The Alternative Data Podcast

In this episode I speak to Vlad Johnson, who works in systematic futures at Eisler Capital, a hedge fund.

In our conversation, Vlad and I discuss the technological gap between baseball analytics and Wall Street, how he is able to use weather data without being a weather man, whether AI can replace him and what a data provider should bear in mind about their product.

In other news, I will be hosting a panel at Battle of the Quants in London next week, I look forward to seeing familiar friends there.

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Vlad Johnson recorded in October 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Vlad Johnson 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.

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In this episode I speak to Mohsen Chitsaz, Portfolio Manager at Eisler Capital, a hedge fund.

In our conversation, Mohsen and I discuss uses of news data, satellite data, LLM developments, differences between working on the buyside and sellside, and why physicists make good quants.

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Mohsen Chitsaz recorded in October 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Mohsen Chitsaz 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Paul White, CEO and co-founder of Quantbot, a quantitative hedge fund.

In our conversation, Paul and I talk about the challenges of launching a new hedge fund in 2009 and how they would be different now, and where he sees the opportunities and risks in today’s environment.

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In this episode I speak to James Griffiths, General Manager of Flywheel Alternative Data, a provider of e-commerce data.

In our conversation, James and I talk about the advantages and challenges of creating an alternative data provider from within a large established corporation, Flywheel’s development through time and changes in the alternative data space overall.

Separately, I will be in Hong Kong during the first week of June, so any interesting data providers there please do reach out. Also check out my appearance on the JP Morgan Making Sense podcast if you’re interested in hearing about my role at CFM and more of my views on alt data.

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is an edited recording of an interview with James Griffiths recorded in May 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of James Griffiths 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Ben Cohen, former Global Head of Data Strategy at WorldQuant and now on gardening leave before his next opportunity.

In our conversation, Ben and I talk about the data sourcing role, how it has changed, who to hire for a team, how the data world is changing and the impact of AI.

Separately, I will be interviewing Abraham Thomas on stage for Neudata next week in New York, which I am thoroughly looking forward to.

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Ben Cohen recorded in May 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Ben Cohen 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Richard Dudley, Senior Portfolio Manager at Railpen, the fifth largest pension fund in the UK.

In our conversation, Richard and I talk about a lot of the unusual realities that come from being part of a ten person team managing £7bn systematically from within a pension fund.

Separately, I will be on stage at Neudata in London this week, and look forward to seeing many familiar faces there.

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Richard Dudley recorded in March 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Richard Dudley 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I speak to Tom Liu, Founder of Ideate Capital, an alternative data expert with many years experience working in both hedge funds and private equity.

In our conversation, Tom and I talk around various types of alternative data and their use cases, before digging into the corporate sector’s growing relationship with external data and AI, and the outlook for the future.

Separately, I will be on stage at Neudata in London this month, and look forward to seeing many familiar faces there.

DISCLAIMER

This podcast is an edited recording of an interview with Tom Liu recorded in March 2025. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

DISCLAIMER

This 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

DISCLAIMER

This 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

DISCLAIMER

This 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.