Quantum Global Group

Quantum Readiness Month

Course 4 lab · QR-4

Classical baseline to quantum comparison

This is the professional habit Quantum Global Group teaches with the Portfolio Lab: define the classical baseline, map the problem, optimize, and benchmark. A circuit without this paragraph cannot pass the month.

  1. 1. Name the problem

    Owner, decision, and constraint. Example: allocate a long-only equity book under weight caps with a stated risk metric.

  2. 2. Freeze the instance

    Same tickers, same date window, same data vendor. If the instance moves when the method moves, it is not a comparison.

  3. 3. Pick the classical method

    Equal weight, Markowitz, min-variance, HRP — whatever is the honest production-grade default. Tune it. Write the hyperparameters.

  4. 4. Declare the metric

    Sharpe, volatility, drawdown, energy, feasibility, PR-AUC. One primary metric, two secondary. Include uncertainty.

  5. 5. Map toward quantum

    Show the encoding (often QUBO / Ising) or the variational cost. Say what does not map. Hybrid is expected.

  6. 6. Optimize on the quantum-inspired or QPU path

    QUBO+SA, QAOA, VQE — simulator is enough for the month. Record shots, iterations, backend, noise model.

  7. 7. Compare, then recommend

    Fill the table. A go means the quantum path earned a follow-up. A no-go is a passing grade if the reasoning is clean.

Worked example

Use the Portfolio Lab on a small universe (for example Mag 7 + JPM). Run a classical objective first. Then run a QUBO+SA or VQE/QAOA path on the same instance. Export the comparison into the week-4 capstone brief.

Open Portfolio Lab