Fund builds virtual analyst to do ‘grunt work’

Equities unit at Principal Global Investors wants its analysts analysing, not rooting through email and research reports

A global fund manager has come up with a clever way to keep its fundamental analysts from wasting time digging through email or scanning reports: it’s built a virtual analyst to do it for them.

“I don’t want fundamental analysts reading every single sell-side research report,” said Mark Nebelung, who co-heads systematic investing at Principal Global Equities. “I want them reading those that are most relevant for our investment process.”

The virtual analyst “ingests” company financial reports,