Interactive Data Corporation, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related solutions, today announced that it has been granted a second patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for the fair value pricing of a financial asset. This patent extends this business process generally to securities that are not actively trading in a liquid market, even though the market is open.
The business process covered by the patent was invented by Peter Ciampi, a market analyst at Interactive Data, and Eric Zitzewitz, associate professor of economics at Dartmouth College and a consultant to Interactive Data. These patents serve as a foundation for Interactive Data’s Fair Value Information Service, which provides information that can be used to estimate the value of global, exchange-traded securities after the close of trading in local markets.
Mutual fund companies use the Fair Value Information Service to help meet regulatory requirements, to safeguard investors’ interests against market timers, and to reassure their investors that appropriate procedures are in place to reflect the fair value of assets when determining net asset values (NAVs). More than 185 of Interactive Data’s mutual fund clients in the United States, Europe and Asia currently utilise this service.
Interactive Data’s Fair Value Information Service currently offers evaluations and adjustment factors for global securities at three points throughout the day: New York market close, London market close, and mid-day London at 12:00 (GMT/BST). The service has also evolved over the years to include daily and periodic online back-test reporting tools and other web-based applications that provide increased transparency into the evaluation process.
“We are always looking for innovative ways to assist mutual fund companies with meeting their regulatory requirements,” said Liz Duggan, managing director, Global Evaluations for Interactive Data. “We continually expand the capabilities of our Fair Value Information Service to help our clients navigate the process.”
