Getting financial data in Python using the OpenBB SDK

The OpenBB SDK (also known as OpenBB Platform) is developed as open-source (the code is available on https://github.com/OpenBB-finance/OpenBB) by the company Open BB. It provides programmatic access to a wide range of financial data sources from one place in a standard way. 

By default, the OpenBB platform will attempt to download data from free sources such as Yahoo Finance but OpenBB SDK integrates with multiple data sources (Yahoo Finance, Alpha Vantage, FRED,FMP,SEC,etc ...). In most OpenBB API platform calls, you can indicate a different source - some of them free others requiring a separate subscription - allowing you to pull equities, options, crypto, forex and macroeconomic data using a single SDK. 

Since you can access both historical and real-time market data, OpenBB is ideal for backtesting and live trading strategies. The SDK is compatible with Jupyter Notebooks, Python scripts, and automated trading systems. I recently tested the OpenBB SDK as an alternative to Pandas_DataReader in Jupyter Notebooks, and it worked flawlessly.

I shared this Jupyter notebook on my Github repo:

https://github.com/jorisp/tradingnotebooks/blob/master/openbbdemo.ipynb

Please note that many of the code samples found in various articles and posts are no longer functional due to significant changes in the codebase. The shared Jupyter notebook has been tested with OpenBB 4.3.5 and Python 3.12.8.

Quick tip: command prompt shortcut for PAC development tools

Last year, I blogged about how you can use PAC to start the Plugin Registration Tool and Configuration Tool  (see Start CRM development tools from command prompt with Power Platform CLI). 

Remember that you quite easily create a shortcut for this as well by using "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k pac tool prt" as input for the shortcut.

Quick Tip: installing Azure Service Bus Explorer with Chocolatey

 Recently I had to reinstall Azure Service Bus Explorer on a new laptop and it seems that you now need to use Chocolatey (a package manager for Windows) to install Azure Service Bus Explorer. 

Installing Chocolatey, is quite straightforward, - you need to follow the steps outlined on Install Chocolatey for individual use - I installed Chocolatey using PowerShell prompt (with elevated privileges) and did not encounter any issues. 

Next you can simply install Azure Service Bus Explorer from command prompt using "choco install servicebusexplorer". By default it will install into this folder C:\ProgramData\chocolatey\lib\ServiceBusExplorer\tools\ServiceBusExplorer.exe . No issues encountered with version 6.0.3

The Rational Reminder podcast - favorite episodes from 2024

I started listening to the Rational Reminder Podcast somewhere around the beginning of this year and I can highly recommend it to anyone interested in passive evidence based investing and financial decision making. 

The Rational Reminder podcast is weekly podcast about personal finance and investing from a couple of Canadians, Benjamin Felix and Cameron Passmore - both work at PWL Capital. The hosts are experienced portfolio managers who share their knowledge about a broad range of financial topics and the show often features interviews with industry experts, offering diverse perspectives and deep dives into specific areas of finance.

Benjamin Felix also creates educational content on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@BenFelixCSI where he shares insights on investing and financial planning

Both advocate for evidence-based investing, which often includes passive investment strategies such as index funds and they emphasize the benefits of low-cost, diversified, and long-term investment approaches, which align well with passive investing principles.

Episodes which I really liked:

• Episode 321 - Evidence in Practice with Håkon Kavli (CIO of Reitan Kapital)
• Episode 320 - Kyla Scanlon: In This Economy?!
• Episode 316 - Andrew Chen: "Is everything I was taught about cross-sectional asset pricing wrong?!" about Open Source Asset Pricing
• Episode 313 - When Should You Hire a Financial Advisor?
• Episode 310 - Professor Antoinette Schoar: Consumer Finance, Crypto, and Private Equity
• Episode 303 - Scott Galloway: The Algebra of Wealth
• Episode 302 - Michael Green: Market Efficiency Is Not The Question
• Episode 292 - Rob Copeland: Ray Dalio and Bridgewater
• Episode 291 - The Quant Winter, and is Canada Pension Plan a Scam?
• Episode 289 - Retiring Retirement Income Myths with the Retirement Income Dream Team
• Episode 286: Errol Morris: Tuning out the Noise

Hidden gem : the business process catalog for Dynamics 365 apps

The business process catalog for Dynamics 365 apps is an Excel workbook that contains more than 700 processes grouped by end-to-end scenarios and business process areas for different products (Dynamics 365 SCM, Business Central, Customer Service etc ...). It can be used as a blueprint for requirement-gathering and implementation templates. 

Microsoft updates the catalog at least four times each year and the latest November 2024 release was recently made available. This latest releases includes:

• Azure DevOps templates that you can use to track your implementation
• Configuration deliverable downloads for Finance and Operation apps as well as Customer Engagement apps.
• AI generated process flow diagrams for level 3 processes to accelerate the discover process.

Download the latest version on https://aka.ms/businessprocesscatalog and explore AI generated flow diagrams at https://aka.ms/businessprocessflow

Dynamics 365 Contact Center - the new kid on the block

 In July 2024, Microsoft announced general availability of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center. This Contact Center As A Service (CCAAS) offering allows Microsoft to compete against players such as ...

It most likely is also a way for Microsoft to embed the Nuance offering more directly into the Dynamics 365 platform. It can be quite a daunting task for consultants and customers trying to come up with a cost simulation since licensing is not that easy taking into account the different capabilities in the platform (or as Tricia calls it "licensing a contact center deal can be a special place in hell" - in Licensing the Dynamics 365 Contact Center Part 1

Data flow and components in Dynamics 365 Contact Center architecture:

1. Customers can connect through preferred channels including Teams for internal helpdesks. Licensing and operational cost vary depending on the required channels to support
2. Azure Communication Services (ACS) offers PSTN integration for voice 
3. Works not only with Dynamics 365 CRM (Customer Service) but also with other CRM platform such as Salesforce and ServiceNow
4. Use Copilot Studio to configure AI agents and IVR setup
5. Routing based on Unified routing framework
6. Agents work in the Agent Workspace or Customer Service Workspace if you are using Dynamics 365 
7. Connectors allow easy integration with Microsoft 365
8. Typical AI scenario's supported such as case summary, conversation summary, draft e-mails and knowledge article support (mainly existing functionality which already surfaced earlier in Dynamics 365 Customer Service)
9. Built on top of Power Platform with Dataverse as the core building block
10. Built in monitoring, management and analytics & reporting functionality

If you want to learn more about this platform - I suggest that you follow Chris Goodwill on LinkedIn and join the Dynamics 365 Contact Center LinkedIn Group

Related posts:

• Dynamics CCAAS Cost Calculator
• Configure direct routing

Thoughts about Artificial Intelligence and business value

The question that a lot of companies have, is  how to realize business value from AI. Obviously companies don't invest millions (billions) of dollars in artificial intelligence just to play around with LLMs. Companies need to quantify the business value they want to realize.

To get an answer to this question, you might want to take a look at the white paper  Research paper - Artificial Intelligence and business value: a literature review (2021, Ida Merete Enholm, Emmanouil P., Patrick Mikalef and John Krogstie) which provides a framework for connecting AI with business value.

The white paper distinguishes between first and second order effects of GenAI. First order effects are the immediate, direct impacts of implementing Generative AI whereas second order effects are indirect, longer-term impacts that result from the first-order effects. 

While first order effects (e.g. enhancing business decisions, increasing process efficiency and transforming business processes) are crucial for justifying the initial investments and demonstrating immediate ROI, second order effects (impact on operational and financial improvements, sustainability etc...) are essential for long term strategic planning and understanding the broader implications of Generative AI.

API Playground in Dataverse Accelerator App

 The API playground is a pre-authenticated software testing tool which is part of the Dataverse Accelerator App. API playground  allows you to quickly interact with the Microsoft Dataverse Web API - check out Explore and test Dataverse in the Web API playground (Preview)

Book review: beyond diversification - what every investor needs to know about asset allocation

I recently finished reading Beyond diversification from Sebastien Page.  Sebastien Page (Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price) explains in Beyond diversification the different approaches to forecasting returns, risks and correlations across asset classes by combining academic research and practical hands-on examples. 

This book is most likely targeted at the sophisticated investor  and should not be the first book to pick up if you want to understand diversification but it provides great insights on how asset managers think about their portfolios. 

The book also extensively refers to a number of academic papers that Sebastien Page has written on asset allocation, risk measurement and return forecasting. It explores a number of dynamic asset allocation strategies, acknowledging that risk is time-varying and requires adaptive approaches. Sebastien Page also explains why the typical fixed weight asset allocation (60-40 portfolio) does not deliver a constant risk exposure.

The book recommends using a  heuristics to cope with changes in volatility: assume that next month's volatility for each asset class will be the same as last month's. For the longer term the opposite is true, 5 years of calm markets are more likely to be followed by 5 years of turbulence.

The stock-bond mix is the biggest decision that multi-asset investeros make, but this mix does not reliably reduce risk as correlations shift. Stock bond correlations were positive in the 1970s and 1980s when inflation and interest rates drove volality but then the correlation reversed.

PS With volatility being a proxy for risk, you might also check out the white paper "Practical Issues in Forecasting volatility" from Clive Granger and Ser Huang Poon which was published in the Financial Analyst Journal in February 2005.