Alternative Data News and Insight

From pandemic restrictions to conflicts between countries, geopolitical developments can have a huge impact on global and local economies. In this report, we highlight alternative datasets to help assess risk for a country’s economy, financial stability and international trade.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) now form a core part of investors’ portfolios, with the value of assets invested in them reaching an all-time high in 2023. However, datasets providing valuable insights into ETFs are rare due to the instrument’s tradability in both primary and secondary markets. In this report, we examine the available types of ETF data investors should be familiar with prior to onboarding their relevant product of choice.

ESG sentiment identifies the public perception of companies on material ESG issues and can provide early warnings of potential controversies. These alternative datasets can also help overcome some of the challenges of slow-moving ‘traditional’ ESG data, by offering more timely insights into a company’s sustainability performance and momentum. With significant product developments in the ESG sentiment data space, this report outlines key players in the market and some of the new use cases being developed.

Quantitative funds have been a driving force in alternative data adoption. But the range of appropriate datasets can be limited due to the specific characteristics required. In this intelligence piece, we consider which datasets are most popular among quant funds and why.

China's rapid economic growth and technological advancements have generated massive amounts of industrials data. Recognising the strategic importance of this data, China has released various regulations to safeguard and control its use. In this report, we look at the country’s regulations on industrials data, analyse the implications of recent rules, and provide suggestions for navigating this evolving landscape.

Following the recent spate of bank failures, investors are showing increased interest in datasets tracking the industry. In the second part of our focus on the banking sector, we look at dataset types that can act as a proxy of a bank’s performance.

International media reports and discontinuations on our Scout platform suggest many foreign users are losing access to Chinese data. But observations from within the country tell a different story. After surveying domestic data providers, we outline the challenges offshore users face as China develops its regulatory approach for the data industry.

Private markets investors are increasingly seeking to build an information mosaic in-house by leveraging alternative data, including for due diligence, post-deal value creation and investment benchmarking. While saving consulting fees, alternative data vendors also offer additional angles and a means to assess target companies beyond more traditional deal-sourcing platforms. Although due diligence is case-specific, this report offers some ideas to help private markets investors validate or challenge their assumptions during the process.

The recent climate of economic uncertainty has sparked market volatility – creating opportunities for investors to benefit from macro strategies. As a result, many are increasingly turning to alternative data sources to get a timely gauge of market outcomes. In this report, we summarise the recent trends across macro datasets and the alternative sources that can help track the global economy.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023 has led to growing investor interest in alternative datasets that can track the banking sector. In this report, we highlight some of the publicly available sources as well datasets tracking deposits, loans and interest rates that can help gauge a bank’s health.