The Alternative Data Podcast

In this episode I speak to Cameron Brandt, Director of Research at EPFR. EPFR is a longstanding provider of fund flows data, and in our conversation Cameron and I track its development from Post-Soviet Eastern Europe in the 1990s onto the global stage today.Thank you to those who attended our event in London last week, it was great to see representatives of various hedge funds, major investment management firms and alt data providers in the audience, including EPFR in fact!As another date for the diary, I will be speaking at the HFM European Quant Summit on November 17th. Details here: https://www.hfmeuquantsummit.com/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Jeffrey Allan of Echo Ridge, a provider of US legislation alternative data. Echo Ridge’s unique dataset uses Jeffrey’s past experience as a lobbyist to predict the passage of the 250,000 pieces of legislation in the various US governments, and their likely effects on stocks.In other news join us this Thursday at Fora Brick Lane for presentations and networking, with Saeed Amen and Alexander Denev showcasing their Book of Alternative Data. Free tickets can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/xpertise-recruitment-presents-the-book-of-alternative-data-tickets-190218096447 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Hinesh Kalian, Director of Data Science at Man Group, the London-based hedge fund that runs $127 billion of client capital.In our conversation we discuss Man’s relationship with alternative data, including how many datasets the firm can review in a year and how the task of uncovering alpha is changing.In other news, two dates for Londoners’ diaries – Thursday October 21st will be an Alternative Data Live! event in Brick Lane in association with The Alternative Data Podcast https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/xpertise-recruitment-presents-the-book-of-alternative-data-tickets-190218096447And on Tuesday 26th I will be on a panel discussing ‘Is Alternative Data Still Alternative?’https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/data-kitchen-is-alternative-data-still-alternative-in-person-tickets-175322984767?aff=erelpanelorg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I spoke to Adam Braff, formerly of McKinsey and Chief Data Acquisition Officer at Point 72. In our conversation Adam and I talked about some of the difficulties involved in extracting alpha from alternative data, including in how to set up your team most efficiently.In other news, I have written a blogpost about Alternative Data Discovery Mechanisms and specifically tracking the emergence of alternative data marketplaces. Please find it here: https://www.exabel.com/blog/the-alternative-data-discovery-mechanism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Francesco Filia of Fasanara Capital, a fund that has been buying loans from the market for over a decade. Over that time Fasanara has developed a substantial amount of alternative data around borrowers, creating an ever more advanced selection process for future purchases.In other news, an apology: Last week I mistakenly suggested Bloomberg had bought alternative data provider Second Measure for $200m, the true figure is undisclosed but closer to $100m.A date for the diary: I am speaking in London at Leading Point's Data Kitchen on Tuesday 26th October with the theme “Is Alternative Data still Alternative?”. Londoners can find a ticket here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/data-kitchen-is-alternative-data-still-alternative-in-person-tickets-175322984767 and virtual tickets are here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/data-kitchen-is-alternative-data-still-alternative-virtual-tickets-175331409967Finally, check out my new blogpost around Alternative Data Marketplaces https://www.exabel.com/blog/the-alternative-data-discovery-mechanismAny thoughts or questions please get in touch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've reached Episode 50!In this episode I speak to Jeremy Baksht, former Head of Alternative Data at Bloomberg, angel investor and general alt data celebrity.In our conversation, Jeremy and I talk about his introduction to alternative data, his time at Bloomberg, his investment priorities, what he sees happening in the fast-moving technologies space and his vision for the future of alternative data. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is an Emergency episode prompted by the SEC’s recent judgement which resulted in a $10 million fine for alternative data provider App Annie.In this episode I first asked Jonathan Kay, CEO of App Annie rival Apptopia, to set the scene and explain what he thinks the judgement means for the market.I then spoke to alternative data lawyer Kelly Koscuiszka of law firm Schulte, Roth & Zabel as she talked me through the legal aspects.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to James Kardatzke of Quiver Quantitative, a company with an innovative vision to bring alternative data to the retail investor en masse. In other news, please join James, myself and also Peter Bakker of Unhedged on Wednesday at 10am EST for a conversation about Alternative Data and the Retail Investor. Alt data lawyer Kelly Koscuiszka will also talk us through the ramifications of the SEC’s recent App Annie judgement. Join the Linkedin group for more details: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9059921/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Brad Schneider, founder of NoMad Data amongst many other things.Brad has had a long career with alternative data, going back to the early 2000s when he was doing pioneering work web-scraping data and using it to predict corporate earnings information. His latest project, NoMad Data sees Brad trying to solve the alternative data discovery problem, matching buyers with sellers using a sophisticated algorithm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Loften Deprez of Viscacha. Viscacha offers real-time sales data from retailers at an extremely high frequency. In our conversation Loften and I talk about how he happened to name his company after a depressed-looking rabbit, as well as how the company came about and what makes it attractive to investors.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Sahar Attaripour and Francois Oustry of Suzugia Limited. Sahar and Francois have been building a novel company that generates alternative data, turns it into signals, and plans to become a hedge fund which invests into them as well Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Rani Piputri of NNIP, the investment arm of a Netherlands-based insurance company which was acquired last week by Goldman Sachs for €1.6bn.In our conversation, Rani and I speak about her past in various Alternative Data-related positions in Europe, and what some of the ways in which she has been seeking alpha using alternative data at NNIP, her current employer.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Evan Schnidman, founder of Prattle and now an investor in data companies.In the first part of this conversation Evan and I discuss how his company Prattle rapidly predicted market reaction to new central bank announcements, before then going on to discuss his views on alternative data and how he chooses his investment targets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Omer Har, co-founder and CTO of Explorium. Explorium is an automated data and feature discovery platform which in May closed a $75 million funding round. In our conversation, Omer and I discuss the differences between the corporate side and financial side of the alternative or external data world, and the innovative way in which Explorium matches customers with the data they need.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Louisa Nolan, Chief Data Scientist at the Office of National Statistics, about how the UK government statistics office has increasingly been integrating alternative data into its normal processes.In our conversation, Louisa and I speak about how the ONS is able to bring to bear proprietary national datasets, such as traffic sensor data, on problems such as how to measure GDP growth. We also discuss the ONS’s very specific relationship with the alternative data ecosystem, and its different motivations as it serves a national public rather than investors or shareholders.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Ed Lavery of Similarweb. Similarweb shocked the alternative data world in May with a $1.6bn IPO, which many observers took as a sign that more such flotations would soon follow in the space.In our conversation, Ed and I discuss Similarweb’s offering, the float, and wider implications for the alternative data space as a whole going forwards.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Avi Rosenbluth, formerly a Portfolio Manager at AQR Capital Management, a systematic fund. In our conversation we run through Avi’s reservations around Alternative Data, and touch on what he thinks needs to happen before the sector can go truly stratospheric.Separately, join us on Wednesday at 10am EST for a discussion around whether ESG outperformance is set to end soon, led by CEO of RepRisk Philipp Aeby and Bitvore CEO Elizabeth Pritchard. Find more details here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9059921/Finally, any London-based listeners should definitely come down to the Viaduct Tavern near Farringdon tube for Alternative Data Drinks this Thursday from 6pm. Grab a free ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/alternative-data-social-with-mark-fleming-williams-exabel-tickets-163405912483 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Alternative Data Podcast, powered by Exabel. I’m Mark Fleming-Williams.In this episode I speak to Alexey Loganchuk of Sidera Labs. Alexey boasts a wealth of experience in and around the alternative data sector which makes him a fascinating conversation partner, particularly on the subject of alternative data in private markets, where he has focused much of his attention in recent years.Separately, join us on zoom on Wednesday at 10am EST for The Alternative Data Weekly Interactive where Tracey Schumpert of the FISD and Sarah McKenna of Sequentum will be leading a conversation around Standardization in Alternative Data https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9059921/And check out my blogpost on building the data mosaic using alternative data https://www.exabel.com/blog/building-the-data-mosaic-with-exabel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Jonathan Regenstein of Truist Securities, the first sell-side guest to have appeared on the podcast.In our conversation we discuss the various ways Truist fits into the alternative data ecosystem, and the cultural challenges of integrating a technology team into the financial world, among other things.Jonathan will be leading the conversation this Wednesday the 7th at 10am EST on the Alternative Data Weekly Interactive, join the group on LinkedIn for more details -https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9059921/ Finally a date for the diary for Londoners, we’ll be doing Alternative Data drinks near Barbican tube on July 22nd, details to follow and/or get in touch if you want to know more.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Chris Petrescu, former Data Strategist at WorldQuant and now founder at CP Capital.Chris is a familiar face around the alternative data world, and in our conversation we talk about the old days of sourcing datasets, how the data scouting and strategy market has moved on, and big trends for this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to George Mussalli of PanAgora Asset Management. In our conversation, George and I talk about how the use of alternative data has become increasingly sophisticated since the early 2000s, when George first began integrating it into his investment strategies.Separately, please join us on Wednesday at 10am EST for our weekly interactive conversations around Alternative Data. Join our LinkedIn group here to find out more: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9059921/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Sayali Saste of Grandview Research.Sayali oversaw the production and publishing in 2020 of a document that has been highly influential in the Alternative Data space. The Grand View Research note valued the alternative data market at $1.64bn in 2020 and projected a 40% CAGR that would take it to $17.35bn in 2027.In our conversation, Sayali and I dug into the way that forecast was created.Separately, please join us on Wednesday for The Alternative Data Weekly Interactive. This week, Alexey Loganchuk and JP Gravitt will be leading a conversation around alternative data in private markets. More details can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9059921/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Jeffrey Ryan, former Citadel quantitative analyst and now Founder of Quant-at-large.In our conversation, Jeff tells me about how solving his own investing problems using R led him to writing new packages for the coding language. These ended up being used extensively by the wider R community and landed him a job in his home town of Chicago with the giant hedge fund, Citadel, where he spent seven years.Additionally, please join us on Zoom every Wednesday at 10am EST as we have an interactive conversation with various members of the alternative data community. This week, Evan Schnidman is with us to lead conversation around investing in data companies. Join this LinkedIn Group for more details - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9059921/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Abraham Thomas, co-founder of Quandl.In our conversation Abraham and I discuss his fascinating life, from being caught in the first Gulf War, to joining a hedge fund in Japan, to founding and building up Quandl, one of the key players in the alternative data space, to selling it to Nasdaq in 2018. In other news, I have written a blogpost around the past, present and future of alternative data, a link to which can be found in the Episode Web Page section or here: https://www.exabel.com/blog/alternative-data-the-past-present-and-future Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Michael Recce. Michael has had a varied career in the alternative data space, with a background in artificial intelligence academia and advertising technology before moving into the hedge fund space with Point72. Michael has created data science teams for a hedge fund, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, and the traditional asset manager Neuberger Berman, giving him a unique insight into the challenges involved, as well as a multi-perspective view of the alternative data scene.Separately, I have written a blog post about "The Past, Present and Future of Alternative Data", which can be found in the episode links. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Kelly Koscuiszka of the law firm Schulte, Roth & Zabel. Kelly is a specialist in all the legal matters surrounding the alternative data sector, and in our conversation we embarked on a tour of the regulatory horizon.During our journey we touched on insider trading laws, the hiQ-LinkedIn web-scraping case, privacy issues, and the best ways that alternative data buyers and providers can protect themselves in a shifting legal environment.Separately, I have written a blog post about "The Past, Present and Future of Alternative Data", which can be found in the episode links. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I’m joined by Elizabeth Pritchard, who is topping all the alternative data ‘people moves’ lists following her announcement as the new CEO at Bitvore.Elizabeth is well-established in alternative data. Having first entered this world as Global Head of Market Data at Goldman Sachs, she went on to co-found Crux Informatics and then White Rock Data. In our conversation we talked about her experience at Goldman, as well as some big picture thinking about the future of alternative data. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Gene Ekster of Alt DG. Gene has been in alternative data pretty much since the beginning, and he even has a claim to having named the sector for a Wall Street Journal article.In our conversation, Gene and I discuss the past, present and future of alternative data, as well as his data cleaning company Alt DG and his experience teaching alternative data at NYU. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Spenser Marshall of M Science. M Science is one of the more established players in the alternative data world, having been first founded as Majestic Research back in 2002. In our conversation, Spenser and I explore the company’s historical development, current offering, client-base, and we touch on some use cases of M Science’s data. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Alexander Denev, co-author of The Book of Alternative Data and until recently a lecturer in the subject at Oxford University.Alexander’s alternative data experience is vast, and in our conversation we cover a range of topics and use cases: from how to differentiate causality from correlation, to the use of alternative data to make predictions about the oil price, to the use of survey data in a model, to Fair AI and the future of Alternative Data. As an aside I would like to congratulate previous guest JP Gravitt on gaining a new position with Neuravest.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Thani Shamsi of Datarade, a data marketplace based out of Berlin. In our conversation, Thani and I talk about the efficiencies needed to unleash alternative data even more, advantages and challenges of being based in Europe, and the GDPR and Europe’s regulatory approach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Hendrik Bartel, founder of TruValue Labs - an ESG data provider which has recently been acquired by Factset.In our conversation, Hendrik and I discuss the evolution and future of the ESG space, with reference to the area’s history, coverage and clientele.If you find this conversation interesting and are left with follow-up questions, please join Hendrik and I for an Ask Me Anything session on Clubhouse on Wednesday 7th April at 17.30 GMT. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this emergency two-part episode around the ongoing Suez Canal event I speak to two alternative data providers that are perfectly positioned to provide insight to investors.First up, I speak to Stellios Stratidakis of MarineTraffic, a company that maps the data provided via the transponders aboard all the ships afloat at any given time. Along with the historical data and additional intelligence it layers on top, MarineTraffic should be the first port of call for anyone seeking to understand the situation on the water.In the second part I speak to Philippe Pagnotta of Shipfix, a data provider more focused on the order and pricing data related to the shipping markets, with a particular focus on the dry sector. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I’m joined by Doug McElhaney and Mohammed Aaser of McKinsey. Doug and Mohammed recently co-authored a paper about external data - a word for alternative data used by corporates. In our conversation Doug, Mohammed and I discuss the differences between external and alternative data, how McKinsey’s clients extract value from external data and challenges in risk management around using external data. Doug and Mohammed also supply advice to alternative data providers around how to make their offering more attractive to corporate clients. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to John Farrall of 90 West Data. After a successful career in sell-side research John and a colleague gained access to a differentiated US consumer transactions dataset, and 90 West data is the resulting company.In our conversation John and I spoke about challenges involved in selling alternative data, the tailwinds behind growth in the alternative data ecosystem, the expansion of alt data into corporate client usage and likely consolidation in the sector. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to JP Gravitt, who until January was Director of Research at 7Park Data, an alternative data company which has now ceased to exist. In our conversation, JP and I spoke about the challenges of selling alternative data, the education process needed when dealing with different clients ranging from hedge funds into the corporate world, what happened at 7Park Data, the possible future direction of travel for the alternative data sector and the evolving types of jobs that are opening up in the sector. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Philip Brittan of Crux Informatics.Rather than being an alternative data buyer or provider, Crux is a utility designed to serve the wider data market. Billing itself as ‘the DHL of data’, Crux provides a pipeline which streamlines the complicated and unwieldy process of transporting data from the provider to the consumer.Philip’s own background in the upper echelons of Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg showed him the problems that he is now dedicated to solving.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Peter Hafez of RavenPack.  Dating back to the early ‘00s, RavenPack is one of the pioneers of alternative data, since it was using natural language processing (NLP) techniques to extract meaning from textual data long before it became fashionable.Peter’s position of Chief Data Scientist allowed us to get a little more technical in our discussion of RavenPack’s offering. (Note: reposted following edit from Ravenpack to RavenPack) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Garrett Long of LeapYear, a California-based company that has a claim to having solved the data privacy problem.LeapYear’s software is able to give peace of mind to owners of large datasets by ensuring they cannot be reverse engineered to reveal, for example, the personal data of individuals.  This means companies are able to release the full value in their data by selling it to investors as alternative data, among other things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Philip Beck of Moojing, a China-based e-commerce data provider.As an established player with 6 years in the Chinese market, Moojing is in a strong position to take advantage of the growing alternative data interest in China. We talk about advertising to Chinese consumers, the e-commerce scene in China, and what market trends Philip has been seeing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Philipp Aeby of RepRisk. Switzerland-based RepRisk is one of the founding fathers of the trending ESG sector, since it has been compiling environmental and social data since the mid-2000s, and kept up to date with the latest machine learning techniques used for generating it.In our conversation, Philipp and I discuss his unusual background as a debut novelist, how ESG came to be quite so hot right now, and frontiers for the sector notably in the Chinese market.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, international news was full of a story in which a group of independent investors collaborated via the web-based chat forum Reddit to go up against Wall Street hedge funds and win, specifically by buying options and shares in GameStop, a stock that the hedge funds had sold short. Though the event was swiftly politicized into a David and Goliath story, perhaps the more interesting suggestion is that the markets might be faced with a new type of player, a co-ordinated mass of small investors not necessarily motivated only by profit.In this emergency episode I speak to Sylvain Forté of SESAMm, an alternative data company that has been automatically monitoring forums like Reddit for many years, and which might provide assistance to traditional investors in understanding and coping with this new market influence.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Sarah McKenna of Sequentum.Sarah’s long experience at the cutting edge of process automation has been perfect preparation for her work at Sequentum, a company which hedge funds and other enterprises use to web-scrape and prepare their data.In our conversation, Sarah and I talk about Intelligent Process Automation’s move towards Hyper Automation, and the varied purposes to which Sequentum’s offering can be lent.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Olga Kane of Synthesis, a quantitative hedge fund that uses alternative data within its investment strategies.As a sourcer and buyer of alternative data, Olga has a long history in the sector and she provides a powerful overview into what works and what doesn’t, including some very useful advice for alternative data providers on how to make their product as attractive as possible to hedge funds like Synthesis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Benjamin Zweig of Revelio Labs, a company that has created the world’s first ‘universal HR database’.In our conversation Ben and I talk about how working in IBM’s HR Analytics department prepared him for the launch of Revelio, and about the multitudinous potential uses of his product – from tracking the movement of top talent, to correctly identifying which company would win the vaccine race, to understanding the global trends around ESG, remote working and falling wages.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this much longer episode than normal, I speak to Matei Zatreanu of System2. As a provider of alternative data analysis advice to hedge funds and corporate clients, Matei sits in the privileged position of being able to explore and seek value in a vast array of alternative datasets. In our conversation we talk about surviving Lehman Brothers, monthly beers with the early Alt Data community in New York, using external data to help corporates capture maximum revenues, how to choose the right alternative dataset, and the ongoing poker game that is the financial markets.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Sylvain Forté of SESAMm, a Paris-based company that uses Natural Language Processing techniques to track changes in market sentiment and rapid developments as they occur.In our conversation we talk about Paris’s AI and Alternative Data scene, new developments in SESAMm’s use cases around ESG and Private Equity, and technological advancements in Natural Language Processing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Daniela Moody and Daniel Baruch of URSA Space. URSA Space is a satellite imaging company which is constantly sweeping the planet with a technology known as SAR. Akin to radar, SAR can see through clouds and is accurate enough to measure the heights of floating lids on giant oil containers, making it an invaluable tool for understanding the amount of oil in storage at a given moment around the world. The potential uses of SAR are almost unlimited, from measuring the number of cars currently under construction to the changing height of Mount Everest to detecting troop movements at sensitive borders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Neil Chapman of Exabel. Exabel is a company that delivers a platform for investment teams to get actionable insights from alternative data, without having to onboard a whole data science or quant team into the firm, with all the complications and costs that would imply. In our conversation we talk about how Neil arrived at Exabel after a career of building companies, and how the platform could be a saviour for those companies trying to achieve the hard task of combining datasets.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I’m joined by Jordan Hauer and Mark Donovick of Amass Insights. Amass Insights is one of alternative data’s facilitators. The company provides a bridge for alternative data buyers to get access to the whole gamut of available datasets; at the last count Jordan and Mark had 13,000 alternative data providers on their books.In our conversation we speak about how Amass Insights started off, and what Jordan and Mark have been seeing in the wider Alternative Data Space, both in terms of the hottest datasets and the emerging trends on the buyside.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.