learning in Financial Decision Making: A Systematic Review of Performance, Challenges, and Implementation Strategies
Hoque, Mohammad Rezoanul
Ferdaus, Md Meftahul
Hassan, M. Kabir
Computational Finance
Reinforcement learning (RL) is an innovative approach to financial decision making, offering specialized solutions to complex investment problems where traditional methods fail. This review analyzes 167 articles from 2017--2025, focusing on market making, portfolio optimization, and algorithmic trading. It identifies key performance issues and challenges in RL for finance. Generally, RL offers advantages over traditional methods, particularly in market making. This study proposes a unified framework to address common concerns such as explainability, robustness, and deployment feasibility. Empirical evidence with synthetic data suggests that implementation quality and domain knowledge often outweigh algorithmic complexity. The study highlights the need for interpretable RL architectures for regulatory compliance, enhanced robustness in nonstationary environments, and standardized benchmarking protocols. Organizations should focus less on algorithm sophistication and more on market microstructure, regulatory constraints, and risk management in decision-making.
title Reinforcement Learning in Financial Decision Making: A Systematic Review of Performance, Challenges, and Implementation Strategies
topic Computational Finance
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.10913