FactSet and State Street Alpha: Maximizing the Value of Investment Data

As the data landscape has grown, it’s become increasingly complex. For many asset managers, getting access to all the disparate and necessary data is an expensive job that involves a patchwork of solutions, along with processing, auditing, and analysis to ensure it is fit-for-purpose. Data is central to State Street Alpha, which led us to create the Alpha Data Platform (ADP), designed to deliver a single source of truth for investment firms across any asset class, security type, or market.

To realize this vision, we’ve partnered with FactSet to help investment professionals utilize their performance attribution, risk modeling, reporting, and analytical capabilities.

Additionally, FactSet provides access to more than 640 different data sets, from securities and earnings data to corporate governance information, and a full range of economic data – all through one interface.

It also allows clients to tap into a wide range of alternative data sources. With the aid of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, FactSet can help clients gain a more complete picture of non-conventional aspects of their portfolios, including intellectual property, shipping and supply chain exposures, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.

FactSet data supports investment strategy and portfolio modelling processes by bringing together massive amounts of disparate information, organized how and when it’s needed. A powerful analytical engine can help portfolio managers understand what’s driving the performance of their strategies and flag potentially unrewarded risk. This enables investment teams to finetune their approaches, analyze their decisions, and accurately report performance to clients and regulators. It also integrates proposed trades and intraday position updates portfolio managers, analysts and traders are properly informed.

State Street is integrating FactSet’s functionality across front and middle office operations, ensuring a more cohesive and seamless experience for investment professionals. Clients gain access to a full suite of capabilities through a modern, cloud-based platform that also supports connectivity with other leading data and service providers. The partnership is intended to support intra-day front-office portfolio management workflows, integrate seamlessly to feed FactSet’s performance attribution tools with middle office investment and performance inputs, and make FactSet’s data available in ADP. Clients have expressed their desire to forge deeper, more strategic relationships with fewer partners and they expect their providers to do the same, collaborating to align interests that serve them better. The partnership between State Street and FactSet is designed to do just that, by co-engineering solutions that can serve our clients’ needs and support their long-term strategy.

With the aid of strategic partners like FactSet, State Street Alpha is expanding its capabilities to help clients grow AUM and bring innovative products to market faster, leveraging a highly scalable and efficient front-to-back office platform.