In today’s fast-paced and data-driven investment landscape, savvy investors are increasingly turning to alternative economic data sources to gain a competitive edge. These non-traditional data sets, ranging from satellite imagery and social media sentiment analysis to credit card transactions and web traffic, offer unique and timely insights into economic trends, consumer behavior, and company performance. By leveraging these alternative data sources, investors can uncover hidden opportunities, make more informed decisions, and potentially outperform the market. In this blog post, we will take a deep dive into the world of alternative economic data, exploring the key categories and players in this dynamic space and examining how professional investors can effectively integrate these valuable insights into their investment strategies.
Oxford Economics
Company Summary
Oxford Economics is a leading global economic forecasting and econometric analysis firm that provides a wide range of services to help organizations make better decisions, set strategies, improve resiliency, establish policy, discover new opportunities, optimize operations, and plan for growth. Their offerings include economic forecasts and models, consulting and advisory services, industry-specific forecasting services, and various resources and events. The company’s global economic model covers 85 countries in detail and allows clients to build scenarios, export data, and present insights through charts, heat maps, and dashboards. Oxford Economics’ team of consultants and thought leadership specialists apply advanced economic tools to address pressing business, financial, and policy issues across areas such as business planning, risk management, investment strategy, regulatory planning, and strategic decision-making. The firm serves over 2,000 leading companies and government institutions worldwide, leveraging its solid reputation, robust research capabilities, and effective communication to deliver valuable insights.
Key Features For Investors
Oxford Economics provides a comprehensive suite of economic data, forecasts, and analytical tools that empower hedge funds and asset managers to make well-informed investment decisions. By leveraging Oxford Economics’ expertise and resources, investors can gain a deeper understanding of the global economic landscape, identify potential risks and opportunities, and develop strategies to optimize their portfolios.
Key features of Oxford Economics’ offerings for investors include:
- Global economic forecasts and models covering over 200 countries, 100 sectors, and 7,000 cities and regions
- Regularly updated economic indicators and market trends for major economies and emerging markets
- Thematic research reports on key issues impacting different industries and asset classes
- Customized consulting services for bespoke economic analysis, scenario planning, and risk assessment
- Extensive datasets and interactive data visualization tools for in-depth analysis and benchmarking
- Access to a team of experienced economists and industry experts for insights and support
Improving Investment Decisions
Oxford Economics empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make better investment decisions by providing comprehensive economic analysis, forecasting, and advisory services. The firm’s global economic model covers 85 countries in detail, allowing investors to assess the macroeconomic landscape, identify potential risks and opportunities, and develop well-informed investment strategies.
Oxford Economics offers a range of solutions that enable investors to:
- Access regularly updated economic indicators, market trends, and thematic research reports for major economies and emerging markets
- Utilize extensive datasets and interactive data visualization tools for in-depth analysis and benchmarking
- Leverage customized consulting services for bespoke economic analysis, scenario planning, and risk assessment
- Gain insights from experienced economists and industry experts to support investment decision-making processes
- Incorporate economic forecasts and models into quantitative investment strategies and portfolio management practices
By integrating Oxford Economics’ expertise and resources into their investment frameworks, hedge funds and asset managers can enhance their understanding of the global economic environment, validate investment theses, monitor market developments, and ultimately make more informed and timely investment decisions to optimize portfolio performance.
Consensus Economics
Company Summary
Consensus Economics is a leading global economic survey firm that polls over 1,000 economists monthly to gather their latest predictions and views on the world economy. The company collects and analyzes expert opinions to deliver comprehensive macroeconomic forecasts and indicators for more than 100 countries and over 50 key energy, metal, and agriculture prices. Consensus Economics’ flagship product, Consensus Forecasts™, provides individual and consensus estimates for key macroeconomic indicators, while their Historical Macroeconomic Forecast Databases contain over 21 million individual forecast data points. The company also conducts special surveys on long-term forecasts, quarter-by-quarter forecasts, and other economic topics to offer valuable insights into specific aspects of the global economy.
Key Features For Investors
Consensus Economics provides a comprehensive suite of macroeconomic forecast data and analysis that enables hedge funds and asset managers to make more informed investment decisions. By aggregating the predictions and views of over 1,000 economists worldwide, Consensus Economics offers a robust and reliable perspective on the future direction of the global economy.
Key features of Consensus Economics’ data that investors find valuable include:
- Monthly surveys covering key economic indicators such as GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates for over 100 countries
- Consensus forecasts that provide a stable and balanced view of future economic trends by averaging individual economist projections
- Long-term forecasts extending up to 10 years, enabling investors to develop and adjust strategies for longer investment horizons
- Special surveys and reports on specific economic topics, sectors, and regions to offer deeper insights into particular areas of interest
- Historical databases containing over 21 million individual forecast data points, allowing for comprehensive back-testing and analysis of past economic trends and forecast accuracy
Improving Investment Decisions
Consensus Economics plays a vital role in helping hedge funds and asset managers make better-informed investment decisions by providing comprehensive macroeconomic data and forecasts. The company’s extensive network of economists, spanning over 100 countries, offers a wealth of insights and predictions that enable investors to navigate complex global markets with greater confidence.
By leveraging Consensus Economics’ data and services, hedge funds and asset managers can:
- Assess global economic trends and potential risks using monthly surveys covering key indicators such as GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates
- Develop more reliable investment strategies based on consensus forecasts that balance individual economist predictions and provide a stable outlook on future economic conditions
- Adjust long-term investment plans using extended forecasts of up to 10 years, allowing for better alignment with macroeconomic expectations
- Gain deeper insights into specific markets, sectors, or economic events through special surveys and reports that offer targeted analysis and expert opinions
- Enhance quantitative models and investment research processes by incorporating historical forecast data and accuracy analysis provided by Consensus Economics
Haver Analytics
Company Summary
Haver Analytics is a leading provider of time series data for the global strategy and research community, maintaining over 200 economic and financial databases focused on macroeconomic indicators, financial markets, and industry-specific data. The company’s comprehensive offering includes country-sourced macro detail, financial indicators, industry data, international organizations, forecasts, and U.S. regional data, which are continuously updated and accessible through their DLX software and databases. Haver Analytics ensures data accuracy through internal quality control checks and provides client support to help users locate and understand the relevant data for their needs. The company also offers specialized databases from consulting firms, trade associations, and economic research centers, and calculates additional series such as seasonally adjusted data, US$ series, regional GDP aggregates, and productivity and unit labor costs for emerging markets.
Key Features For Investors
Haver Analytics provides a comprehensive suite of economic and financial data that empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make informed investment decisions. The company’s extensive databases cover a wide range of macroeconomic indicators, industry-specific data, and financial market information from over 200 countries.
Key features of Haver Analytics’ data that investors find valuable include:
- Timely and accurate data sourced from over 1,200 government and private entities, ensuring a comprehensive view of global economic trends
- Harmonized and standardized data across multiple countries and regions, enabling easy comparison and analysis
- High-frequency data updates, allowing investors to monitor economic developments in real-time and adjust their strategies accordingly
- Extensive historical data, facilitating the identification of long-term trends and the backtesting of investment models
- Customizable data feeds and delivery options, seamlessly integrating with investors’ existing systems and workflows
- Advanced analytics tools for data manipulation, visualization, and analysis, helping investors uncover hidden insights and make data-driven decisions
Improving Investment Decisions
Haver Analytics empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make better-informed investment decisions by providing comprehensive economic and financial data from over 200 countries. The company’s extensive databases cover a wide range of macroeconomic indicators, industry-specific information, and financial market data, enabling investors to gain a holistic view of global economic trends and identify potential opportunities or risks.
Haver Analytics’ data and tools help investors improve their decision-making process in several ways:
- Access to timely and accurate data from over 1,200 government and private sources allows investors to monitor economic developments in real-time and adjust their strategies accordingly
- Harmonized and standardized data across multiple countries and regions enables easy comparison and analysis, facilitating the identification of global trends and market inefficiencies
- Extensive historical data supports the backtesting of investment models and helps investors identify long-term patterns and cyclical behaviors in various markets and sectors
- Advanced analytics tools for data manipulation, visualization, and integration with proprietary models streamline the investment research process and uncover hidden insights
- Customizable data feeds and delivery options ensure seamless integration with existing systems and workflows, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of investment decision-making processes
Macrobond
Company Summary
Macrobond is a leading provider of global economic, financial, and sector time-series data for professionals, offering a comprehensive and flexible SaaS solution. The company’s extensive database contains over 300 million time series from more than 2,500 sources, supported by the most comprehensive metadata in the industry. Macrobond’s integrated analytical tools enable users to quickly find, analyze, and visualize relevant data while automating workflows for enterprise-wide collaboration and productivity enhancement. By partnering with Snowflake, Macrobond allows users to access its data directly through Snowflake Marketplace. The company also supports the Macro Specialist Designation (M2SD) program, providing free access to its desktop application for candidates pursuing the designation. With a global presence and a track record of consistent growth, Macrobond has established itself as a go-to resource for financial professionals seeking to make informed investment decisions based on macroeconomic data.
Key Features For Investors
Macrobond provides a comprehensive suite of economic and financial data, coupled with powerful analytical tools, that enable hedge funds and asset managers to make more informed investment decisions. The platform offers access to millions of time series from over 2,500 global sources, covering a wide range of asset classes and economic indicators.
Key features that investors find valuable include:
- Extensive data coverage spanning more than 200 countries, allowing for global and regional analysis
- Real-time data updates and historical time series, enabling both high-frequency trading and long-term trend analysis
- Advanced analytics, such as econometric modeling, scenario analysis, and custom indicator creation
- Seamless collaboration tools for sharing insights, models, and charts across investment teams
- Integration with popular tools like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite, facilitating data-driven reporting and presentations
- Automated insights and alerts based on custom thresholds and machine learning algorithms, ensuring timely identification of risks and opportunities
Improving Investment Decisions
Macrobond empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make more informed investment decisions by providing access to a vast array of global economic, financial, and sector data, coupled with powerful analytical tools. The platform’s extensive data coverage, advanced analytics, and collaboration features enable investors to identify trends, test hypotheses, and monitor market developments, ultimately leading to better risk management and improved investment performance.
Macrobond’s key features that support enhanced decision-making include:
- Comprehensive data coverage spanning millions of time series from over 2,500 global sources, covering more than 200 countries and various asset classes
- Intuitive interface and powerful analytical tools, such as charting, econometric modeling, and scenario analysis, allowing users to quickly analyze and visualize complex data sets
- Seamless collaboration and sharing capabilities, enabling investment teams to share insights, models, and charts, and integrate data into presentations and reports
- Automated insights and alerts based on custom thresholds and machine learning algorithms, helping investors stay informed of key economic and market developments and identify potential risks and opportunities
Geoquant
Company Summary
GeoQuant is an innovative company that leverages advances in political and computer science to create high-frequency, systematic country risk data and analytics. By combining the expertise of PhD-trained political scientists with cutting-edge technologies such as natural language processing and machine learning, GeoQuant quantifies over 40 political risks across 127 countries. The company’s unique approach involves integrating structured industry data with various public domain media sources, enabling them to provide institutional investors with accurate, reliable, and transparent country risk insights. Following its acquisition by Fitch Group in 2022, GeoQuant now operates within the Fitch Solutions division, enhancing its ability to serve clients with industry-leading analytics and insights. GeoQuant’s commitment to staying at the forefront of political risk analysis is exemplified by its Market Movers series, which showcases how their political risk data signals future changes in various asset classes, empowering clients to effectively navigate the complex landscape of political risk measurement and forecasting.
Key Features For Investors
GeoQuant provides a unique set of alternative data and analytics that empower hedge funds and asset managers to make more informed investment decisions by quantifying political risk. By integrating structured industry data with various public domain media sources, GeoQuant offers high-frequency, systematic country risk data across 127 countries. This allows investors to monitor and assess the potential impact of political events on their portfolios in real-time.
Key features of GeoQuant’s data that investors find valuable include:
- Over 40 political risk indicators, such as institutional stability, social polarization, and geopolitical tensions
- Daily updates on political risk scores and trends for 127 countries
- Sector-specific risk assessments for industries like energy, finance, and healthcare
- Sentiment analysis of media coverage related to political events and their economic implications
- Historical data and forecasts to help investors identify emerging risks and opportunities
- Customizable dashboards and alerts to monitor specific countries, sectors, or risk factors of interest
Improving Investment Decisions
GeoQuant empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make more informed investment decisions by providing unique alternative data and analytics that quantify political risk across 127 countries. By leveraging GeoQuant’s high-frequency, systematic country risk data, investors can effectively monitor and assess the potential impact of political events on their portfolios in real-time.
GeoQuant’s data and analytics enable investors to:
- Incorporate over 40 political risk indicators, such as institutional stability, social polarization, and geopolitical tensions, into their investment strategies
- Stay up-to-date with daily updates on political risk scores and trends for 127 countries
- Evaluate sector-specific risk assessments for industries like energy, finance, and healthcare
- Analyze sentiment from media coverage related to political events and their economic implications
- Utilize historical data and forecasts to identify emerging risks and opportunities
- Customize dashboards and alerts to monitor specific countries, sectors, or risk factors of interest
ManagementTrack
ManagementTrack by Paragon Intel is the leading source of analysis on executives. Hedge Funds and Asset Managers rely on ManagementTrack for the management portion of any investment thesis. Predictive ratings, verified data, and proprietary interviews with high level former peers of executives allow professional investors to understand how the people leading a company will impact its performance.
Learn more here: https://paragonintel.com/management-track-platform/
