This quant firm cut 90% of its compute costs. Here’s how

Quantbot Technologies uses ‘smart data routing’ to stop runaway spending on data and computing

Alternative data has become a handy weapon in the investment armoury over recent years, with firms using anything from credit card transaction information to shopping mall foot traffic in their search for signals.

But Big Data comes with a Big Tab.

Systematic investment firm Quantbot Technologies processes about a hundred datasets a year and the activity chews through a lot of costly computational power, explains chief executive Paul White.

So, the firm has built an algorithm to direct its