Top Models Per Asset Class | Dataford Interview Questions

Balyasny Asset Management wants to compare research models within each asset class using their evaluation returns. Write a PostgreSQL query that identifies the three highest performance ranks for each asset class.

Requirements

Calculate each model's average return_pct during the first quarter of 2025.
Rank models within their asset class using DENSE_RANK, with the highest average return ranked first.
Return every model whose dense rank is 3 or lower, including ties at the third rank.
Exclude models with no non-null evaluation returns, and order the results by asset class, rank, and average return descending.

Schema

research_models

Column	Type	Description
model_idPK	INT	Unique research model identifier
model_name	VARCHAR(100)	Name of the research model
asset_class	VARCHAR(50)	Asset class assigned to the model
launched_on	DATE	Date the model was launched

model_performance

Column	Type	Description
performance_idPK	INT	Unique performance evaluation identifier
model_id	INT	Referenced research model
evaluation_date	DATE	Date of the performance evaluation
return_pct	DECIMAL(8,4)	Model return percentage for the evaluation period

Your question is Top Models Per Asset Class. Start with the requirements and the two tables in the Question tab.

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Problem