Bernstein Research launches “Alphalytics” tool to better quantify value of the global asset management industry

Submitted 12/04/2021 - 8:41am

Bernstein Research, the global sell side research arm of AllianceBernstein (AB), has officially rolled out a first-of-its-kind “Alphalytics” tool to better quantify and effectively measure the skillsets and value of the global asset management industry.

Alphalytics, built upon proprietary Bernstein research, thought leadership and expertise, creates a consistent benchmark that measures portfolio manager success by identifying idiosyncratic alpha, or alpha that is generated uniquely by a particular asset manager. Through an interactive, web-based platform, Alphalytics analyses, compares and identifies idiosyncratic returns, long term and tactical style tilts, and other attributes for thousands of asset management products spanning various asset classes.

Asset owners can use the tool to identify products that best suit their needs and construct fund portfolios that offer desired, style exposures and the most diversified returns. Additionally, asset managers can leverage Alphalytics to measure a manager’s skill and value as well as diagnose and fix problems.

Following a successful introduction in 2020 of the Alphalytics Equity module, the Fixed Income module now provides both asset owners and managers with expanded asset class coverage for thousands of funds to further enhance internal research, manager selection, and in the case of the asset manager - fund marketing needs.

“We believe that providing both asset owners and managers with easy-to-use tools to quickly address complex questions, such as identifying manager skill, is a critical component to the investment process,” says Robert van Brugge, CEO, Bernstein Research. “Since rolling out the tool last year, we’ve seen steady client demand and believe that our research and product roadmaps have set us up on the right path to innovation as we continue to evolve the offering to better service our users.”

“Bernstein’s research has shown that idiosyncratic alpha in Fixed Income and Equities, is persistent over time, and can predict future excess returns,” says Alla Harmsworth, Head of Bernstein European Quant Strategy and Head of Alphalytics. “Through the launch of our Fixed Income module, we’re adding validity to the platform and will continue to innovate and expand into other asset classes such as Alternatives, as well as adding new portfolio construction workflows, including optimisation.”

To measure the progress of Alphalytics, Bernstein created an advisory board of representatives from the world’s leading institutional asset owners and users. The advisory board members use the platform to screen the active management industry for products with the best record in generating consistent, non-replicable value, in addition to monitoring the progress of existing managers. This board meets regularly to share feedback and ideas on the development of Alphalytics, as well as to address industry and market trends and to navigate investment issues. In addition to the manager analytics platform, Alphalytics offers research on a wide range of topics in portfolio construction and investment behaviur as well as providing managers with support in identifying their unique approach to generating alpha and delivering optimal outcomes for investors.

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