With information overload clashing with lightning-fast trades, the human capacity to keep up — even among high-energy hedge fund managers — is being overwhelmed, or maybe it has been already. Investors have instant access to all manner of news, chatter and data relevant to their strategies, but sifting and organizing it fast enough to be able to use it for timely, informed trades is something else entirely.

Sensing a market among traders and portfolio managers who are constantly being inundated by a variety of data, developers have recently released a flurry of products meant to unclutter the crush of information. ...