Market data provider of the year: S&P Global Market Intelligence

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In a period marked by data proliferation, market complexity and regulatory scrutiny, the ability to deliver accurate, timely and actionable information has become central to how financial institutions operate. Over the past year, S&P Global Market Intelligence has consistently met these demands across Asia’s fast‑evolving capital markets.

S&P Global Market Intelligence’s strength lies in combining the depth and breadth of its datasets with robust analytics and delivery flexibility. Over the past year, the company has continued to expand its pricing and analytics capabilities across fixed income, credit and derivatives markets, while refining the transparency and accessibility of its data.

Sage Patel, S&P Global Market Intelligence

A key milestone has been the integration of IHS Markit datasets into S&P’s Capital IQ platform and Xpressfeed, creating a single, more comprehensive analytical environment. Clients can now combine reference, credit and fundamental data to support valuation, portfolio management and regulatory reporting. For buy- and sell-side institutions that rely on consistent and auditable benchmarks, this integration has reinforced the reliability of data workflows across both liquid and illiquid markets.

A particular area of advancement has been in loan and credit pricing. The company’s Evaluated Loan Pricing Service complements its existing composite pricing by incorporating market-based observations with proprietary clustering techniques and shadow ratings. This has become increasingly important as regional banks and asset managers expand into private credit and structured lending. The firm has also enhanced its issuer yield curves and expanded its evaluated credit default swap coverage to more than 5,000 curves. This gives institutions clearer insight into market pricing and credit risk, supporting stronger compliance and risk management.

According to Sage Patel, managing director and head of data, valuations and risk analytics – Asia-Pacific (Apac) at S&P Global Market Intelligence, the firm’s focus is on giving clients data they can depend on in a market where transparency varies widely. “There’s a significant shift in how investors behave today,” he says. “Private markets and alternative assets are expanding fast, but they still need the same rigour of validation and valuation as public ones. Having absolute clarity in the data that feeds those models is vital.”

This requirement for ‘scrubbed and cleaned’ information is particularly acute in Asia’s fragmented landscape. “If you’re based in Apac, you’re dealing with jurisdictions that are limited in terms of available data and maturity,” Patel says. “You’ve got family offices relying on third parties, hedge funds with narrow operating models, and regional banks still finding their feet. So having wide and deep information that’s been through a rigorous validation process is crucial.”

Untangling the market

In derivatives and cross-asset analytics, the Derivatives Studio platform has become a key differentiator. Its interactive, on-demand calculator allows users to price structured products pre-trade and validate valuations post-trade, bringing greater transparency to an area that is often opaque. The platform now includes a pre-trade initial margin calculator that helps firms anticipate funding requirements under regulatory margin rules. In addition, new confidence metrics provide a statistical range around mid-prices. This gives firms a clearer sense of the reliability of valuations. Together, these tools support more prudent and transparent valuation frameworks.

“Depth and coverage, as well as the quality of coverage, is what sets us apart,” says Patel. “But what is just as important is the ability for our clients to question and challenge us – and for us to present the evidence behind our methodology. Our market data isn’t limited to one source; we take from multiple venues to give a fuller picture of the market.”

Following the merger with IHS Markit, S&P Global Market Intelligence now offers broader market analysis. “Bringing those two together gives you the ability to do comparables that simply weren’t possible before,” Patel notes. “You can blend corporate financial information with market data to create a much rounder view of how an asset behaves – from very illiquid instruments through to listed securities.”

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The company has also focused on how clients consume its data. S&P Global Market Intelligence now offers flexible delivery models, from cloud databases and application programming interfaces to custom web portals. This flexibility has proved particularly valuable for quantitative investors and front-office teams that use programming languages such as Python – a need the company is addressing through continued investment in its Workbench platform.

Looking ahead, Patel says the firm is focused on supporting clients across the entire trading workflow. “Clients want information at every pocket of that process,” he explains. “They need to know if the structure they’re building meets all governance and compliance requirements before the trade, they need live data during execution, and they need accurate valuations and reporting afterwards. That is where we are putting a lot of effort.”

Artificial intelligence is another area of focus. “We’re looking closely at how AI can help us provide more depth and faster responses,” Patel adds. “It’s about improving the customer experience and helping them react more quickly to questions or market events.”

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