Odd Lots · Friday, July 10, 2026
Alex Altman reflects on the shift in market analysis from traditional fundamentals to a more specialized, quantitative, and derivative-focused approach. He highlights how AI is augmenting quantitative work by processing vast amounts of data but emphasizes that 'wisdom' and human judgment remain crucial for interpreting this data.
“So is there increased validation from having a more quantifiable world that we operate in. Yes, But on a person, if you're asking a person quert, I don't thk ask a personal question if I was to give a personal answer. My career wasn't always like that. I started my career as a fundamental single stock analyst, and I actually saw in my career actually as a generalist sales at at JP Morgan in two thousand and four.”
“Where's the real value. I'm a big believer that the value I see it kind of think about it as knowledge and wisdom. Right, Everyone can now have access infinite knowledge, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they've got wisdom. And the old saying is is that knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit, But wisdom is knowing that you know.”
“But the point being is is that we've had plenty of time to operate in the sandbox now and I'd say where AI's without a doubt most powerful is when you're giving it very identifiable data parameters. Okay, right, So whether it's structured or unstructured data and say, hey, I need to try and figure out whatever my parameters are. That's the data. Where it's still less good is if you're basically giving it unstructured parameters to say just can you think about an ethereal topic and sort of come back to me with an answer.”