Hedge funds
Small alt data providers feel pressure to specialize
GTCOM-US, once a bespoke alt data shop for the buy side, has narrowed its offering to focus on Chinese datasets as the largest alt data players get even bigger.
GameStop post-mortem: Alt data world confronts eroding barrier between online and real life
After Redditors staged an epic short squeeze against a handful of hedge funds, some in the industry are left wondering whether today’s models and data techniques are prepared for world where online often equals real life.
Financial markets and herd mentalities
Support for the little guys (and girls!) of retail investing has been encouraging to witness, but when it comes to GameStop, Wei-Shen wonders what the bigger picture shows.
Futures trading algos ripe for disruptive new entrants
Algorithm development specialist BestEx Research is making a play to address inefficiencies in futures trading algorithms.
The embrace of buy-side interoperability: State Street, SimCorp team up
The partnership between the two major players in the buy-side technology space reflects the shift in how rivals do business.
Quants Find New Ways to Identify Inventive Companies
Buy-side firms are using patent and other types of data to identify trailblazer companies from phonies.
Machine Learning in the Capital Markets 2020: ML Spreads During Pandemic
WatersTechnology looks at how 10 different firms are embedding machine learning algorithms into their platforms and tools.
SS&C Advent Looks to the Cloud for Future Tech Deployments
After the rollout of its Genesis platform, SS&C Advent is now thinking about how it can transition platforms like Geneva, Moxy, and APX to the cloud, though it’s a long-term project.
Startup Hedge Fund Turns to Quantamental Analysis for ESG Products
Boston-based Changebridge Capital is using a hybrid approach to find investment opportunities in misunderstood small- and mid-cap companies.
Wells Fargo’s Head of Quant Strategy Explains HPR Deployment
Wells Fargo’s Quantitative Prime Services division has tapped HPR’s Unimus platform, starting with its market access gateway and risk management tool.
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.
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.
Small Change, Big Challenge: Battling the Rising Tide of Data Notifications
With data notifications growing in volume and complexity, firms are finding it harder to keep track of these changes. Some vendors are looking to help.
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.
Waters Wrap: Goldman’s Marquee Move a Sign of Larger Industry Shift (And Refinitiv’s API Rebrand)
Anthony explores changing concept of a trading platform, and what that might mean for the future of tech development.
QuantConnect Brings Low-Code Principles to Quant Finance
Later this year the vendor is looking to allow users to clip together various components of an algorithmic trading strategy, making it easier for users with limited programming skills to build their own trading strategies.
Milestone Group to Launch Fair-Value Feature to Flagship Platform
The vendor will make the pControl add-on globally available to clients later in 2020.
Citco Launches Data Services Platform
The fund administrator’s clients can now access multiple datasets from one data lake.
Asset Managers Strive to Differentiate ESG Strategies
PanAgora and Manulife have incorporated alternative datasets and internal industry handbooks, respectively, into their ESG strategies.
LiquidityBook to Roll Out Trade-Matching Engine
The vendor also has plans to expand further into the institutional space with two additional rollouts in 2021.
Waters Wrap: Snowflake Makes its Move (And Ref Data Headaches & Data-Sourcing-as-a-Service)
Anthony explores how Snowflake is trying to win over business in the cap markets, talks about the reference data space, and examines a new breed of data vendors.
This Week: SGX/Cassini, UBS/GitLab, QuantConnect & Snowflake
A look at some of the past week's financial technology news.
AlternativeSoft to Roll Out Automated Hedge Fund Due Diligence Tool in Q4
Earlier this year the vendor added an automated hedge fund performance evaluation tool to its suite of solutions.
Boosted.ai Rolls Out New Models for Navigating Covid-Specific Risks
As Covid-19 impacted companies and markets in March, the machine-learning startup sought to help clients better manage risk exposures that couldn't be explained by traditional risk factors.