Alternative data
UBS AM’s Quant & Data Science Unit Looks to Blend Human & Machine in 2021
The QED team within the asset manager is aligning its focus next year to deliver a holistic AI platform to its investment professionals—including a recommendation engine.
People Moves: Liquidnet, Quandl, State Street, CloudMargin, Greenwich Associates, Mediant, GLMX
A look at some of the key people moves from this week, including Steven Nichols (pictured) who has been appointed head of NLP and unstructured data at Liquidnet.
Fermi’s New Paradox: If AI Analysts Are So Obvious, Where is Everybody?
UBS AM’s Bryan Cross says the goal of embedding AI in the investment process has failed because the aim has been misguided.
FX Markets Ripe to Exploit Sentiment Data, Experts Say
Already well established as an alpha-enhancing input to equities trading, sentiment data is now being applied to other asset classes, starting with foreign exchange.
Waters Wrap: Blockchain is Still Overhyped (And Ion/Broadway Thoughts & the Consulting Boom)
In 2016, Anthony wrote that the blockchain revolution was overhyped—unsurprisingly, his opinions have not changed. He also delves into the Ion-Broadway deal, and looks at new consulting/advisory firms that have recently come to market.
This Week: RepRisk/JP Morgan; TP Icap; Moody’s/MioTech; FTSE Russell; SimCorp & More
A summary of some of the past week’s financial technology news.
Waters Wrap: Exploring New Ideas in the Alt Data Market (And Some Election Notes)
Anthony takes a look at some new alternative data offerings coming to market, and also explains why there’s so little election coverage on this website.
TickSmith, Alqami Ally to Help Alt Data Sources Structure, Sell Data
Alqami will advise wannabe alternative data vendors on the value of their content, while TickSmith will provide the technology platform for them to sell it to potential clients.
RavenPack Adopts 'NLP-as-a-Service' Model with Focus on Firms' Internal Data
The news sentiment and analysis specialist wants to help banks tap into the datasets they sit on every day, but don't yet possess the capabilities to use.
Citi Readies Price-Shock Detection System
Once the bot is in production, the D10X team will start scaling it beyond the oil trading team to other trading desks.
BMLL Now Has 5 Years of Order Book Data Available
Quants and data scientists can now access five years of Level 3 data through the vendor's Data Lab platform for use in alpha generation.
FISD Reports Progress on Alt Data Standards, Data Dictionary
Officials say FISD's standards efforts will encourage and support broader adoption of alternative data among firms that have previously not had the resources to take advantage of new alt datasets.
Fulcrum AM Looks to Quantify ESG Risk by Honing Hard Numbers
ESG risks will become part of investment and risk management processes across all funds at the firm.
On Democracy and Alt Data's Democratization: Preparing For the US Election
Advancements in modeling and the rise of alt data have made the process of prepping for the US presidential election more complex, but hopefully more accurate.
Asset Manager Nuveen Builds New Data Platform to Integrate ESG Information
The TIAA company has developed its own metrics and partnered with provider Zaloni for a comprehensive approach to sustainable investing.
Financial Sector Should Commercialize Data Management Knowledge to Advance Other Industries
Just as there’s always money to be made from doing dirty jobs, there are opportunities around dirty data—especially in industries that are only now beginning to appreciate the value of being data-driven.
Alt Data Aims to Shake up Credit Scoring Business
Young firms, using machine-learning methods to scrape consumer info, challenge established agency model.
Fund Managers Seek to Plug Holes in ESG Data
Quant funds are striving to adjust their ESG models to take into account changes in corporate behavior during the pandemic.
Waters Wrap: Causal Machine Learning Represents Next Evolution of AI (Plus ESG & Innovation Issues)
Anthony looks at an interesting project using causal inference by IBM and Refinitiv, and what this latest evolution of machine learning could mean for innovation in the capital markets in the future.
Data Standards Can't Keep Up with Data Use Cases
In the era of big data, standards take too long to adopt, say industry participants.
Low-Code Movement Gains Converts, but Skeptics Remain
What if you could create your ideal, fully-functional application without writing a single line of code? With low-code and no-code platforms, you can—with a catch … or two, or three, or four.
S&P Global Introduces 10 Million Private Company Profiles to Market Intelligence
The new datasets mark a milestone in the company's multi-year strategy to allow investors greater access to small and medium enterprise companies.
Waters Wrap: How Cloud, APIs, and Open Source Are Changing the World of Fintech (And Blockchain's ZTA Play)
Anthony looks at how the lines that have traditionally defined the world of "fintech" are blurring. Also, can blockchain help with ZTA's advancement?
Moving forward with Libor transition and Ibor reform
This report provides a guide to figuring out what is at stake with Libor and other interbank offered rates. It addresses the challenges and risks, the development of alternative data or reference rates, and begins the process of replacing Libor well…