Alternative data remains a critical driver of alpha generation for institutional investors. The market continued to expand through 2025, with no signs of slowing. Our latest report “Alternative Data Buy-side Insights & Trends 2026” is out NOW.
In January 2026, we commissioned Pureprofile to conduct an anonymous survey with 100 fundamental portfolio managers and investment analysts across the US, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, collectively managing approximately ~$2 trillion in assets. The goal was to understand their attitudes, adoption levels, and challenges related to alternative data.
Key findings from our report showed that:
- 57% of investment managers said that employment data would provide “an outsized informational edge in the near future”.
- 43% of investment managers stated that “data evaluation” was the most challenging stage of the alternative data workflow.
- 71% of investment managers said that combining data from different sources was the most frustrating challenge when working with alternative data.
- 94% of investment managers are already using AI and/or machine learning in their alternative data research process.
Access the full report for more insights into alt data trends for 2026 including future outlook, challenges, budgets, technology and the role of AI.
