Waters Rankings 2021: Best alternative data provider—FactSet
Product: FactSet
“The ever-increasing desire for alternative data within data models alongside more traditional content means more time-consuming work must be carried out before the value of the data can truly be exposed. Firms run the risk of spending time and money on evaluating content that may later be deemed ineffective or of little value. At FactSet, half of our company is focused on data integrity and concordance. We clean alternative and unstructured content and connect it to core financial data so that our clients don’t have to, while providing them an environment to test the data risk-free.”
Jonathan Reeve, senior vice president and head of content and technology solutions, FactSet
WHY THEY WON
Open:FactSet and the company’s willingness to work with innovative third-party companies like Snowflake have helped the vendor to establish itself in the alternative data industry, and the addition of TruValue Labs helped FactSet to accelerate its growth plans in the space.
WHAT’S NEW
In October 2020, FactSet acquired TruValue Labs, which leverages complex algorithms to sift through millions of data points, helping users uncover ESG intelligence hidden in unstructured data from 100,000-plus sources in 13 languages.
The Open:FactSet Marketplace, an online ecosystem leveraging the vendor’s symbology to connect its data with carefully screened third parties, now features more than 145 core and alternative datafeeds. On average, two to four new provider feeds are added each month.
FactSet and PingAn Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. announced a joint offering via the FactSet workstation, datafeeds, and APIs for investors considering ESG metrics for companies incorporated in China.
FactSet incorporates data from third parties including BoardEx People Intelligence, TenderAlpha, BuildFax Analyst File, QuantIP Patent and Innovation Metrics.
WHAT’S TO COME
FactSet has focused its innovations and strategic investments in cloud computing, data lakes, APIs and its hosted proprietary data and analytics platform. The aim is to provide real-time, predictive business intelligence for a seamless client experience.
The company has also added to its content base, included enhanced data in private markets, industry-specific sector metrics, and ESG intelligence.
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