Interactive Data Corporation’s Pricing and Reference Data business has launched a Fair Value Information Service that covers international equity index futures, international exchange listed and OTC equity options. According to the vendor, this service is aimed at helping institutions to meet their fair value requirements for portfolios that contain these financial instruments.
Shant Harootunian, managing director of Evaluated Services, Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data, explains the decision to launch the service: “As mutual funds broaden their strategies to include more complex investments such as international futures and options, there is a greater need for a systematic approach to producing valuations that reflect global market movements.”
Harootunian says that this diversification within US mutual funds directly prompted the vendor to establish a service to meet their needs. The vendor claims that the service can help them determine end of day valuations for international equity index futures and international equity options when market quotations are not readily available at the time of net asset value (NAV) calculation.
“Recent research performed by Interactive Data revealed that approximately 93% of mutual funds employ a systematic fair value methodology for international equities,” adds Harootunian. “Interactive Data’s introduction of such a service for international equity derivatives is a natural progression for the industry.”
Currently, more than 160 fund complexes subscribe to the Fair Value Information Service, he explains.
