About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Briefs

Substantive Research Uncovers Rapid Increases in Market Data Pricing Amidst Regulatory Scrutiny

Subscribe to our newsletter

The latest analysis of 2023 market data pricing from research discovery and analytics provider Substantive Research, reveals that market data prices are going up faster than ever, identical products and use cases are charged inconsistently, and agreements are persistently unclear.

This comes despite the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing review into market data pricing practices. In August 2023, the FCA indicated that its highly anticipated Wholesale Market Data Study, due for publication in March 2024, will outline several concerns, including restrictive terms around data usage, high barriers to entry, high contract renewal charges, and a lack of meaningful innovation in the market.

Although the FCA has found that some aspects of the market prevent, restrict or distort competition, it has stated it not proposing to make a referral to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, believing it is best positioned to address these issues within the FCA itself.

Substantive Research’s data shows ratings agencies have increased prices by an average 12%, index providers by an average 13%, and some outliers have charged clients up to 600% more. For specific products, some consumers are paying more than 26 times than others for very similar requirements, according to the analysis.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: Enhancing trader efficiency with interoperability – Innovative solutions for automated and streamlined trader desktop and workflows

Traders today are expected to navigate increasingly complex markets using workflows that often lag behind the pace of change. Disconnected systems, manual processes, and fragmented user experiences create hidden inefficiencies that directly impact performance and risk management. Firms that can streamline and modernise the trader desktop are gaining a tangible edge – both in speed...

BLOG

LSEG and Microsoft Deepen Partnership to Power AI Agents with Financial Data

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Microsoft are taking the next step in their strategic partnership, announcing a plan to transform how financial services professionals interact with data by embedding LSEG’s vast datasets into Microsoft’s AI ecosystem. The collaboration will enable users to build and deploy customised AI agents, or ‘Copilots,’ within their daily...

EVENT

Data Management Summit New York City

Now in its 15th year the Data Management Summit NYC brings together the North American data management community to explore how data strategy is evolving to drive business outcomes and speed to market in changing times.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...