We reflect on an area of alternative data that has seen substantial growth and evolvement in the past few years. This report examines some newer applications of natural language processing (NLP) we've begun to see emerge within the alternative data space.

After increased media attention and some discontinuations in the location data market, this intelligence piece looks at some alternative data sources to location data. Use cases for this type of data have typically been associated with tracking short-term mobility patterns. We also explore the data sources that can facilitate an understanding of longer-term human mobility and population dynamics.

Carbon markets provide investors with an opportunity to decarbonise their portfolios and the economy. Soaring carbon prices in recent years also offer non-ESG investors benefits from appreciating prices. In this report, we summarise the current trends in carbon markets, outline their benefits to investors, and highlight the datasets that offer insights into the future dynamics of carbon pricing.

The interpretation (and as some argue, thoroughness) of ESG considerations can vary substantially throughout investment management. This is where the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) is designed to help – creating a common set of disclosures for financial market participants.

Alternative data isn’t just for firms with large data budgets. We highlight some of the lower-cost options for investment firms looking to utilise alt data for public and private equity use cases.

Last week, Apple held its annual Worldwide Developer Conference. Over the five days, the group shared several new developments – some expected, others not so much. In this Intelligence report, we summarise three key takeaways from WWDC22 that could impact alternative data.

Shanghai’s two-month lockdown reportedly ended on the 1st of June. But the economic disruption caused by China’s continued adherence to its zero-Covid policy will be hard to recover from overnight. With rising consumer pessimism, falling house prices and increasing corporate defaults, the list of negative impacts of China’s lockdown is growing. In this Intelligence report, we look at some of the datasets that may be helpful in measuring the impact of China’s zero-COVID policy on the broader economy.

Japan, a far east island country, sits on the boundary of four tectonic plates, with 10 times the population density of the US but a third of its arable land. This resource scarcity and deadly earthquakes make the Japanese meticulous and risk-averse. The country's alternative data market may give a similar impression: lagging and conservative. While this statement may have been true a few years ago, the data market has been growing since COVID-19, shaping a new landscape that is worth exploring.

Central banks around the world have been raising rates to tackle inflation. Further increases are expected until the end of the year. Unsurprisingly, this has driven investor interest in analyzing central bank sentiment to anticipate monetary policy changes. In this report, we summarise the data landscape of vendors that offer central bank analytics to determine hawkish/dovish sentiment.

We reflect on an area of alternative data that has recently seen increased interest from data buyers: emerging markets. We utilise our position in the industry as well as our own proprietary metadata, to look at the alternative data landscape in this relatively obscure region.