Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE: IDC), a leading provider of financial market data, analytics, and related services, today announced that its Pricing and Reference Data business has been granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the fair value pricing of a financial asset.
The business process covered by the patent was invented by Peter Ciampi, a market analyst at Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data, and Eric Zitzewitz, assistant professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a consultant to Interactive Data.
This business process is at the foundation of Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data's Fair Value Information Service, which is used by mutual fund companies to help meet regulatory requirements and safeguard investors' interests against market timers. The Fair Value Information Service is currently being utilized by more than 145 clients, including many of the largest US-based mutual fund companies.
In the United States, mutual funds that hold equities traded on a foreign exchange have historically used the closing price on the foreign exchange to determine the net asset value (NAV) of the fund. However, when that fund calculates its NAV at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, the closing price on the foreign exchange may be as much as sixteen hours old, and does not reflect events that have transpired since the foreign exchange closed.
Consequently, arbitrageurs have sought to take advantage of the disparity in value created by using "stale" pricing. Simply stated, they will buy or sell shares if they believe the fund's closing prices do not accurately reflect whatever market or industry events have occurred.
Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data's Fair Value Information Service offers investment fund companies a convenient and flexible tool to assist them in meeting their fair value pricing requirements and helps to reassure their investors that appropriate procedures are in place to protect their interests. The service is designed to provide subscribers with information that can be used to estimate a price for an international, exchange-traded issue that would likely prevail in a liquid market in view of market information available at the time of evaluation.
"We are very pleased to have ve ve been able to help mutual fund companies meet regulatory requirements and safeguard investors' interests against market timers," said Stuart Clark, president and chief executive officer of Interactive Data Corporation. "When Peter Ciampi first brought us his idea for the Fair Value Information Service, we felt it had the potential to be an important tool for the mutual fund industry. This encouraged us to provide support for Peter's subsequent collaboration with Eric Zitzewitz that resulted in the business process that has now been granted a patent."
Additional information on this patent (Patent No.: US 7,167,837 B1), is available on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Website.