Syntax Data’s Bruce Traan shares insights on custom indexing, data-driven innovation, and how personalization is reshaping modern investment strategies.
Bruce, you’ve built a career spanning multi-asset strategies, international markets, and data distribution. How has this background shaped your leadership approach, and what unique perspective do you bring to Syntax’s Index Division as President and COO?
Having spent over two decades in the evolving index industry, I’ve had a front-row seat in seeing the exponential growth of index-linked products across equites, derivatives, and multi-asset products for global markets.
Bringing my experience in multi-asset, international markets, and data distribution, I look forward to augmenting, enhancing, and scaling Syntax Data’s index business and production teams with a global perspective.
What attracted you to Syntax at this stage in its growth, and what excites you most about leading the Index Division as the company continues to scale its custom index capabilities?
Syntax is at a pivotal moment where a decade of foundational data and technology development is now meeting a market ready for hyper-customization. What attracted me most was the opportunity to take Syntax’s institutional-grade proprietary data and technology and apply it to the massive shift we are seeing toward personalized indexing. I’m incredibly excited to lead the Index Division as we move from bespoke, high-touch index projects to a scalable, platform driven model. We are not just launching new indices and products; we’re providing the infrastructure that allows our partners to create their own sophisticated index solutions at a speed and cost-efficiency that was previously impossible in this industry.
What makes Syntax fundamentally different from traditional index providers and data vendors?
Syntax Data is a financial data and technology company providing data-optimized index solutions. Our foundation is our patented Functional Information System® (FIS) Data platform, built over a decade, which allows us and our partners to create bespoke financial products and indexing solutions at scale with unparalleled insights.
We are focused on building customized indexing solutions that address the wealth management industry’s current needs and deliver modern solutions for today’s investors.
Custom indexing is gaining momentum among financial advisors and investment managers. What are the key benefits it delivers compared to off-the-shelf solutions, and why is demand accelerating now?
As modern investors become more sophisticated, highly customized investment solutions will be required. Financial advisors will need to provide these tailored solutions to meet growing client demands.
Syntax Direct solves the problem of cost-effective customization by removing pain points in creating hyper-customized portfolio models and indices at scale.
By democratizing custom indexing, Syntax provides advisors with tools for transparency and a strategic advantage. Advisors gain full visibility into client portfolios, allowing them to demonstrate measurable value and deliver truly client-centric investment strategies.
There’s often debate around direct indexing versus ETFs. What do you think about this conversation, and where do you see opportunities for advisors and asset managers to use it effectively?
Direct Indexing offers a tailored approach, giving investors control and ownership of individual stocks for greater flexibility and enhanced tax advantages.
Conversely, ETFs are simpler and easier to trade, where the ETF provider manages the holdings and the investor owns shares of the fund. However, ETFs lack customization capabilities.
Syntax’s approach provides tools to create more customization than an ETF – at a lower price – addressing the key practical differences in tax advantages, customization, and expense.
Syntax is known for its comprehensive, revenue-derived data. How does having more granular and accurate data change the way investors conduct research, build portfolios, and make decisions?
Data is the essential, trusted ingredient for any reliable index.
Syntax utilizes our patented FIS classification framework, built on highly granular and fully transparent data, sourced and cited directly from verified regulatory filings. This detailed approach enables precise index development, portfolio customization, and a disciplined approach to research and analysis.
For those less familiar with the process, what actually goes into creating a complex, data-driven index, and where does Syntax add the most value along that journey?
The Syntax team collectively possesses over 100 years of index creation experience, with over $100 billion in AUM tied to indices we have developed. We understand that complex indices must solve specific investor objectives.
Syntax distils this experience into a solution that allows advisors and investors to create complex thematic and factor indices in minutes, a process that traditionally took days or weeks. We can now deliver a fully IOSCO compliant index or a family of IOSCO compliant indices almost instantly.
Syntax’s patented Functional Information System (FIS®) underpins its solutions. How does this systems-science-inspired approach enable more precise and transparent index construction?
Traditional classification systems often rely on broad, subjective sectors that fail to capture the nuances of a modern company’s business model. FIS changes that paradigm by using a systems-science approach to map companies based on their actual business functions and revenue streams. By breaking down a company’s DNA into granular, fully auditable data points, we provide the building blocks in creating a fully transparent index. This precision allows us to identify specific company risks and opportunities – such as supply chain dependencies or thematic exposures – with pinpoint accuracy. For the investor, this means the index is providing the exact exposures, themes, and factors that meet their specific investment goals and is backed by a transparent and repeatable methodology.
From data quality to scalability and transparency, what do you see as the biggest challenges facing the fintech and indexing industry today, and how is Syntax addressing them?
Transparency, accuracy, and time to market will always be key challenges in the fintech and index industries. Syntax addresses those issues with its proprietary data and structured index tools (e.g. Syntax Direct). Our approach helps financial professionals create and defend investment models, simplifies the creation and implementation of bespoke indices, and provides auditable inputs for client reporting (e.g. IOSCO compliant methodology documentation, historical index constituents, analytics).
Syntax plans to grow and scale its world-class team, products, and global footprint. By further integrating our patented and proprietary data sets with our AI-driven platforms, we will be well positioned for a period of explosive growth that will strengthen our global market presence. We look forward to our continued collaboration with new and existing partners on future products and plans.
What advice would you give to asset managers, advisors, or fintech leaders who want to stay competitive as indexing, data science, and customization continue to reshape the investment landscape?
The most successful leaders will be those who stop viewing “customization” as a luxury service and start viewing it as a core requirement. My advice is to lean into technologies that deliver transparency, speed, and cost-efficiency. The days of waiting weeks for a custom back-test or relying on opaque third-party data and scores are going away. By focusing on building an investment process where advisors can show a client exactly why a stock or exposure is in their portfolio based on verified, granular, and auditable data, this will create a new standard of trust. Ultimately, the winners in this landscape will be those who can deliver institutional-grade technology with a personalized, client-centric experience.
A quote or advice from the author:
“Syntax is an innovative index provider with a world-class team. By further integrating our patented and proprietary data sets with our AI-driven platforms, we are well-positioned for a period of explosive growth that will strengthen our global market presence.”
Stay Ahead of the Financial Curve with Our Latest Fintech News Updates!
