We live in a world where regulatory institutions are captured by financial and political interests, either unwilling or unable to get to the truth of the issues they set out to investigate and regulate on behalf of the individuals in society. Without unbiased and comprehensive research, there is a risk of misguided policy decisions at best, and at worst, negligence and malpractice. Never has this been more apparent than during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this context, we need independent agents to act as gatekeepers of the public interest. We intend to be such agents, and to provide high-quality research to other individuals and institutions who seek similar outcomes.
Our Team
Yuri Nunes, PhD
Most of our real-life decisions are based on information we receive every day. We all know that the information that comes to us has bias, due to the particular agendas held by mainstream media, governments and big companies. We can try to compensate for this bias in making our decisions. The problem comes when we have bad information and even misinformation, which is disseminated as being “based on science”. This information must be scrutinised, publicly debated, and corrected.
I am a physics engineer with a PhD in Physics and an MSc in Mathematics. For the last three decades I have worked as a researcher, applying scientific methods to solve complex problems in several areas (defence, space, finance, …). I decided to participate in this project because publicly-available information should be fair, free from bias, and analysed by an impartial person with qualifications and experience.
Carlos Alegria, PhD
The world seems to have gone crazy since 2020. After 2 weeks to “flatten the Covid-19 pandemic curve” I came to the realisation that we were living in a historic period. Generalised fear allowed the rise of authoritarianism and the suppression of independent ideas and critical debate. I realised that at the core of the problem was information asymmetry between authorities and individuals. The answer to such problem is obvious: more transparency and for this reason I decided to give my time and energy to this project.
I hold two PhDs, one in Physics (in Optoelectronics) and a second one in Finance. In the financial field, I’m called “a quant” and I specialised in Risk Management and the development of trading systems. I have special skills in analysing data and solving complex problems that allow me to investigate reality.
Edward Dowd
We live in interesting times to say the least. Did you ever imagine that censorship and sudden death would be normalized or that critical thinking and asking questions would be labeled as “conspiracy theories?” I have been here before in my career as an equity research analyst and portfolio manager where my contrarian notions about dotcom and housing fraud were called crazy at the time. I live in the world between perception and reality and being early to identify trends and make my clients money. This current environment is the biggest information asymmetry of my career and unfortunately our institutions have been captured. The answer to this dilemma is transparency and being the watchdog of the watchdogs and this is the reason I have decided to participate in this project.
I am a current Wall Street careerist with experience in both credit and equity markets. I hold both a Bachelors and an MBA degree in Finance. Most importantly my experience and wisdom has given me a good nose for fraud and equivocation.