The Alternative Data Podcast

In this episode I speak to Mark Thompson who works in Primary Research for NBIM, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund with $1.7tn under management.In our conversation, Mark and I discuss many of the unique challenges and opportunities that come with managing such a large amount of money, and the ways that the relatively lean team at NBIM ingest and use alternative data.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Mark Thompson recorded in January 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Mark Thompson and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

In this episode I speak to Tim Harrington, Founder and CEO at Battlefin, the alternative data discovery and events business that recently announced its acquisition of Exabel, the alternative data technology platform.In our conversation, Tim and I discuss the new acquisition, Battlefin’s history, the future of alternative data events and what data seems to be most in demand right now.Wishing all listeners a very Happy Christmas and New Year.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Tim Harrington recorded in December 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Tim Harrington and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

This is the first ever live recorded episode, which took place at Neudata’s Winter Summit in New York on December 5th.For the panel, I was fortunate to share the stage with Matei Zatreanu of System 2, Tjeerd van Cappelle of aiLiftoff, Alexander Izydorczyk of CyberSyn and Kelly Kosciuszka of Schulte, Roth & Zabel, as we embarked on an attempt to predict the Future of Alternative Data in five years time.In our conversation we covered topics like innovation in datasets, the impact of LLMs, the new US administration’s regulatory plans, consolidation in the space, the structure of hedge funds, and more.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with recorded in at the Neudata Winter Summit Event in December 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the event panelists and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

In this episode I speak to Wenqi Zhou, a quantitative researcher currently on gardening leave after stints at Balyasny and Citi.In our conversation, Wenqi and I discuss the different uses of data on the sellside and the buyside, and her view on the current state of the China market.I will be moderating the New Provider Showcase at Battlefin London on November 21st, do come and say hi if you’re there. DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Wenqi Zhou recorded in November 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Wenqi Zhou and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

In this episode I speak to Tom Liu, founder of ChinaScope and invaluable guide to the Chinese market.In our conversation, Tom and I discuss his data offering and the development of China’s attitudes towards data, as well as the buyers and sellers of alternative data in China today.In other news, I will be moderating the New Provider Showcase at Battlefin London on November 21st. If you are a new data provider and would like to enter, please do get in touch with me.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Tom Liu recorded in November 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Tom Liu and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

In this episode I am delighted to welcome back Abraham Thomas, the co-founder of Quandl and now angel investor and haver of interesting thoughts.In our conversation, we dig into the varios impacts of AI and LLMs specifically on the alternative data and hedge fund worlds, exploring the winners, losers and potential futures that might come out of this technological breakthrough.Separately, I will be speaking at the Quant Strats event in London this Tuesday so do say hi if you happen to be there too.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Abraham Thomas recorded in October 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Abraham Thomas and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

In this episode I speak to Tim Baker, a familiar face in the community with a long and storied history in various data and markets roles.In our conversation of two halves, Tim and I start by discussing a court case in which Tim is taking a deep interest, around the fate of the CUSIP identifier. We then discuss Tim’s recent coup in which he swooped to buy the assets of the IEX Cloud platform from his former employer, we discuss what he now plans to do with it. DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Tim Baker recorded in September 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Tim Baker and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

In this episode I speak to Brian Peltonen, longtime Director of Data Analytics at Fidelity and recent co-founder of his new startup, Parcosm.In our conversation, Brian and I talk about his development from computer game programmer to alternative data guru, and how the types of data that is available have changed over the years, as pricing trends and achievable alpha have also shifted.We also discuss the vision for Parcosm.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Brian Peltonen recorded in August 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Brian Peltonen and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.

Welcome to the Alternative Data Podcast, powered by CFM. I’m Mark Fleming-Williams.In this episode I speak to Mathias Dail, Co-founder and CEO at Exorde a data provider that ‘tells you what the world thinks in real time’.In our conversation, we talk about the benefits of starting a company in Lyon, and Mathias’s achievements in building out his vision for a crowd-sourced exhaustive social media dataset that is perfectly point in time thanks to blockchain technology.One mistake correction – in the episode when I talk about pigeons, I actually mean sparrows.DISCLAIMERThis podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Mathias Dail recorded in July 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Mathias Dail and Mark Fleming-Williams and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either CFM or any of its affiliates. The information provided herein is general information only and does not constitute investment or other advice. Any statements regarding market events, future events or other similar statements constitute only subjective views, are based upon expectations or beliefs, involve inherent risks and uncertainties and should therefore not be relied on. Future evidence and actual results could differ materially from those set forth, contemplated by or underlying these statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that these statements are or will prove to be accurate or complete in any way.