This book introduces a state-of-art approach in evaluating portfolio management and risk based on artificial intelligence and alternative data. The book covers a textual analysis of news and social media, information extraction from GPS and IoTs data, and risk predictions based on small transaction data, etc. The book summarizes and introduces the advancement in each area and highlights the machine learning and deep learning techniques utilized to achieve the goals. As a complement, it also illustrates examples on how to leverage the python package to visualize and analyze the alternative datasets, and will be of interest to academics, researchers, and students of risk evaluation, risk management, data, AI, and financial innovation.

Leverage machine learning to design and back-test automated trading strategies for real-world markets using pandas, TA-Lib, scikit-learn, LightGBM, SpaCy, Gensim, TensorFlow 2, Zipline, backtrader, Alphalens, and pyfolio. Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free eBook in the PDF format. Key FeaturesDesign, train, and evaluate machine learning algorithms that underpin automated trading strategiesCreate a research and strategy development process to apply predictive modeling to trading decisionsLeverage NLP and deep learning to extract tradeable signals from market and alternative dataBook Description The explosive growth of digital data has boosted the demand for expertise in trading strategies that use machine learning (ML). This revised and expanded second edition enables you to build and evaluate sophisticated supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning models. This book introduces end-to-end machine learning for the trading workflow, from the idea and feature engineering to model optimization, strategy design, and backtesting. It illustrates this by using examples ranging from linear models and tree-based ensembles to deep-learning techniques from cutting edge research. This edition shows how to work with market, fundamental, and alternative data, such as tick data, minute and daily bars, SEC filings, earnings call transcripts, financial news, or satellite images to generate tradeable signals. It illustrates how to engineer financial features or alpha factors that enable an ML model to predict returns from price data for US and international stocks and ETFs. It also shows how to assess the signal content of new features using Alphalens and SHAP values and includes a new appendix with over one hundred alpha factor examples. By the end, you will be proficient in translating ML model predictions into a trading strategy that operates at daily or intraday horizons, and in evaluating its performance. What you will learnLeverage market, fundamental, and alternative text and image dataResearch and evaluate alpha factors using statistics, Alphalens, and SHAP valuesImplement machine learning techniques to solve investment and trading problemsBacktest and evaluate trading strategies based on machine learning using Zipline and BacktraderOptimize portfolio risk and performance analysis using pandas, NumPy, and pyfolioCreate a pairs trading strategy based on cointegration for US equities and ETFsTrain a gradient boosting model to predict intraday returns using AlgoSeek's high-quality trades and quotes dataWho this book is for If you are a data analyst, data scientist, Python developer, investment analyst, or portfolio manager interested in getting hands-on machine learning knowledge for trading, this book is for you. This book is for you if you want to learn how to extract value from a diverse set of data sources using machine learning to design your own systematic trading strategies. Some understanding of Python and machine learning techniques is required.

This paper discusses the impact of the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the financial sector. It highlights the benefits these technologies bring in terms of financial deepening and efficiency, while raising concerns about its potential in widening the digital divide between advanced and developing economies. The paper advances the discussion on the impact of this technology by distilling and categorizing the unique risks that it could pose to the integrity and stability of the financial system, policy challenges, and potential regulatory approaches. The evolving nature of this technology and its application in finance means that the full extent of its strengths and weaknesses is yet to be fully understood. Given the risk of unexpected pitfalls, countries will need to strengthen prudential oversight.

This book focuses on the alternative techniques and data leveraged for credit risk, describing and analysing the array of methodological approaches for the usage of techniques and/or alternative data for regulatory and managerial rating models. During the last decade the increase in computational capacity, the consolidation of new methodologies to elaborate data and the availability of new information related to individuals and organizations, aided by the widespread usage of internet, set the stage for the development and application of artificial intelligence techniques in enterprises in general and financial institutions in particular. In the banking world, its application is even more relevant, thanks to the use of larger and larger data sets for credit risk modelling. The evaluation of credit risk has largely been based on client data modelling; such techniques (linear regression, logistic regression, decision trees, etc.) and data sets (financial, behavioural, sociologic, geographic, sectoral, etc.) are referred to as “traditional” and have been the de facto standards in the banking industry. The incoming challenge for credit risk managers is now to find ways to leverage the new AI toolbox on new (unconventional) data to enhance the models’ predictive power, without neglecting problems due to results’ interpretability while recognizing ethical dilemmas. Contributors are university researchers, risk managers operating in banks and other financial intermediaries and consultants. The topic is a major one for the financial industry, and this is one of the first works offering relevant case studies alongside practical problems and solutions.

This book introduces readers to recent advancements in financial technologies. The contents cover some of the state-of-the-art fields in financial technology, practice, and research associated with artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain—all of which are transforming the nature of how products and services are designed and delivered, making less adaptable institutions fast become obsolete. The book provides the fundamental framework, research insights, and empirical evidence in the efficacy of these new technologies, employing practical and academic approaches to help professionals and academics reach innovative solutions and grow competitive strengths.

Handbook of Alternative Data in Finance, Volume I motivates and challenges the reader to explore and apply Alternative Data in finance. The book provides a robust and in-depth overview of Alternative Data, including its definition, characteristics, difference from conventional data, categories of Alternative Data, Alternative Data providers, and more. The book also offers a rigorous and detailed exploration of process, application and delivery that should be practically useful to researchers and practitioners alike. Features Includes cutting edge applications in machine learning, fintech, and more Suitable for professional quantitative analysts, and as a resource for postgraduates and researchers in financial mathematics Features chapters from many leading researchers and practitioners

The first and only book to systematically address methodologies and processes of leveraging non-traditional information sources in the context of investing and risk management Harnessing non-traditional data sources to generate alpha, analyze markets, and forecast risk is a subject of intense interest for financial professionals. A growing number of regularly-held conferences on alternative data are being established, complemented by an upsurge in new papers on the subject. Alternative data is starting to be steadily incorporated by conventional institutional investors and risk managers throughout the financial world. Methodologies to analyze and extract value from alternative data, guidance on how to source data and integrate data flows within existing systems is currently not treated in literature. Filling this significant gap in knowledge, The Book of Alternative Data is the first and only book to offer a coherent, systematic treatment of the subject. This groundbreaking volume provides readers with a roadmap for navigating the complexities of an array of alternative data sources, and delivers the appropriate techniques to analyze them. The authors—leading experts in financial modeling, machine learning, and quantitative research and analytics—employ a step-by-step approach to guide readers through the dense jungle of generated data. A first-of-its kind treatment of alternative data types, sources, and methodologies, this innovative book: Provides an integrated modeling approach to extract value from multiple types of datasets Treats the processes needed to make alternative data signals operational Helps investors and risk managers rethink how they engage with alternative datasets Features practical use case studies in many different financial markets and real-world techniques Describes how to avoid potential pitfalls and missteps in starting the alternative data journey Explains how to integrate information from different datasets to maximize informational value The Book of Alternative Data is an indispensable resource for anyone wishing to analyze or monetize different non-traditional datasets, including Chief Investment Officers, Chief Risk Officers, risk professionals, investment professionals, traders, economists, and machine learning developers and users.