In today’s hectic, fast-paced world, understanding complex data streams and the ability to disseminate such information in a straightforward, time-saving manner is an efficiency to be embraced on any business endeavour. A premium value is affixed on those who are able to take hold of such comprehensive data, analyze it and return it to the end user with far greater clarity, thus allowing that end user to make the most prudent and informed decisions about their business. S&P Global Market Intelligence has unequivocally defined itself as an international market leader in this realm.

S&P Global Market Intelligence was born from the 2015 integration of two legacy firms: S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, and is a division of S&P Global Inc., the latter of which was known as McGraw Hill Financial Inc. until April, 2016. Based out of New York City, S&P Global Inc. is the publicly-traded parent company of S&P Global Market Intelligence as well as S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Platts and S&P Dow Jones Indices. In addition to the New York headquarters there are regional headquarters in Charlottesville, London and Hong Kong as well as offices in numerous other countries including Canada, China, France, Australia, Germany, India, Italy and South Africa, just to name a few.

Employing about 10,000 professionals with a wide range of financial and analytical skillsets, the Market Intelligence division provides financial and analytical data, research and investment news to investment professionals, corporations, government agencies and academic institutions around the world. It collects, analyzes and interprets copious amounts of financial and industry data and translates it into actionable intelligence.

S&P Global Market Intelligence integrates information into various tools that help its clients to track performance, generate investment ideas and assess market risks in both the short and longer terms. This powerful and vast content set is delivered via their two Web-based platforms – S&P Capital IQ and SNL, as well as data feeds and on-demand solutions.

The division has plans in 2018 to release a unified global data platform (the Market Intelligence platform), which will bring together the combined power of S&P Capital IQ and SNL. It’s this type of extensive premium-quality offering and the ability to deliver straightforward, comprehensive solutions – tailored to each individual client’s requirements – that largely differentiates S&P Global Market Intelligence from many of its competitors.

The Canadian Business Journal recently spoke with Rachel Loeffler, Global Head of Investment Banking and Private Equity with S&P Global Market Intelligence. Prior to her role at Market Intelligence, Loeffler led the Media and Communications business line at SNL Financial.

Loeffler, who works out of Washington, D.C., is now responsible for overseeing the investment banking and private equity market segments, which means that she is constantly thinking about what her clients in this space need to drive their own revenues in the most productive and efficient ways possible.

Loeffler is a very hands-on type of person who enjoys being out in the field and developing strong, lasting relationships. This focus on the client in their environment enables her to build a client-driven product roadmap around each of her clients’ needs through direct interaction as opposed to reading about it somewhere else. “I spend a lot of time traveling to see our clients as well as working with the people that are powering our business on the inside,” she says.

A Commitment to Excellence

At S&P Global Market Intelligence, the team is always striving to find that extra edge and deliver reliable and meaningful differentiated content seamlessly that will ultimately drive their clients’ success.

“We make it a point to understand what our clients are doing on a day-to-day basis and are truly committed to serving those needs with high quality data and a robust toolkit making their workflows seamless and efficient. It has to make sense for them, whether it’s mobile or a desktop or a feed,” notes Loeffler.

This dedication to cutting-edge technology, high-quality data and associated processes is at the core of S&P Global Market Intelligence’s culture. A unique aspect of S&P Global Market Intelligence is its unwavering commitment to stand behind the data it puts out into the marketplace. “We are so passionate about delivering the highest possible degree of quality, timeliness, and completeness in our corporate, market, and financial information that we challenge our clients to tell us when we’ve missed the mark. We even offer $50 rewards for qualifying submissions. This is just another testament to our commitment to quality of the highest standards,” says Loeffler.

Another example of this commitment is transparency in the user experience. In order to find out the components and calculations that make up deal transaction, a user can click through to see a deal’s component parts. This kind of functionality is unique in the marketplace and demonstrates at yet another level the team’s focus on quality and transparency.

Driving Efficiency and Innovation

At S&P Global Market Intelligence, constant innovation provides even more efficient methods and solutions for clients. “The demands on my banking clients are higher than ever. They must generate new ideas and close more deals with greater efficiency. They are thinking about driving profitability, productivity, and they must do so with a younger workforce that is already native to all sorts of digital solutions, “says Loeffler. The mobile experience is one that has been a priority. The team released a new iPad app targeted a senior professionals in the capital markets space.

The fundamental task at S&P Global Market Intelligence is to bring clarity to complex systems and what results in ‘essential intelligence’. The optimal way to know what is essential is to simplify complexity. With each passing day there is definitely a more substantial amount of work to do as systems become more complex with greater volumes of data to gather, analyze, interpret and act upon. While volume increases on a daily basis, data differentiation and quality never changes at the core.

The Future

Output continues to steadily increase in all business segments and there is always pressure to drive efficiencies to even more substantive levels. To help their clients strive towards even greater success, S&P Global Market Intelligence must instill confidence that their data is differentiated and that is easy to access so users can bring new ideas and execution to their own clients.

As proof that S&P Global Market Intelligence continues to be a market leader the division just recently won the 2017 Best Research Provider at the Inside Market Data Awards in New York.

“It’s a reflection of our offering. We are the research provider of choice,” says Loeffler.

There are big plans and high expectations for S&P Global Market Intelligence over the next few years and Loeffler says she wants and expects the company to be the best partner and ‘must-have’ source of essential intelligence for all of their investment banking and private equity clients.

www.marketintelligence.spglobal.com