Alternative data

You open your phone, take an eye exam, and find out your risk of Alzheimer’s 3-5 years ahead even though you have no symptoms. A doctor takes data (CT scans, genomic tests, blood labs, demographics...

In recent years, everyone talks about Big Data. We are always connected, so it is no mystery that the amount of data that is generated daily is scary. Throughout these years, a large number...

For several years now, my focus has been on using alternative data of many kinds to predict macroeconomic statistics. When ran the Futures Group for the PDT Group at Morgan Stanley in the 1990’s...

The Full Extent of How Your Personal Data is Being (Mis)used You are going to the supermarket for groceries; on your shopping list, you have fruits, chocolate, and paper towels. While this is a simple...

Alternative data conferences connect actors in the buy-side ecosystem to explore novel use cases as the demand for alternative data is increasingly intense.  Only the largest and most sophisticated players with distinctly unique roles...

The role of data analytics in the finance industry is profound and growing with each passing year. With data science, machine learning, and modeling, data analytics professionals can use these tools for organizations to...

You are the CEO of a well-known asset management company and are sitting in a meeting with a new data vendor, your new portfolio manager (PM) who is an expert in alternative data, and...

Currency markets present one of the most challenging but rewarding market opportunities to both institutional and individual investors. With the advancement of algorithms and applications, what gives investors some of the best competitive edges are...

Alternative data is now being hailed as the new oil. These data sets give a unique and timely view of the market and various industries. They provide valuable insights and help us predict events...

In late August, connected bike and treadmill company Peloton - described as the “Netflix of exercise” - filed paperwork to go public. Their business model is based on a combination of hardware sales and ongoing...

Alternative data is defined as non-traditional data investors use to gain insights into their investment process. Unlike traditional datasets data such as financial statements and sales figures, alternative data offers investors insights into a...

Most investors will have heard that co-working company WeWork plans to go public this fall. Its tequila-swigging, surfer dude CEO Adam Neumann makes renting office space sound like a spiritual movement. Despite WeWork’s staggering losses,...

Today’s hedge fund managers and analysts are increasingly shifting their gaze toward alternative data as a linchpin asset to drive investment decisions. In fact, seventy-eight percent of hedge funds are currently using or are...

Alternative data is gaining popularity among hedge fund managers and financial institutions these days. Despite the fact that it opens up new layers of challenges and complexities in the asset selection process, alternative data...

Identifying disaster-related tweets using deep learning and natural language processing with Fast Ai I’m still taking the Fast Ai course and can’t stop thinking how easily you can make an effective deep learning model with just...

When JCPenney reported its financial results for 2Q 2015, it came as quite a shock to the market. The US retail giant outperformed most analyst expectations, which subsequently led to a 10% surge in its...

Data that was once hiding in plain sight can hide no more. With sophisticated software, new data continues to be extracted – or ‘scraped’ – from a growing variety of online sources. Coupled with...

The alarm sounds. Time to wake up. Still bleary-eyed, you reach for your phone to check your messages. You turn the phone on. Before you know it, the tracking begins… But this tracking is not some...

We recently discussed how companies such as Quandl are leading this alternative data revolution. Now, quantitative hedge funds are only too willing to spend substantial amounts of time, money and effort obtaining such data,...

Alpha, as a measure of active management skills in the fund’s world, gauge the manager’s ability to beat the market. Skills aside, it is also largely related to information sources that the manager uses,...