Acadian Asset Management is set to start using a Microsoft prediction engine which draws on data from social media and Web searches to guide investment decisions.
Acadian says that it is the first investment firm to tap Bing Predicts, which uses machine learning from data on trending social media topics, and sentiment towards those topics, along with trending searches on Bing.
The firm says Bing Predicts macroeconomic indicators will "augment" its forecasting frameworks as it looks to boost investment returns.
George Zinn, corporate VP and treasurer, Microsoft, says: "We’re excited about the potential of Bing Predicts to improve investment results, and eager to collaborate with Acadian as a long term leader in quantitative investing."