The new business processes covered under the patent include fair value pricing of international fixed income securities, international index futures and international equity options, as well as real-time fair value pricing of global equity ETFs.

For more than ten years, mutual funds and other investment companies have incorporated Interactive Data's Fair Value Information Services into their valuation procedures for global financial instruments that are no longer active in a liquid market at the time of net asset value (NAV) calculations. Fair value information for global fixed income securities, options, and futures is a natural extension of the service offering, continuing to provide critical inputs for NAV determinations while at the same time helping firms to meet regulatory requirements and safeguard shareholder interests.

The introduction of a real-time Fair Value Information Service for global equities has found a new audience with market makers and traders. This service can provide inputs to support their trading decisions relating to global equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs), American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and other financial instruments that trade during U.S. market hours while the underlying international markets have closed.

"As our clients continue to face new challenges, our focus on innovation is critical to ensuring we can support their dynamic business needs," said Rob Haddad, director, Evaluated Services for Interactive Data. "By expanding our Fair Value Information Services across a more broad range of global securities, as well as offering the ability to deliver real-time fair value information for global equities and ETFs, we can help our clients achieve their business goals. Obtaining this third patent for fair value pricing underscores the significant research and development we have allocated to this service and demonstrates our unique expertise in the marketplace."

Interactive Data's approach to its Fair Value Information Services includes estimating and incorporating the statistical relationships between certain market-based factors and a variety of pricing inputs to reflect where these financial instruments would likely trade if still active in a liquid market.

The business processes covered by this patent were invented by Rob Haddad, director, Evaluated Services for Interactive Data, Peter Ciampi, a market analyst at Interactive Data, and Eric Zitzewitz, associate professor of economics at Dartmouth College and a consultant to Interactive Data.