Top Question: Neudata New York Winter Data Summit
And down the stretch they come... On December 5th in NYC, Neudata hosts its semi-annual NYC conference. Here’s my thoughts on potential questions for the panelists
Neudata hosts its winter New York Data Summit on December 5th. Three themes from my questions for the panelists are:
The Evolution and Integration of Alternative Data, beyond “traditional” use cases
Subtopic: Can we agree as an industry to move on from the “alternative data” label since we have to label the types of “alternative data” that are tried and true value-added data for investors over the last 10+ years as “traditional alternative data"?
AI and Advanced Analytics in Investment Strategies
Sustainability and Emerging Trends in Data Utilization
https://www.neudata.co/agenda/new-york-winter-agenda-2024
Welcome to the Data Score newsletter, composed by DataChorus LLC. The newsletter is your source for insights into the world of data-driven decision-making. Whether you're an insight seeker, a unique data company, a software-as-a-service provider, or an investor, this newsletter is for you. I'm Jason DeRise, a seasoned expert in the field of data-driven insights. As one of the first 10 members of UBS Evidence Lab, I was at the forefront of pioneering new ways to generate actionable insights from alternative data. Before that, I successfully built a sell-side equity research franchise based on proprietary data and non-consensus insights. After moving on from UBS Evidence Lab, I’ve remained active in the intersection of data, technology, and financial insights. Through my extensive experience as a purchaser, user, and creator of data, I have gained a unique perspective, which I am sharing through the newsletter.
Morning keynote presentations and panels
An interview with a CIO
9:00 - 9:30 Empire Stage Keynote
In this opening fireside chat, leading investment management professional and author Mark Carhart, the Chief Investment Officer at Kepos Capital, shares his outlook on the evolution and future of the alternative data industry.
Ian Webster Managing Director, Neudata (Moderator)
Mark Carhart Chief Investment Officer, Kepos Capital
Question: How is Alternative Data progressing within the Gartner Hype Cycle, and what are the key indicators of sustainable economics in this evolution? In April 2023, I wrote that Alternative Data was in the Trough of Disillusionment. https://thedatascore.substack.com/p/the-bull-case-for-alternative-data Gartner’s Hype CycleTM is a paradigm that explains how emerging technologies, applications and ideas go from “technology trigger,” “peak of inflated expectations,” “trough of disillusionment,” “slope of enlightenment,” and “platform of productivity.”
Blurring boundaries: Uniting asset classes in a data-driven future
9:30 - 9:50 Empire Stage Keynote
This session will delve into how the traditional lines between asset classes are rapidly fading, creating new opportunities and challenges in a data-driven world. Whether you’re navigating public or private markets, equity or fixed income, discover how housing all data under one roof can offer unprecedented decision making power, allowing for a more agile and holistic investment approach.
Laura Misher Vice President – Head of Business Development and Growth Strategy for Data & Insights, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Question: What are the best practices for integrating diverse data domains to enable seamless and actionable insights for investors?
Morgan Stanley’s US equity outlook and election implications in 2025
9:50 - 10:20 Empire Stage Keynote
Michelle Weaver Executive Director, US Thematic Research Strategist, Morgan Stanley
Question: What does the traditional and alternative data from November signal about the economic trajectory heading into 2025?
Empire stage morning track
Generative AI: Launching a new era in investment intelligence
10:50 - 11:10 Empire Stage Keynote
In the fast-evolving world of institutional investing, staying ahead demands not just data but deep, actionable insights. This session will explore how Generative AI is redefining the investment process, drawing from AlphaSense's latest advancements - such as Generative Search - to illustrate the practical applications of AI-driven content analysis and provide a glimpse into the future of investment intelligence.
Chris Ackerson VP of Product, AlphaSense
Question: What are the main barriers for Gen AI in investment use cases, and which areas are most likely to see breakthroughs within the next year?
New frontiers for traditional alternative data
11:10 - 11:30 Empire Stage Keynote
This session will explore new use cases and asset classes for alternative data beyond equities. How can fixed income and high yield investors leverage new data sources to gain a competitive advantage? Which data sets and signals are proving impactful for credit and industrial investors?
Rainbow Chik Director of Data Insight, ex-GoldenTree Asset Management (Moderator)
Ed Lavery VP of Investor Intelligence, Placer.ai
Question: Which investment strategies in credit markets have been most successful in adopting alternative data?
Panel: Is market data a trading strategy differentiator?
11:30 - 12:10 Empire Stage Credit/market data
Investment managers are increasingly relying on market data to inform their investment decisions. How can different levels of data depth and granularity accommodate diverse trading strategies? How can analysts use historical data to identify long-term trends and market cycles?
Konstantinous Vafeidis Associate, Neudata (Moderator)
Rob Laible Head of the Americas, BMLL
Evan Reich Global Head of Data Strategy and Sourcing, Verition
Eliza Raphael Head of Data Services, Jump Trading
Mike McCafferty Global Head of Market Data, Tower Research Capital
Question: Has the availability of granular, highly frequent market data changed for non-equity asset classes and if so, how have asset managers adjusted strategies in response?
Chrysler stage morning track
Quantitative alpha in cross-asset and traditional alternative data
10:50 - 11:10 Chrysler Stage Quantitative
With alpha spillage between assets and increasing demand for point-in-time quality data, cross-asset signals have proven to be a great solution to quantitative strategies for new information. This presentation will explore how quantitative investors can derive value from traditional and alternative data, linking assets and companies to create new ideas and datasets with deep point in time history.
Aditya Sharma Director, Alpha Signals, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Question: While cross-asset class signals have helped investors have a more complete view of the markets and issuers for decades, how might alternative data augment or refine the signal across asset classes?
Quant data trends revisited
11:10 - 11:40 Chrysler Stage Quantitative
Quantitative investment funds have been faced with notable changes to the data market in the last 5-10 years. This session will explore the current trends in alternative data usage. Which dataset types have grown in availability and popularity? What challenges do quantitative investors face in integrating new data? Does data supply meet demand?
Todd Schmucker Data Strategy Executive, ex Walleye Capital (Moderator)
Shicong Wang Partner, Portfolio Manager and Controller, Integrated Quantitative Investments
Stewart Stimson Head of Data Strategy, Jump Trading
Question: Thinking about the quant industry as a whole, are systematic investors finding more incremental alpha from new data sources or from refining models to better utilize existing data? (I offered this question for a similar panel hosted by Todd Schmucker at Neudata’s conference in San Francisco earlier this year, but I think the NYC audience would like the answer to this question too.)
Striking the balance between human insight and machine intelligence
11:40 - 12:10 Chrysler Stage Quantitative
Delve into the value of human intuition, creativity and strategic thinking, alongside the power of machine learning models. This panel will examine the potential and limitations of AI in quantitative investing, debating where human oversight remains essential and how both can work together to optimize investment strategies.
Matei Zatreanu Founder, System2 (Moderator)
Deepak Gurnani Founder and Managing Partner, Versor Investments
Renee Yao CIO, Neo Ivy Investments
Beth Pollack Operating Partner, Applied AI and Data Strategy, Decision Science Advisors
Question: How can users effectively navigate biases in large language models (LLMs)? Should they adapt to specific model strengths or prioritize fine-tuning for precision? For more thoughts on the bias of models, check out:
Madison Square stage morning track
Commercial insurance: Not as boring as you think
10:50 - 11:10 Madison Square Stage Insurance
This session will highlight data innovation at global insurance and reinsurance business AXA XL, with a focus on how to extract more value from internal data, best practices for navigating risk through third party data and how to address some of the challenges with advocating for change to internal stakeholders.
Jeff Shacket Head of Pricing Analytics & Models, AXA XL
Robert Moss Head of Business Solutions, Pricing & Analytics, AXA XL
Question: Are insurance companies seeing larger benefits from alternative data in calibrating macro signals in modeling the business and top-down decision-making, or is alternative data more effective in the bottom-up, local, and situation-specific use cases and decisions?
The insurance data revolution
11:10 - 11:40 Madison Square Stage Insurance
The insurance industry has long relied on traditional data sources to assess risk, set premiums and manage customer relationships. Panelists will consider how new sources of third-party data can drive enhancements, with discussion of how insurance use cases for alternative data compare to investor use cases and considerations for upholding data security and privacy.
Michael Hejtmanek Vice President, Corporate Solutions, Neudata (Moderator)
Jeff Tyler Chief Technology Officer, Insurance Quantified
Kevin Kinnee U.S. National Security Liaison Officer, Kpler
Steve Cannon Chief Data Scientist, e-TeleQuote Insurance
Question: This question could apply more broadly to other corporations and industries attempting to leverage alternative data (in addition to insurance companies). How do corporations think about integrating external data, which is granular but annonymized and likely calculated with a different methodology compared with the highly accurate client/customer-specific information within the business and the internal methodologies for calculating metrics that are highly aligned with business decisions?
Afternoon keynote presentations and panels
Harnessing satellite data for economic insights: Macro trends and asset intelligence
1:15 - 1:30 Empire Stage Keynote
This session will delve into how satellite imagery and geolocation data can provide real-time insights into key macroeconomic trends and serve as powerful tools to uncover hidden opportunities across diverse asset classes. Discover how QuantCube’s approach transforms raw data into actionable intelligence, empowering investors to stay ahead in an ever-evolving landscape.
Thanh-Long Huynh CEO, QuantCube
Question: Can we help the audience understand that counting cars in a parking lot is not a good use case in the alternative data world? What are the most impactful satellite data use cases that overcome challenges like infrequent image capture and weather obstructions?
What finance bros need to know about the climate crisis
1:30 - 1:45 Empire Stage Keynote
This session will explore how the climate crisis will personally impact ‘finance bros’ and discuss the investment strategies that can help mitigate these impacts and the damage caused to the global environment. We also highlight the alternative datasets that can add alpha for long and short-term climate investment strategies.
Julia Asri Meigh Head of ESG and Macro Research, Neudata
Question: Given the ongoing importance of ESG factors in investment decision-making, how can investors effectively integrate alternative data into their strategies to not only mitigate risks associated with climate but also identify new opportunities for generating alpha?
Recent trends in alternative macro data
1:45 - 2:20 Empire Stage Keynote
Ongoing climates of economic uncertainty and market volatility create opportunities for investors to benefit from macro strategies. Panelists explore the impact of recent macro and geo-political trends and consider the alternative data sources that can help track the global economy and drive sustainable investments.
Julia Asri Meigh Head of ESG and Macro Research, Neudata (Moderator)
Asha Mehta Managing Partner and CIO, Global Delta Capital
Avinash Srinivasan Director of Research & Insights, Fable Data
Joseph Aube Data Strategy, Brevan Howard
Mike Laskaj Head of Data Strategy and Sourcing, Alphadyne Asset Management
Question: What insights can shipping data provide about inbound US supply chain activity, particularly in anticipation of tariff policy shifts?
The Neudata new vendor showcase
2:45 - 3:20 Empire Stage Keynote
In this showcase session, hear from some of the industry's newest providers as they share the datasets and product launches set to take the world of alternative data by storm. Ensure you're keeping on top of all the latest updates and case studies to inform your future data acquisition strategy.
Matt Stein CEO, Salient Predictions
Michael Podolsky CEO, WiserBrand
Joseph Byrum CTO, ConsilienceAI
Question: Not a specific question, but just some friedly advice to the showcase participants to focus on the specific investment outcomes that can be achieved with the data, what makes the methodology special, and be sure to proactively communicate about regulatory and compliance efforts to keep the data products safe for use.
The alternative data podcast: Live recording
3:20 - 4:00 Empire Stage Keynote
Listen in to a live recording of the 'The Alternative Data Podcast,' where host Mark Fleming-Williams speaks to data providers, asset managers, and anyone else in the sector to better understand the dynamic phenomenon of alternative data and how data sources are increasingly being used by investors to gain a competitive edge when making market decisions.
Mark Fleming-Williams Head of Data Sourcing, Capital Fund Management (Moderator)
Alex Izydorczyk ex Coatue, ex Cybersyn
Kelly Koscuiszka Partner, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
Tjeerd van Cappelle Founder & Managing Director, aiLiftoff
Question: The alternative data continues to mature, overcoming various challenges, albeit with many bumps and bruises along the way. From each panelist’s area of expertise, what are the remaining critical challenges for the alternative data industry to overcome in order to achieve sustainable economic success?
Chrysler stage afternoon track
An introduction to Neudata Ranger
1:15 - 1:30 Chrysler Stage Credit/market data
This session will introduce data buyers to Neudata Ranger, a platform providing technical intelligence on market data sources. Find out more about the tools offered by Ranger to help buyers enter vendor conversations confidently, avoid trading disadvantages and keep abreast of the datasets offering best results relative to peers.
Konstantinos Vafeidis Associate, Neudata
Question: Can you elaborate on how Neudata Ranger might help firms optimize their data spend? Are there features that assist in identifying redundancies across data sources or in quantifying the marginal value of additional datasets?
Why should the alternative data industry care about market data?
1:30 - 1:50 Chrysler Stage Credit/market data
Alternative data is often defined as what it is not, but should the industry pay closer attention to the insights traditional data can offer? In this session, panelists will discuss the current challenges and opportunities in market and traditional data. How can complex data licensing and reporting be best managed? How is AI transforming data usage?
Farah Ruthnam-Sandys Business Development Director, Neudata (Moderator)
Rich Brown Global Head of Market Data, Jain Global
Question: As the lines between alternative and traditional data continue to blur with large data providers offering both types of data, how do you see data licensing models evolve? Are there any emerging best practices for creating more flexible, comprehensive licensing agreements that cover both types of data?
Strategies and emerging technologies for credit data innovation
1:50- 2:20 Chrysler Stage Credit/market data
Across the credit industry, there exists both uncertainty and excitement around the impact of AI and advanced analytics on investing. As the market grows more digitalized, how are investors defining their data and analytics innovation strategies? What are the main use cases for alternative data in credit investing?
Danesh Kissoon Senior Analyst, Neudata (Moderator)
Robert Slater CEO and Founder, Cognitive Credit
Rainbow Chik Director of Data Insight, ex GoldenTree Asset Management
Philip DiLemme Data Science, King Street
Nancy Davis Founder and Portfolio Manager, Quadratic Capital Management
Question: Can you discuss how alternative data sources and derived metrics are best matched to typical credit market KPIs like interest coverage and net debt leverage? Or are credit investors using the data similar to equity markets, focused more on financial statement items further up the P&L (like revenue and gross margin)?
Madison Square stage afternoon track
How private equity & VC investors are using analytics as a competitive weapon
1:15 - 1:30 Madison Square Stage Private Markets
Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund and mutual fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. This session will explore how investors and lenders in private companies are using AI and analytics to accelerate returns.
David Teten Partner, Coolwater Capital
Question: Where are the lowest hanging fruits for automation in the private market investment process and what parts of the investment process will be hardest to automate?
Data-driven deal sourcing: Unlocking new opportunities in private equity
1:30 - 1:50 Madison Square Stage Private markets
A growing number of private equity and venture capital firms are leveraging alternative data to identify and evaluate investment opportunities. How can new datasets better pinpoint undervalued assets and emerging market segments to support deal origination efforts?
David Teten Partner, Coolwater Capital (Moderator)
Ronnie Shah Head of Research and Data Strategy, M2M Capital
Claire Saint-Donat ex Blackstone Group, ex Bain Capital
Question: Which types of alternative data are most useful in uncovering growing companies likely in need of an additional round of financing, enabling deal origination teams to get ahead of the market?
Diligence 2.0: How can private equity firms maximise the value of alternative data
1:50 - 2:20 Madison Square Stage Private markets
This panel will explore how private equity firms can leverage non-traditional data to unlock a market edge. How can alternative approaches to data enhance the speed and accuracy of due diligence processes? What current and future trends should firms be aware of?
Saif Zia Business Development Manager, Neudata (Moderator)
Ian Picache Managing Director, ex Roark Capital
Adam Nahari Partner, Pinegrove
Warren Valdmanis Managing Partner, Future of Work Partners
Question: How can private equity firms manage data contracts efficiently during the high-pressure, sector-specific due diligence process? In private markets, the investment questions to be answered are typically idiosyncratic rather than ongoing in nature, like in public markets.
Have additional questions for the speakers and panelists? Share it here!
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- Jason DeRise, CFA
