S&P Capital IQ Valuation Services Strengthens Processes to Ensure Greater Transparency On Pricing Actions

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Capital IQ Valuation Services, a leading provider of independent fixed-income evaluations of over 3 million securities, today announced a number of significant steps it has taken aimed at further enhancing transparency and understanding of its securities pricing practices. Among these is the successful completion of a voluntary independent audit of its policies and procedures under the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SAS) 70 Level II Auditing Standards.

"The successful completion of the SAS 70 Level II audit on top of many recent internal initiatives demonstrates our commitment to provide clients with greater transparency into our processes," said Frank Ciccotto, Senior Vice President, Valuation Services. "We want our customers to be comfortable not only with the pricing analysts they speak to on a regular basis, but also with the way our business is run.  We have put time and effort into developing pricing formulas for municipals, structured finance and European securities and adapted our outputs to deliver this data.  While transparency and clarity may be the new hot button topics now, at S&P Capital IQ we think of them as a means to an end, not the end itself."

External auditors reviewed and tested S&P Capital IQ Valuation Services' practices and control procedures over the period of November 1, 2010 to March 30, 2011.  These include contacts with buy-side and sell-side market participants, how pricing analysts interpret and validate market-provided data, and how disagreements are managed should clients challenge pricing outcomes on individual securities evaluations.  A copy of the independent auditor's SAS 70 report can be obtained by contacting Erin Cropley at 212.438.4739 or via e-mail at [email protected].

As a leading provider of securities pricing to global markets and investors, S&P Capital IQ Valuation Services is continuously working to improve the clarity and transparency around its pricing processes.  Through automated data feeds and a web-based portal, Valuation Services provides access to evaluations, pricing formulas and specific inputs, enabling customers to see the building blocks that are used in pricing securities.  The pricing formulas are available for municipal bonds, structured finance securities and European bonds.  In addition, the web-based portal displays 10 days of history and the latest trade data to illustrate how a security has reacted over a period of time.  

At the center of Valuation Services' commitment to transparency is a long-standing policy to make pricing analysts accessible to clients and other market participants. Customers are always encouraged to contact pricing analysts directly if they have any questions regarding a price that was delivered.  By providing and explaining its pricing formulas, Valuation Services is able to ensure that discussions about value can start at the most granular level.

About S&P Capital IQ Valuation Services

S&P Capital IQ Valuation Services are provided by Standard & Poor's Securities Evaluations, Inc. (SPSE), a wholly owned subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., and a registered investment adviser with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. SPSE provides independent fixed-income evaluations of over 3 million securities.  It also distributes to its client base pricing data and equity pricing services of other unaffiliated firms.  In total, SPSE provides coverage for more than four million global securities.  Prices of firms other than those of SPSE are the responsibility of those firms and not SPSE and are produced under the firms' methodologies and policies and procedures, not those of SPSE.  Analytic services and products provided by S&P Capital IQ are the result of separate activities designed to preserve the independence and objectivity of each analytic process.  S&P Capital IQ has established policies and procedures to maintain the confidentiality of non-public information received during each analytic process. S&P Capital IQ and its affiliates provide a wide range of services to, or relating to, many organizations, including issuers of securities, investment advisers, broker-dealers, investment banks, other financial institutions and financial intermediaries, and accordingly may receive fees or other economic benefits from those organizations, including organizations whose securities or services they may recommend, rate, include in model portfolios, evaluate or otherwise address. For more information, visit www.standardandpoors.com

About S&P Capital IQ

S&P Capital IQ, a brand of the McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading provider of multi-asset class data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment advisors and wealth managers around the world. We provide a broad suite of capabilities designed to help track performance, generate alpha, identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform risk analysis and mitigation strategies. Through leading desktop solutions such as Capital IQ, Global Credit Portal and MarketScope Advisor desktops; enterprise solutions such as S&P Securities Evaluations, Global Data Solutions, and Compustat; and research offerings including Leveraged Commentary & Data, Valuation & Risk Strategies and S&P Equity Research, S&P Capital IQ sharpens financial intelligence into the wisdom today's investors need.

Media Contact:

Michael Privitera
S&P Capital IQ
Communications
212-438-6679
[email protected]

SOURCE S&P Capital IQ