CHALLENGE
Helios Life Enterprises, Inc., is a financial services firm based in New York, offering real-time audio analysis services and emotional artificial intelligence (AI) for investment professionals around the world. It focuses on equity trading and the information C-level executives provide through a range of audio channels. Helios is a startup company founded in 2018 that has built organic momentum around long-term audio-sentiment analysis initiatives in the financial technology space. According to Sean Austin, Chief Operating Officer at Helios, this requires the ability to deconstruct the complex environment of earnings call recordings across global equities and transform them into accessible, easy-to-use data.
Helios’ clients range from new investors to heavy equity traders, and it provides different versions of its Comprehend product to meet their needs. Unfortunately, because the product was based on manual data management processes, Helios struggled to keep pace with the ongoing influx of unstructured audio data and premium customer demands. Helios knew they had to make a change, so after extensive research of the world’s largest data platforms, it decided to implement FactSet’s Events Audio API for its financial clients.
SOLUTION
In close cooperation with Helios, FactSet configured the Events Audio API and enhanced the standard capabilities of the product to tightly align with Helios’ vision. Helios took advantage of the expert support and available customization options, including the sharing of preliminary technical documentation, the ability to connect raw audio files between the Comprehend product and Events Audio API, and flexible integration with its existing voice-processing technology.
“Scale and resiliency were two major requirements. Ultimately our cloud audio AI engine needed a complimentary audio pipeline, which could only be found with a best-in-class solution,” explains Austin.
Helios found the Events Audio API to be especially well suited for understanding raw qualitative and quantitative data and deriving meaningful insights from the latest in audio recordings, sentiment scores, and signal processing.
“Scale and resiliency were two major requirements when we went through our vetting phases with FactSet. It is no small feat to bridge the audio-acquisition gap and even more impressive to provide this across a global tranche of equities. Ultimately, our cloud audio AI engine needed a complimentary audio pipeline, which could only be found with a best-in-class solution,” explains Austin.
Customers have given extremely encouraging feedback on the power of the updated Helios product with the Events Audio API. Mr. Austin attests that the partnership with FactSet has been incredibly positive, saying “after nearly a decade of enterprise product development across major billion-dollar firms, it is clear that FactSet rises to the top. This [partnership] is a gold standard of how enterprise-level integration should be done. We couldn’t have mapped out a more precise and fine-tuned relationship toward success.”
“How someone speaks, especially C-level executives, exposes an entirely new stream of trading information that can be acted upon. Since this capability could not have been built prior to the Events Audio API launch, our goal was to align our unique AI audio engine with the global scale of FactSet to create the world’s most advanced audio alpha product.”
For Helios, one of the key benefits of choosing the Events Audio API for its voice analytics product was the support they received from FactSet teams throughout each stage of the implementation process. According to Helios, the support they received greatly exceeded their expectations, especially in the final testing phase. The Helios team also greatly appreciated FactSet’s ability to consider, reprioritize, and deliver essential features ahead of time.
Outcome
For Helios, FactSet’s deep experience in delivering superior content and data management processes provided the perfect solution. It has proven to be a cost-effective and resource-reducing collaboration that has served Helios’ customers well. According to Austin, “how someone speaks, especially C-level executives, exposes an entirely new stream of trading information that can be acted upon. Since this capability could not have been built prior to the Events Audio API launch, our goal was to align our unique audio engine with the global scale of FactSet to create the world’s most advanced audio alpha product.”
As sentiment analysis, voice-processing technology, and AI becomes more prevalent throughout the financial technology space, Helios is relying on FactSet’s Events Audio API to provide the seamless coverage and analytical expertise that its clients require. Austin looks forward to expanding the role that Events Audio plays at Helios. “There is a blue ocean of audio out there that requires a firm like FactSet to provide. Luckily, we now have strict, precise, and monumental development in this arena. The future is bright.”
Helios is relying on FactSet Events Audio to transform unstructured event audio data into unique, meaningful investment signals.
