Theia synthesises and distils information so investors can see clearly
We live in an age of abundant and often unstructured data, one where information overload has become an unwelcome norm. We have the world at our fingertips, yet we often lack the real clarity we need to make good decisions.
Investing is the directing of capital to assets and projects for an economic return. At its core, investing is about resource allocation, and successful and efficient resource allocation requires the ability to see clearly. Imagine we want fruit — we can either use resources to buy the fruit, or we can direct resources to water the trees and harvest it. The latter is almost always better. By directing water to the right places, we create more value and we have more fruit in return.
Investing is like directing water to trees — you need to see which are thriving, which fruits they are bearing and which trees need watering.
Every day billions of new data points and signals emerge and they have a profound impact on tradable securities. How do you truly know what’s driving the ups and downs of these securities? How do you know what it was within your investment portfolio that made it perform so poorly? What risks are you exposed to and how can you better protect yourself?
The reality is that most of us are in the dark because it is impossible for humans to keep track of all that’s going on at a macro level in the economy, and on a micro level within each company and security. Without a clear vision, it is difficult to really invest in the things that are aligned with our goals and with our views of the world around us.
This is why I founded Theia Insights. “Theia” is the goddess of sight. We synthesise and distil vast amounts of information so investors can see clearly.
Powered by proprietary AI and mathematical research, we provide three core technologies — dynamic industry classification, a thematic factor model and portfolio analysis tools.
- Our industry classification system processes billions of data points on public companies in real time, and maps out the market from the highest level “sectors” down to thousands of “themes”. We tell you for each company “who does what and by how much.”
- Our thematic factor model breaks down stock price movements into fine-grained statistical factors, explaining how much of the ups and downs of a single company or a portfolio are driven by thematic factors vs. microeconomic, macroeconomic and style factors.
- Our portfolio analysis tools provide clear views for portfolio construction, optimisation and risk management.
For example, if you’re an investor in American Express (NYSE: AXP), you are not only exposed to banking and consumer finance but also to the travel and marketing industries. Despite it being far from obvious, investors in solar energy companies are often exposed to sectors and themes that relate to Electric Vehicles and Automotive. Investors in funds tracking the Nasdaq 100 index should be aware that in the last month, outsized returns have been driven by Semiconductors, Computer Hardware, AR VR, Social Media, Cloud Computing and Mobile Phones, and these drivers are changing on a daily basis.
AI can help elevate humans’ perspective — when we can see more clearly, we can make better decisions.
More broadly, we are at an exciting moment in history whereby for the first time, silicon intelligence can match or even surpass carbon intelligence in some tasks. The future of AI however, is not about AI vs. human intelligence or capabilities — it isn’t “silicon vs. carbon”. It is about “silicon plus carbon”. For the first time, humans have the ability to gain increased perspective and knowledge that would be otherwise impossible, because what would take teams of us years to read and digest only takes minutes or seconds using AI.
We are building AI to elevate the perspective of humans and to help us see more clearly from a greater perspective. Within the realms of investing and finance, this means AI can help make resource allocation more efficient and investments better informed and more aligned with what we want our future to be.