Investing is popular. But the endless data streams we all generate have changed the dynamics of the stock market. Who benefits the most from this?

The stock market should be a level playing field: everyone has the same information. But unnoticed, terabytes of data have entered the stock market. Smart companies dive into the mountain of data that is collected about us, in order to be able to see Apple's sales or Netflix's number of subscribers before the rest of the market does. VPRO Documentary dives into the world of 'alternative data' to see who is winning on the stock market, and who is not.

Because of the corona crisis and the low interest rates on savings accounts, large groups of new private investors poured into the stock market in recent years. In the hope of higher returns, and sometimes as pure entertainment.

Whereas previously investors had to wait for annual reports, analyst reports, quarterly figures and press releases published by companies, the use of infinite amounts of data from other sources is proving very lucrative for large investors. This 'alternative data' turns out to be a good way of predicting whether certain prices will go up or down.

Original air date: September, 11 2021

Director: Martijn Kieft
Research: William de Bruijn
Production: Jeroen Beumer
Camera: Jackó van 't Hof
Montage: Michiel Hazebroek
Animation: Julia Veldman
Final editing: Doke Romeijn and Geert Rozinga

VPRO Documentary publishes a new subtitled documentary weekly, investigating current affairs, finance, sustainability, climate change or politics. Subscribe to our channel, and we will be delighted to share our adventures with you!

This Channel is part of VPRO broadcast. Make sure to visit our additional youtube channels:
VPRO Metropolis:    / vprometropolis  
VPRO World Stories:    / vproworldstories   (no longer active)
VPRO Extra:    / @vproextra3443  
VPRO VG (world music):    / vrijegeluiden  
VPRO 3voor12 (alternative music):    / 3voor12  
VPRO 3voor12 extra (music stories):    / @3voor12extra7  

More info at https://www.VPRObroadcast.com