Headhunters: Top Alternative Data Providers

In the quest for alpha, professional investors are increasingly turning to alternative data sources to gain a competitive edge. One such category that has gained traction in recent years is data from headhunters, also known as executive search firms or recruiters. These firms specialize in sourcing and placing top-tier talent across various industries, and the insights gleaned from their activities and databases can provide nuanced perspectives on corporate health, sector trends, and potential investment risks and opportunities. In this blog post, we will take a deep dive into the world of headhunter data, exploring how investors are leveraging this unique information source to inform their strategies and uncover hidden value in the market.

FirstParty

Company Summary

FirstParty is a data company that empowers businesses to own and maximize the value of their data assets by providing expert solutions for data assessment, organization, and deployment. With a proven track record of transforming raw, unstructured data into clean, structured formats, FirstParty enables companies to generate actionable insights, unlock data monetization opportunities, and improve overall business outcomes. By leveraging their domain expertise, innovative mindset, and growth leadership, FirstParty has successfully conducted over 100 assessments, deployed solutions for more than 1,000 clients, and contributed to creating over $1 billion in enterprise value. The company’s mission is to offer a world-class team and tools that fundamentally change the relationship between businesses and their data, ultimately helping them unlock their full potential.

Key Features For Investors

FirstParty offers a comprehensive suite of alternative data solutions specifically tailored to meet the needs of hedge funds and asset managers. By leveraging FirstParty’s unique datasets, advanced analytics, and customizable offerings, investors can gain a competitive edge and make more informed investment decisions.

Key features of FirstParty’s data that investors find valuable include:

• Wide range of alternative datasets, including consumer spending patterns, web traffic metrics, geolocation data, sentiment analysis, and supply chain insights
• Rigorous data quality assurance, ensuring accuracy, reliability, and compliance with privacy and security regulations
• Advanced analytics and machine learning techniques that transform raw data into actionable insights for identifying trends, predicting market movements, and uncovering hidden opportunities
• Tailored data solutions that align with specific investment strategies and seamlessly integrate into existing workflows and systems
• Timely delivery of data through flexible options such as APIs, data feeds, and custom dashboards, enabling investors to stay agile and responsive to market dynamics

Improving Investment Decisions

FirstParty empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make more informed investment decisions by providing a comprehensive suite of alternative data solutions. By leveraging FirstParty’s unique datasets, advanced analytics, and customizable offerings, investors can gain valuable insights into market trends, consumer behavior, and company performance, enabling them to identify opportunities and manage risks more effectively.

FirstParty’s alternative data solutions help investors enhance their decision-making process in several ways:

• Access to a wide range of proprietary datasets, including consumer spending patterns, web traffic metrics, geolocation data, sentiment analysis, and supply chain insights, providing a holistic view of the market and individual companies
• Advanced analytics and machine learning techniques that transform raw data into actionable insights, allowing investors to identify trends, predict market movements, and uncover hidden opportunities
• Customizable data feeds and solutions that align with specific investment strategies and seamlessly integrate into existing workflows and systems, ensuring data is relevant and easily accessible
• Rigorous data quality assurance processes that ensure accuracy, reliability, and compliance with privacy and security regulations, giving investors confidence in the data they use to inform their decisions
• Timely delivery of data through flexible options such as APIs, data feeds, and custom dashboards, enabling investors to stay agile and responsive to rapidly changing market conditions

Visit the website

Delectus Partners

Company Summary

Delectus Partners is a boutique financial search and recruitment firm based in London that provides high-touch, personalized services to clients in various financial sectors. The company leverages its extensive market knowledge, research capabilities, and diverse expertise to deliver tailored recruitment solutions, including full-service candidate matching, one-on-one service, and placements across different locations. Delectus Partners specializes in sectors such as independent research, equity research, global macro research, consulting, business information, investment management, wealth management, hedge funds, alternative investments, and fintech. By developing strong relationships with candidates and offering detailed information about companies, positions, and remuneration, Delectus Partners aims to provide a comprehensive and effective recruitment experience for both clients and candidates in the financial industry.

Key Features For Investors

Delectus Partners, as a specialized financial recruitment firm, provides a unique set of alternative data points that can offer valuable insights for hedge funds and asset managers. By leveraging its extensive network, market knowledge, and recruitment data, Delectus Partners can help investors gain a deeper understanding of the talent landscape, hiring trends, and human capital dynamics within the financial industry.

Some of the key features and data points that Delectus Partners can provide to investors include:

• Real-time insights into hiring trends, compensation benchmarks, and talent supply/demand across various financial sectors and geographies
• Granular data on the movement of key personnel, such as portfolio managers, analysts, and traders, which can signal potential shifts in investment strategies or market sentiment
• Proprietary databases of candidate profiles, including their skills, experience, and track records, which can help investors assess the quality and depth of talent within specific firms or sectors
• Contextual information on organizational structures, team dynamics, and cultural fit, which can provide a more comprehensive view of a company’s human capital and its potential impact on performance
• Predictive analytics based on historical recruitment patterns and market correlations, which can help investors anticipate future hiring trends and their implications for the broader financial landscape

Improving Investment Decisions

Delectus Partners empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make more informed investment decisions by providing unique insights derived from its extensive recruitment data and market intelligence. By leveraging Delectus Partners’ alternative data, investors can gain a competitive edge in identifying promising opportunities, assessing risks, and optimizing their portfolios.

Delectus Partners’ data and insights enable investors to:

• Identify emerging trends and shifts in the financial talent landscape, which can serve as leading indicators for changes in investment strategies, market sentiment, or industry dynamics
• Assess the quality and depth of human capital within specific firms, sectors, or geographies, providing a more comprehensive view of their potential performance and risk profile
• Benchmark compensation levels and hiring patterns to gauge the relative attractiveness and competitiveness of different market segments or investment strategies
• Monitor the movement of key personnel, such as portfolio managers or analysts, to anticipate potential changes in investment philosophies, risk appetites, or asset flows
• Incorporate alternative data on recruitment trends, talent networks, and organizational dynamics into quantitative models and decision-making frameworks to enhance investment research and portfolio construction

Visit the website

Riviera Partners

Company Summary

Riviera Partners is a specialized executive search firm focused exclusively on recruiting top-tier technology, product, and design leadership talent for innovative companies across all growth stages. With a team of over 80 recruiting professionals and a presence in more than 120 U.S. and European cities, Riviera Partners leverages its extensive network, accumulated data insights, and partner-led approach to deliver successful outcomes for its clients. The company takes pride in its long-standing relationships with leading private equity investors, venture capitalists, public companies, and global tech innovators, having completed thousands of placements since its founding in 2001. Riviera Partners combines its deep expertise with a technology-enabled platform to provide an efficient and effective experience for both clients and candidates in today’s competitive talent landscape.

Key Features For Investors

Riviera Partners, as a specialized executive search firm focused on the technology sector, offers a unique perspective and valuable insights that can inform the investment strategies of hedge funds and asset managers. By leveraging their deep industry expertise, extensive network, and data-driven approach, Riviera Partners can provide investors with alternative data points that complement traditional financial analysis.

Key features of Riviera Partners’ data and insights that investors may find useful include:

• Talent market trends: Riviera Partners’ deep understanding of the technology talent landscape can provide investors with insights into the supply and demand dynamics for key roles, compensation benchmarks, and emerging skill sets that may impact a company’s ability to innovate and execute on its strategy.
• Competitive intelligence: Through their work with a wide range of technology companies, Riviera Partners can offer investors a unique perspective on the competitive dynamics within the industry, including the relative strengths and weaknesses of different management teams.
• Executive-level insights: Riviera Partners’ focus on placing top-tier executives gives them access to decision-makers and thought leaders who can provide valuable context on a company’s strategy, culture, and potential for success.
• Sector-specific expertise: With a specialized focus on the technology industry, Riviera Partners can offer investors a nuanced understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities facing companies in specific sub-sectors, such as enterprise software, cybersecurity, or artificial intelligence.
• Data-driven approach: Riviera Partners’ use of proprietary technology and data analytics to inform their recruitment process can provide investors with a more objective and data-driven assessment of a company’s talent and potential for success.

Improving Investment Decisions

Riviera Partners, a specialized executive search firm focused on the technology sector, provides valuable insights and data that can help hedge funds and asset managers make more informed investment decisions. By leveraging Riviera Partners’ deep industry expertise, extensive network, and unique perspective on the competitive landscape, investors can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the companies they are considering for investment.

Riviera Partners’ services can enhance investment decision-making in the following ways:

• Industry insights and trends: Riviera Partners’ deep knowledge of the technology sector allows them to provide investors with valuable insights into the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities, helping to identify potential investment opportunities or areas of concern.
• Talent as a key indicator: The quality and composition of a company’s leadership team can be a strong indicator of its future success. Riviera Partners’ extensive experience in placing top executives enables them to assess the strength of a company’s management and provide investors with a unique perspective on the company’s potential for growth and profitability.
• Competitive intelligence: Through their work with a wide range of technology companies, Riviera Partners gains insights into the competitive dynamics within the industry, which can be valuable to investors as they evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of different companies.
• Network and connections: Riviera Partners’ extensive network within the technology industry can provide investors with access to key decision-makers and thought leaders, helping them gain a deeper understanding of a company’s strategy, culture, and potential for success.

Visit the website

Glocomms

Company Summary

Glocomms is a leading specialist technology recruiter that helps clients solve their most pressing challenge: finding the right talent. Founded in 2013, Glocomms provides permanent, contract, and multi-hire recruitment solutions across various sectors, including commercial services, enterprise solutions, cloud & infrastructure, cyber security, development & engineering, and data & analytics. With a global network and extensive experience, Glocomms partners with companies to find the talent behind the technology that transforms our world, offering customized recruitment solutions, fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion, and providing flexible talent solutions to help businesses stay ahead of the competition.

Key Features For Investors

Glocomms, as a specialized technology recruiter, plays a crucial role in connecting hedge funds and asset managers with top talent in data science, artificial intelligence, and other tech-related fields. While the firm does not directly provide alternative data, its services enable investors to build strong teams capable of effectively harnessing alternative data sources and generating unique insights.

By partnering with Glocomms, hedge funds and asset managers gain access to:

• Professionals skilled in data analysis, machine learning, and predictive modeling who can derive actionable insights from alternative data
• AI and ML specialists capable of developing sophisticated algorithms for analyzing market trends, identifying opportunities, and managing risk
• Quantitative analysts and researchers who can create complex mathematical models to evaluate investments and optimize portfolio performance
• IT professionals who can build and maintain the robust technology infrastructure needed to collect, store, and analyze alternative data effectively

Improving Investment Decisions

Glocomms, a leading global recruitment agency specializing in the technology sector, plays a vital role in helping hedge funds and asset managers make better investment decisions by connecting them with top talent in data science, artificial intelligence, and other technology-related fields. While Glocomms does not directly provide alternative data, its specialized recruitment services enable investors to build strong teams capable of harnessing the power of alternative data and generating unique insights that can enhance investment strategies and outcomes.

By partnering with Glocomms, hedge funds and asset managers can:

• Access professionals skilled in data analysis, machine learning, and predictive modeling who can derive actionable insights from alternative data sources
• Recruit AI and ML specialists who can develop sophisticated algorithms for analyzing market trends, identifying investment opportunities, and managing risk
• Hire quantitative analysts and researchers who can create complex mathematical models to evaluate investments and optimize portfolio performance
• Onboard IT professionals who can build and maintain robust technology infrastructure needed to collect, store, and analyze alternative data effectively

Visit the website

Engage PSG Search

Company Summary

Engage PSG Search is a global recruitment firm that specializes in placing top-tier talent in executive, sales, marketing, and product roles for technology and digital disruptors across industries such as MarTech, FinTech, banking, RegTech, and identity/fraud. With a team of expert consultants who possess deep knowledge of their respective industries, Engage PSG Search acts as a trusted advisor to both clients and candidates. The company helps startups to established businesses find the right professionals to drive growth, from revenue-generating sales talent and marketing experts to product managers and marketers who can design, deliver, and create demand for their clients’ products. By leveraging their industry expertise and extensive network, Engage PSG Search delivers tailored recruitment solutions, including executive search, retained search, and team build services, to help clients achieve their business objectives.

Key Features For Investors

Engage PSG Search provides valuable alternative data for hedge funds and asset managers by offering insights into the talent landscape and hiring trends within key industries. By tracking executive moves, team dynamics, and recruitment patterns, investors can gain a deeper understanding of a company’s strategic direction, growth potential, and competitive positioning.

Some of the key features of Engage PSG Search’s data that investors find useful include:

• Comprehensive coverage of executive and senior-level hires across industries such as technology, finance, and digital sectors
• Detailed profiles of key personnel, including their background, expertise, and track record
• Analysis of talent flows between companies and industries, highlighting emerging trends and disruptive players
• Insights into a company’s ability to attract and retain top talent, which can be a leading indicator of future performance
• Customized reports and alerts tailored to specific investment strategies and portfolio companies

Improving Investment Decisions

Engage PSG Search’s alternative data on executive moves, team dynamics, and recruitment patterns across key industries provides hedge funds and asset managers with valuable insights to inform their investment strategies. By tracking talent flows and analyzing the ability of companies to attract and retain top performers, investors can gain a deeper understanding of a company’s strategic direction, growth potential, and competitive positioning.

Engage PSG Search’s data empowers investors to:

• Identify emerging trends and disruptive players by monitoring talent movements between companies and industries
• Assess a company’s future performance prospects based on its ability to recruit and retain high-caliber executives and key personnel
• Enhance due diligence processes by incorporating alternative data on management team strength and stability
• Generate alpha by identifying potential investment opportunities or risks based on insights derived from Engage PSG Search’s data and analysis
• Develop more robust investment theses by combining traditional financial metrics with alternative data on human capital and talent dynamics

Visit the website

Bennett Search Group

Company Summary

Bennett Search Group is a global executive search firm specializing in recruiting top talent for transformational technology companies. Based in the New York City Metropolitan area, the firm focuses on placing leaders and teams across business management, product management, engineering, sales, implementation, and customer success for companies that build, sell, and support cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Predictive Analytics, Cloud Computing, and SaaS. Bennett Search Group maintains close relationships with venture capital and private equity firms, working to meet the talent needs of their technology company clients.

Key Features For Investors

As a specialized executive search firm, Bennett Search Group provides a valuable service to hedge funds and asset managers by connecting them with top talent in the technology industry. By leveraging their extensive network and deep understanding of the skills and expertise required for key roles, Bennett Search Group helps these financial institutions build high-performing teams that can drive innovation and growth.

Some of the key ways that Bennett Search Group assists hedge funds and asset managers include:

• Identifying and recruiting experienced leaders across critical functions such as business management, product management, engineering, sales, implementation, and customer success
• Providing access to a deep pool of talent with expertise in cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Predictive Analytics, Cloud Computing, and SaaS
• Offering insights into industry trends and emerging opportunities, helping clients stay ahead of the curve and make proactive talent decisions
• Facilitating networking opportunities and building relationships with top performers in the technology industry
• Partnering closely with venture capital and private equity firms to understand the talent needs of their portfolio companies and provide tailored recruitment solutions

Improving Investment Decisions

Bennett Search Group plays a crucial role in helping hedge funds and asset managers make better investment decisions by connecting them with top talent in the technology industry. By leveraging their extensive network and deep understanding of the skills and expertise required for key roles, Bennett Search Group enables these financial institutions to build high-performing teams that can drive innovation and growth.

Bennett Search Group assists hedge funds and asset managers in several ways:

• Identifying and recruiting experienced leaders across critical functions such as business management, product management, engineering, sales, implementation, and customer success
• Providing access to a deep pool of talent with expertise in cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Predictive Analytics, Cloud Computing, and SaaS
• Offering insights into industry trends and emerging opportunities, helping clients stay ahead of the curve and make proactive talent decisions
• Facilitating networking opportunities and building relationships with top performers in the technology industry
• Partnering closely with venture capital and private equity firms to understand the talent needs of their portfolio companies and provide tailored recruitment solutions

Visit the website

Volition.work

Company Summary

Volition.work is a specialized recruitment firm focusing on the fintech and financial services sectors, offering tailored solutions to meet clients’ hiring needs. With a range of pricing models, including contingent, build, retained, and talent advisory services, Volition.work provides comprehensive support throughout the recruitment process. By leveraging an extensive network, dedicated outreach, and industry expertise, the company helps clients find the right talent while offering features such as job marketing, competitor and talent market mapping, and custom reporting. Led by experienced directors Michael Abdul and Jack Bowen, Volition.work is committed to delivering on promises, making business easy, and acting with integrity, while also pledging 5% of its annual profits to charitable causes.

Key Features For Investors

Volition.work provides a range of specialized recruitment services tailored to the needs of fintech and financial services companies. By leveraging their extensive network, industry expertise, and data-driven approach, Volition.work helps clients find the right talent to drive their business forward. The company’s key features for investors include:

• Access to a wide pool of qualified candidates in the fintech and financial services sectors
• Comprehensive recruitment support, from job marketing and candidate screening to interview coordination and offer negotiation
• Flexible pricing models, including contingent, build, retained, and talent advisory services, to suit different hiring needs and budgets
• Competitor and talent market mapping to provide insights into industry trends and benchmarks
• Custom reporting and analytics to track recruitment metrics and measure ROI
• Dedicated account management and regular communication to ensure a seamless hiring process

These features enable Volition.work to deliver targeted, efficient, and cost-effective recruitment solutions that help clients build high-performing teams and drive business growth. For investors, Volition.work’s services can provide valuable insights into a company’s hiring strategies, talent acquisition capabilities, and overall competitiveness in the market.

Improving Investment Decisions

Volition.work’s specialized recruitment services provide hedge funds and asset managers with valuable insights into the fintech and financial services sectors, enabling them to make more informed investment decisions. By leveraging Volition.work’s extensive network, industry expertise, and data-driven approach, investors can gain a deeper understanding of a company’s hiring strategies, talent acquisition capabilities, and overall competitiveness in the market. This information can be used to assess a company’s growth potential, identify emerging trends, and uncover potential risks or opportunities.

Volition.work’s services can help investors improve their decision-making process in several ways:

• Providing access to a wide pool of qualified candidates in the fintech and financial services sectors, allowing investors to assess a company’s ability to attract and retain top talent
• Offering competitor and talent market mapping to provide insights into industry trends, benchmarks, and a company’s positioning relative to its peers
• Delivering custom reporting and analytics to track recruitment metrics and measure ROI, enabling investors to evaluate a company’s hiring efficiency and effectiveness
• Leveraging dedicated account management and regular communication to ensure a seamless hiring process, providing investors with timely and relevant information to support their investment strategies

Visit the website

M Search

Company Summary

M Search is a client-focused recruiting agency that specializes in go-to-market and leadership recruitment for startups and mid-market tech businesses. By leveraging data, AI, and a process-oriented approach, the company aims to find the best talent for its clients. M Search offers a range of services, including team build-outs for individual contributors and frontline management, executive search for C-suite, VP, and director-level positions, and partnerships with private equity and venture capital firms to support their portfolio companies. With an average time-to-first submittal of 10.25 days and time-to-offer of 37.85 days, M Search strives to deliver high-quality candidates efficiently. Clients appreciate the company’s industry knowledge, ability to find candidates that align with their culture and values, and consistent delivery of top-tier talent.

Key Features For Investors

M Search offers a unique value proposition for hedge funds and asset managers by providing alternative data on talent acquisition trends and go-to-market strategies in the tech industry. By analyzing M Search’s proprietary data on executive search engagements, team build-outs, and private equity partnerships, investors can gain valuable insights into the growth trajectories, competitive dynamics, and strategic priorities of both public and private tech companies.

Key features of M Search’s data that investors may find useful include:

• Tracking of C-suite, VP, and director-level hires across the tech sector, which can signal shifts in corporate strategy, expansion plans, or potential M&A activity
• Monitoring of team build-outs for sales, marketing, and customer success roles, providing leading indicators of revenue growth and go-to-market investments
• Insights into the talent acquisition strategies and organizational structures of high-growth startups and mid-market tech firms
• Analysis of hiring patterns and leadership changes within the portfolios of venture capital and private equity firms, offering a window into the health and performance of private companies
• Benchmarking of key talent metrics, such as time-to-hire and compensation trends, across different tech subsectors and geographies

Improving Investment Decisions

M Search empowers hedge funds and asset managers to make better investment decisions by providing unique insights derived from their proprietary data on talent acquisition trends and go-to-market strategies in the tech industry. By leveraging M Search’s data, investors can gain a deeper understanding of the growth trajectories, competitive dynamics, and strategic priorities of both public and private tech companies, allowing them to identify potential opportunities and risks more effectively.

Specifically, M Search’s data enables investors to:

• Identify shifts in corporate strategy, expansion plans, or potential M&A activity by tracking C-suite, VP, and director-level hires across the tech sector
• Assess the revenue growth potential and go-to-market investments of tech companies by monitoring team build-outs for sales, marketing, and customer success roles
• Gain insights into the talent acquisition strategies and organizational structures of high-growth startups and mid-market tech firms
• Evaluate the health and performance of private companies by analyzing hiring patterns and leadership changes within the portfolios of venture capital and private equity firms
• Benchmark key talent metrics, such as time-to-hire and compensation trends, across different tech subsectors and geographies to inform investment decisions

Visit the website

Husk Talent

Company Summary

Husk Talent is a specialized recruiting firm that partners with high-growth companies, particularly VC/PE-backed technology startups, to help them find and secure exceptional sales and marketing talent. With a focus on go-to-market roles, Husk Talent’s team of experienced recruiters leverages their deep industry knowledge and robust outreach strategies to identify and attract top-tier candidates for their clients. The company specializes in placing senior-level individual contributors and leaders, such as vice presidents and department heads, with base salaries ranging from $125,000 to $300,000. By understanding the unique needs of companies at different stages of growth, from Series A to Series D, Husk Talent delivers stage-appropriate hires that align with their clients’ trajectories and contribute to their ongoing success.

Key Features For Investors

Husk Talent provides valuable alternative data for hedge funds and asset managers by offering insights into the hiring activities and talent dynamics within high-growth technology companies. By tracking job postings, employee movements, and other key metrics, Husk Talent enables investors to assess the health, growth prospects, and competitive positioning of companies in their portfolios or within their investment universe.

Some of the key features of Husk Talent’s data that investors find useful include:

• Detailed data on job postings, including role types, seniority levels, and compensation ranges, which can indicate a company’s growth plans and financial health
• Analysis of hiring trends over time, allowing investors to identify acceleration or deceleration in a company’s expansion
• Monitoring of key talent movements, such as executive hires or departures, which can signal strategic shifts or potential concerns
• Benchmarking of a company’s talent acquisition and retention against industry peers, providing a competitive context for evaluating performance
• Insights into the quality and depth of a company’s talent pool, which can be a critical factor in its ability to execute on its business plan and drive long-term value creation

Improving Investment Decisions

Husk Talent’s alternative data on hiring activities and talent dynamics within high-growth technology companies provides hedge funds and asset managers with valuable insights to enhance their investment strategies. By tracking job postings, employee movements, and other key metrics, investors can gain a more comprehensive understanding of a company’s growth prospects, competitive positioning, and potential risks.

Husk Talent’s data empowers investors to make better decisions by:

• Assessing a company’s financial health and growth plans based on detailed data about job postings, including role types, seniority levels, and compensation ranges
• Identifying acceleration or deceleration in a company’s expansion by analyzing hiring trends over time
• Monitoring key talent movements, such as executive hires or departures, to detect strategic shifts or potential concerns
• Benchmarking a company’s talent acquisition and retention against industry peers to evaluate its competitive performance
• Gauging a company’s ability to execute its business plan and drive long-term value creation by examining the quality and depth of its talent pool

Visit the website

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/