By |Published On: April 4th, 2013|Categories: Uncategorized|

There are two components to DIY quantitative investing.  The first is know-how in building models and systems.  The second is data to fuel the analysis, model or strategy.

It is this second component that often impedes otherwise capable analysts because finding valid, usable, well formatted data is either time consuming or expensive. We can’t all afford Bloombergs @$20k a pop.

The democratization of quant demands as a prerequisite, the democratization of data.  This is the mission that www.quandl.com is on.  Quandl is part data platform, part search engine.  It is a search engine in that it uses bots to find numerical data from all over the internet.  It is a platform because it parses and organizes the data it discovers thus making it easy for Quandl users to find and use numerical data.

By bringing all numerical data into one place and building a smart index and interface Quandl opens up quantitative information to everyone.  Quandl currently offers 4 million financial and economic time series for free.  This includes FX rates, futures, commodities, interest rates, stock prices, indexes as well as business and economic indicators.  A large fraction of the data an analyst needs to build models like the ones Gray and Carlisle discuss can be easily downloaded from Quandl.

Quandl has thousands of users already, but is still in its nascence.  TKA readers should check it out if they have a few minutes.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

About the Author: Wesley Gray, PhD

Wesley Gray, PhD
After serving as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps, Dr. Gray earned an MBA and a PhD in finance from the University of Chicago where he studied under Nobel Prize Winner Eugene Fama. Next, Wes took an academic job in his wife’s hometown of Philadelphia and worked as a finance professor at Drexel University. Dr. Gray’s interest in bridging the research gap between academia and industry led him to found Alpha Architect, an asset management firm dedicated to an impact mission of empowering investors through education. He is a contributor to multiple industry publications and regularly speaks to professional investor groups across the country. Wes has published multiple academic papers and four books, including Embedded (Naval Institute Press, 2009), Quantitative Value (Wiley, 2012), DIY Financial Advisor (Wiley, 2015), and Quantitative Momentum (Wiley, 2016). Dr. Gray currently resides in Palmas Del Mar Puerto Rico with his wife and three children. He recently finished the Leadville 100 ultramarathon race and promises to make better life decisions in the future.

—

Important Disclosures

For informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as specific investment, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Certain information is deemed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Third party information may become outdated or otherwise superseded without notice.  Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor any other federal or state agency has approved, determined the accuracy, or confirmed the adequacy of this article.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Alpha Architect, its affiliates or its employees. Our full disclosures are available here. Definitions of common statistics used in our analysis are available here (towards the bottom).

Join thousands of other readers and subscribe to our blog.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email