How Data Science Is Finding Tomorrow’s Winning Stocks

U.S. equities are navigating a shifting macro environment as investors try to balance persistent inflation as well as shifting Federal Reserve policy and high volatility across key sectors.

Now in a market like this, smart money is turning to data science, and our next guest combines data science with deep fundamental analysis to strip the motion out of the equation.

He is taking that data a step further by tracking the exact wealth creation signals of the world's wealthiest families while joining us live here at the New York Stock.

To break down his playbook for turbulent times is Andrew Skoff, CEO of Bank Creek Capital Advisors.

Andrew, great to have you here.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thanks for having me, Remy.

Well, here we are, the second half of 2026 has kicked off and no shortage of market moving headlines out there.

So with so much macro turbulence, how does raw data actually help spot the companies out there that can weather any economic storm?

It's a great question.

So at Band Creek, everything starts with the data.

And so we use a combination of fundamental analysis with data science, and really what we're looking for, I find it easiest to explain if we have two stocks and they're both compounding at 10% over 10 years, one stock is 10% every year and the other stock is up 20%, down 30%, up 30%, but you get to the same place, we would argue that the first stock is infinitely more valuable.

There's some predictability in the cash flows of that business model, which means that there's a structural advantage for that business.

And so.

We take that kind of information, so a combination of the fundamentals and then the data science, so it could be like volatility and different quantitative metrics to identify companies that have a more predictable cash flow stream going forward.

Yes, and Andrew, you mentioned a lot of key words there, so I do want to ask you about specific sectors, especially when we're positioning for turbulent times.

So give us your take on what currently offers the longest runway when we're talking about quality growth.

Sure, so we've been looking at industrials quite a bit and seeing the picks and shovels play for the AI infrastructure buildout, so companies that in many cases have been around for decades, maybe even 100 years, where they have a wonderful business to begin with and then additionally they have this tailwind from the AI buildout.

And so those are the types of companies you might have like an Amphanol that manufactures the connectors for the data centers or maybe a Mueller Industries that creates the brass and copper parts that are sold into those facilities as well.

Yes, and Andrew, I do want to expand a bit on this because there's been so much volatility even within the AI trade on a daily, even weekly basis, given some of the partnership announcements, the JVs that have been coming out.

So when you're talking about the picks and shovels, can you explain this in layman terms?

So companies that Maybe not necessarily creating the chips themselves, but maybe the wiring and the component parts that help the actual facility operate.

So those companies, you need to have those parts to run the data centers and so they for the most part have either monopolies or duopolies because they've been building those business models over decades.

Yeah, and I do want to expand on what we're seeing across the globe because US equity markets have fared very well this year so far, but what are you seeing when we're looking around the globe?

So we're seeing similar opportunities in terms of industrials whether it's in Europe or Japan.

We've also seen some really interesting ideas in South Korea recently.

So South Korea has really undergone a regulatory framework change over the last couple of years with the attempt to move up to a developed economy, and really they needed to open up their market and you've seen things like the Samsung Securities partnership with Interactive Brokers to really facilitate that across the globe.

Yes, and I do want to move on to what we're seeing when it comes to some of the wealthiest families out there in the world.

So companies run or founded by the world's richest families.

What are you finding in your data here?

Yes, so we found a really interesting signal with wealth creation.

So you can go back decades and it really makes a lot of sense when you think about it because these businesses that have created this wealth for individuals and families, they've done it because there's been.

Some structural edge in that business model.

So either they've developed a monopoly or duopoly over time.

They have pricing power whether it could be a brand like Zara like the Ortega family in Spain.

These businesses have sustained this excellence for such a long period of time.

What we found is the signal of wealth creation tied back to these individual families or individuals has led to a construction of a really interesting portfolio globally where you could.

You know, tied to the public companies that these individuals either ran, created, or grew, and I do want to expand on the wealth signal.

So when it comes to outperformance, what are we actually talking about here when it comes to numbers?

Oh, so the way we think about it is these businesses have typically grown, call it like low to mid teens over time.

So that's kind of our expectation through the cycle as they continue to compound and grow their business models.

That's really an expectation.

And I understand the core of your entire strategy is finding competitive advantage here.

So in plain English, what actually separates a structurally advantaged business from a company that is, say, just temporarily lucky?

So one of the most important attributes is pricing power.

So a company that can set price every year or every 2 years and raise prices for their customers tells you that they have this advantage, because otherwise the customer would say no. not going to pay that additional price.

So we really look for pricing power.

We look for companies that are really efficient with their capital, so high returns on invested capital, and obviously you obviously want a longer runway for growth, so companies that have consistently been able to see volume grow over time in their businesses.

Well, Andrew, it was great having you on the show today.

Thank you so much for joining us and thank you so much for sharing your insight as well as your perspective.

Thanks for the time.

Thank you.