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Writer's pictureChelsea Wilkinson

What investing in advanced analytics & AI looks like for fund managers - Hg Capital

Hg are widely regarded as a tech-savvy #privateequity manager. But did you realise that they’ve pretty much incorporated advance #analytics, #AI and #machinelearning across their entire investment strategy?


In this fascinating 'Dry Powder' podcast interview with Nic Humphries (senior partner & chairman) you will learn how these early adopters use data & analytics tools “extensively”. And continue to invest heavily in them.


Key take aways include:

  • DEEP BENCH - Hg has a full-time data team of ~40 people, led by data scientists, working with their portfolio operations group (this team represents ~20% of their total staff complement!)

  • DRIVING REVENUE GROWTH - they typically engage with portfolio companies to unpick operating metrics, like evaluating the customer base, market position, churn, cross sell, upsell, etc.

  • CONSTANTLY BUILDING - Hg’s team has developed tools and algorithms to ingest and cleanse data for consistency and comparability

  • DATA WAR CHEST – their data assets run into terabytes of data across cycles and sectors

  • RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES – they don’t have to ‘sell’ analytics into portfolio

  • DATA DNA - it is part of everybody’s day job at Hg to understand these tools and enhance their understanding over time

  • ONE TEAM – the data team is fully integrated into the business and at portfolio companies


This is what a differentiated investment approach looks like!


Of course, not all fund managers have this calibre of capacity in-house – that’s where firms like DataDiligence partner private equity houses & their portfolio companies to build models, share insights, and create lasting value.


Click the link to listen to the full interview, hosted by Bain & Company's Hugh MacArthur; well worth 11 minutes of your time!




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