Backlight: Wall Street's Gold Rush

Investing is popular. The endless data flows we all generate, however, have forever changed the dynamics of the stock market. But who benefits the most from this?

In principle, the stock exchange ought to be a level playing field where everyone has access to the same information. Be that as it may, terabytes of data have imperceptibly made their appearance on the stock market. Smart companies are responding to this development by delving into the mountains of data that are being collected about all of us with a view to seeing Apple's sales or the number of Netflix subscribers before the rest of the market. VPRO Tegenlicht delves into this world of 'alternative data' in order to see who's making gains on the stock market, and who's not.

As a result of the coronavirus crisis and the ongoing low interest rates on savings accounts, large groups of new private investors have streamed onto the stock market in recent years - some in the hope of higher returns, others purely for entertainment purposes.

Whereas previously investors had no other choice but to wait for the publication of company annual reports, analyst reports, quarterly figures or press releases, the use of infinite amounts of data from other sources is proving extremely lucrative for large investors. This 'alternative data' appears to more than capable of accurately predicting whether certain quotes are going to go up or down.