SourceMedia Introduces Three Indices Tracking Business Conditions and Activity

NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- (http://www.myprgenie.com) -- SourceMedia, a diversified provider of B-to-B news, analysis and marketing services, has developed three indices tracking business conditions and activity. The indices are powered by surveys of the company's unique and qualified professional audiences in the commercial banking, public accounting, and investment advisory sectors.

The indices were developed by SourceMedia Research in collaboration with the editors of three of the company's leading industry resources: American Banker, Accounting Today, and Financial Planning. The American Banker index, known as The Index of Banking Activity, is published in partnership with VantageScore Solutions.

In addition to the banking, accounting, and financial advisory sectors, SourceMedia aims to develop indices for its other sector communities, as well -- including mortgages, capital markets, and employee benefits, among others.

Each SourceMedia index is a composite of multiple business metrics within its sector, measured through monthly surveys. The indices are constructed to reveal and track patterns that enable professionals to better understand and anticipate peaks and troughs in their core activities.

"Our goal is to tap into our audiences' direct knowledge of activities at their companies and in their markets," said Dana Jackson, SourceMedia's Director of Research. "With qualified respondents, and the right methodology, we convert their perspectives into data, which can tell a powerful story over time."

The company's index initiative is part of an ongoing diversification strategy: By integrating unique research and data products and capabilities into each of its brand families, SourceMedia brings an important new dimension to its portfolio, expanding the value it can provide to subscribers and marketing clients.

SourceMedia is introducing the indices at a time when many observers are hungry for new insights into business and economic patterns. "While designed to serve the needs of targeted professional audiences, we believe these indices will also be of great interest to broader business and economic communities," said David Longobardi, SourceMedia's Chief Content Officer. "They provide distinctive insights into the behavior of specific sectors that are driving the economy as a whole."

The Accountants Confidence Index

The Accountants Confidence Index (ACI) is a monthly economic indicator that leverages the insight of accountants into the strength and prospects of businesses in the U.S. The ACI is created from a monthly poll of Accounting Today's Executive Research Council, an online survey community of more than 1,000 tax and accounting professionals, who are asked to provide short- and mid-term estimates of the growth prospects of their own firms; their small, midsized and large business clients; and of the U.S. economy as a whole. Responses are weighted and averaged, with highest prominence given to forecasts for small-business clients. The ACI launched in 2011.

The Retirement Confidence Index

The Retirement Confidence Index (RCI) is a monthly composite index of conditions in the U.S. wealth management sector. It will be generated through Financial Planning's monthly Financial Planning Survey of more than 300 financial advisors. This index comprises a number of indicators that summarize various business activities in financial planning, such as asset allocations, investment product recommendations, client recruitment and retention, economic/risk factors, and other factors such as taxes and plan fees. The RCI will launch in the second half of 2012.

The Index of Banking Activity

The Index of Banking Activity (IBA) is a monthly composite index of business conditions in the U.S. banking sector and is a product of American Banker's monthly Banking Activity Survey of more than 300 senior executives distributed across the FDIC's asset-size breakouts. The IBA comprises a number of individual indicators, such as loan activity (e.g., approvals, rejections, delinquencies, and loans outstanding), loan pricing, deposit account activity, staffing, and business and real estate conditions. Monthly IBA results are presented as a time series and can be used to monitor trends and identify changes in banking business cycles. The IBA launched in July of 2012, and is published in partnership with VantageScore Solutions.

For more information about SourceMedia Research or index development, contact Dana Jackson at 212.803.8329 or [email protected].

About SourceMedia Research

SourceMedia Research was launched in 2010 to operate in tandem with the company's existing news and analysis, events and marketing solutions operations. Building on SourceMedia's strong audience communities, and working closely with its editorial teams, SourceMedia Research provides a full range of industry-standard capabilities, including quantitative and qualitative surveys, data analysis, panel management, and white paper development. Surveys are developed independently by our subject matter experts, as well as in consultation with syndicate partners and clients. Data and insight derived from SourceMedia's research studies can support strategic and tactical decision-making, product development and demand analysis, and the creation of custom research, thought-leadership and positioning programs.

About SourceMedia

SourceMedia (www.sourcemedia.com), an Investcorp company, is a business to business media company serving the financial industry and the related fields of professional services and technology. SourceMedia offers clients and subscribers professional information services, industry-standard data applications, in-depth seminars and conferences, research, and specialized marketing services.

About VantageScore Solutions

Stamford, Conn.-based VantageScore Solutions, LLC (www.vantagescore.com) is an independently managed company that holds the intellectual property rights to VantageScore, a generic scoring model introduced in March 2006. Created by America's three major credit reporting companies (CRCs) - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - VantageScore's highly predictive model uses an innovative, patented and patent-pending scoring methodology to provide lenders and consumers with more consistent credit scores across all three major credit reporting companies and the ability to score more people.

Contact:
Ying Wong
[email protected]
212-803-8787

SOURCE SourceMedia