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 m...

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 Sae...

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 2...

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 e...

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 d...

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...

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...

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 ramifica...

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 se...

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.  H...

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...

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 wi...

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 measur...

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 ac...

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 soo...

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 y...

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...

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....

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 fo...

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, Cita...

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 fut...

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 uni...