Woodseer

Woodseer is a financial data provider that specializes in dividend forecast data for equities and ETFs across global markets. Launched in 2017 and headquartered in London with additional offices in New York and Vancouver, the firm calculates forecasts for more than 32,000 securities worldwide using a hybrid methodology that combines algorithmic processing with human analyst review.^[1][2] In 2023 it was acquired by OptionMetrics, a provider of historical options and equity data.^[1][3]

The company covers all dividend types and frequencies, updates its estimates intraday, and delivers machine-readable output through APIs, FTP, S3, direct log-in and third-party distribution partners including Morningstar, FactSet, CRUX, Ultumus (a Six company) and CBOE.^[1]

What It Does

Woodseer produces forward-looking dividend estimates - including projected ex-dividend dates and amounts - rather than historical records of declared dividends. The company describes its offering as accuracy-at-scale forecasting for every publicly listed company in the world, spanning all dividend types and payment frequencies.^[1]

Named applications include precise ex-date and amount projections for options pricing and trading, income planning for asset managers and custodians, low-latency intraday updates for systematic and discretionary stock selection, and comprehensive coverage for index calculation by index providers and exchanges.^[1]

Data And Methodology

The firm uses what it calls an algorithm-plus-analyst approach. Its system ingests a partner-supplied global corporate actions dataset four times daily, covering every publicly listed company with full dividend payment histories, recent declarations and related fields such as ticker changes and mergers.^[2]

The proprietary algorithm was developed from scratch starting in 2016, drawing on the founding team's five years of manual dividend forecasting experience between 2011 and 2016. Analysts based in London and New York review algorithmic estimates flagged by an internal priority system - handling edge cases where automated criteria are not met, scheduled reviews of imminent payments and key securities, and client queries about specific predictions.^[2] An Algorithm Methodology Document is shared with clients on request.^[2]

Delivery And Pricing

Data is delivered via API, FTP and S3, through a web login, and indirectly via distribution partners.^[1] The company offers free 30- or 90-day trials, including direct API comparisons, and has offered a first-year discount to Bloomberg Terminal and Bloomberg Dividend Forecast (BDVD) customers.^[1]

Commercial terms include a three-month cancellation clause, which the firm states no client has used, and the company cites a 96.4% average annual client retention rate.^[1] Detailed pricing is negotiated directly with clients rather than published.

Buyers And Use Cases

Stated client categories include options market makers, hedge funds and options analytics firms; asset managers and custodians focused on income planning; quantitative, systematic and discretionary trading funds; index providers and exchanges; and wealth managers, fintechs and retail platforms redistributing the data.^[1]

Use cases cited by the company extend to early exercise analysis, risk management, and tax planning alongside core dividend forecasting applications.^[1]

History

The team behind Woodseer spent 2011 to 2016 producing dividend forecasts manually before building its automated platform from 2016 onward; the service itself launched in 2017.^[1][2] The company operates offices in London, New York and Vancouver.^[1]

In 2023 Woodseer was acquired by OptionMetrics, which supplies historical options and equity data to hedge funds, asset managers, banks and academic institutions. Under OptionMetrics the same dataset and team continue unchanged, with the product offered as Woodseer Dividend Forecasting within OptionMetrics' dividend product line.^[3]

Landscape

Woodseer competes in dividend forecast data primarily against the offerings of Bloomberg and IHS Markit (now part of S&P Global), positioning itself as a specialist vendor focused solely on this dataset.^[1] Alongside its direct business, the firm reaches end users through redistribution agreements with Morningstar, FactSet, CRUX, Ultumus and CBOE, which the company says extends its access to hundreds of thousands of users across tens of thousands of client companies.^[1]

Although some observers classify dividend forecast data as alternative data, the category sits close to traditional reference and estimates data, and Woodseer markets its dataset simply as "the alternative" among dividend sources.^[1]