Hedgeweek: Leveraging new research methods to drive deeper insights

Originally published by Hedgeweek on July 28th, 2022.

Technology can provide effective ways of improving and modernising managers’ primary research processes to maximise their spend in this regard; new methods can help them to gain a competitive edge and de-risk their investment decisions.

However, this progress comes with its own unique challenges. One of the main difficulties revolves around access to high quality data. “Traditional B2B research methods relying on expert calls, through one-to-one interviews, struggle to provide holistic competitive intelligence,” outlines David Papson, CEO of CDT Capital Management. This is because true niche experts are difficult to source, and the approach is onerous and not easily scalable. Making investment decisions based on anecdotal evidence could also add a layer of unwanted risk which could lead to managers missing valuable information which may not have been captured due to the small sample size included in the research conducted.

Sascha Eder, CEO of NewtonX, discusses ways the firm has been supporting managers in these endeavors and in seeking a solution to overcome these hurdles: “Cutting-edge research technology provides a new way for hedge funds to maximise the value of their research spend through a tool used by tech companies and private equity funds.” This can be delivered through custom B2B surveys.

NewtonX assists managers in fielding targeting B2B surveys at scale through the NewtonX Knowledge Graph. This is a specialised search engine designed specifically for B2B research. “We have access to 1.1 billion professionals across over 140 industries, whom we can filter by over 40 very specific research parameters. We use individualised links to automatically screen and verify experts,” Eder says.  Paired with the firm’s custom recruiting process, NewtonX is able to source extremely niche audiences to deliver the exact experts needed for each project, giving clients the highest quality primary research data.

Custom B2B surveys are being used by private equity firms and hedge funds to give them an edge in qualitative research. This solution provides managers and investors with scalability in this arena. They can reach five professionals for the same price of a typical expert call. This approach is less time consuming and generates five times the number of data points within a shorter time frame.

“Contrarian, reliable insights are key to validating investment theses and models in a timely manner,” Eder underlines, “Faced with ongoing market volatility, it’s imperative that hedge funds update their B2B research processes to derisk investment decisions and generate alpha.”