Unlocking Hidden Alpha: The Alternative Data Revolution

A Fintech Advisory Council Sponsored Event.

The data utilized in investment management is undergoing a fundamental transformation. While traditional financial metrics once reigned supreme, today’s market leaders are leveraging alternative data to uncover hidden patterns and gain decisive competitive advantages. This rapidly expanding frontier - projected to grow into a $143 billion market by 2030 - is redefining what’s possible in investment management.
Join us for a high-energy panel featuring pioneering experts who are at the cutting edge of the alternative data revolution. Our distinguished speakers will dive into the most exciting developments reshaping how investment decisions are made:

• Personalized Client Insights & Portfolio Differentiation: How alternative data can help advisors develop unique investment narratives, personalize wealth strategies based on client-specific metrics, and deliver differentiated portfolio performance in an increasingly competitive advisory landscape
• Real-time Satellite & Geospatial Intelligence: How orbital imagery and location data are providing unprecedented visibility into supply chains, consumer behavior, and economic activity before it appears in traditional metrics
• AI & Natural Language Processing: The latest breakthroughs in extracting actionable sentiment and predictive signals from social media, news, and unstructured text data
• Alternative Payment Flows: How transaction data is creating new visibility into consumer trends, company performance, and emerging market behaviors weeks ahead of earnings reports

MODERATOR

Paul Cprek, CFA | Paul Cprek, CFA serves as an Account Manager at CFRA Research, an independent research firm. He works with Institutional Investors to provide relevant policy and accounting focused research to enhance the investment making decision process. Prior to CFRA, Paul worked as a Director of Account Management at Earnest Analytics, an Investment Consultant at Segal Marco Advisors, as well as in Business Development roles with PNC Institutional Asset Management, and BNY Mellon Asset Management. Paul holds a B.S. in Economic Consulting from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

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SPEAKERS

Michael Ganian, CFA | Michael Ganian, CFA is a Research Analyst at YipitData, a leading alternative data and research firm that delivers actionable insights to institutional investors, corporations, and other data-driven organizations. At Yipit, Michael leads the FinTech suite of products, providing clients with analyses on companies such as PayPal, Affirm, Square, Toast, Upstart, and Robinhood. In this capacity, he drives the end-to-end development of new research methodologies, KPIs, and dashboards to deliver high-impact, data-driven insights.
Prior to joining YipitData in October 2021, Michael performed fundamental analysis at Romero Capital, a long/short equity fund in New York. He began as an Equity Research Analyst constructing scenario-based financial models and valuations, refining valuations and articulating risk-reward profiles for investment theses.
Michael graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a BS in Applied Mathematics, having completed coursework in options pricing, probability, and financial mathematics. He earned the CFA® charter in October 2023.

Andrew McNellis | Andrew is on the Applied Data Analytics team at Bloomberg, working on ATLD and other alt data initiatives in CTO Office / Core Product. Prior to Bloomberg, Andrew was a Director at Earnest Analytics, and a Co-Founder of Alpha Hat; a geolocation alternative data provider which was acquired by Earnest Analytics. Prior to Alpha Hat, Andrew was in Equity Research at Evercore covering Consumer Internet.

Matt Ober, CAIA | Matt is a general partner at Social Leverage. Matt was most recently the Chief Data Scientist at Third Point where he built the data analytics and technology platform used to enhance the firm’s investment capabilities in equity, structured credit, venture capital and cryptocurrency. Prior to joining Third Point, Matt was the Head of Data Strategy at WorldQuant and part of the WorldQuant Ventures founding team focused on private investments in fintech, data, and technology companies. As an active angel investor for over 10 years, Matt brings his data and analytics expertise to each company with whom he partners. Matt holds a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation and sits on the board of governors for his alma mater, California State University Chico.

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