Moody's Corporation is positioning to enter the institutional buy-side market with the acquisition of the UK's RiskFirst, a provider of risk analytics technology for asset managers and pension funds.
RiskFirst’s initial product, PFaroe DB, was launched in 2009 and is used within the defined benefit (DB) pension industry to improve the management of asset and liability risk. The company claims that near to 3,000 pension plans, with over $1 trillion of assets, are now modeled on the product.
“RiskFirst sits at the heart of the buy-side and asset owner ecosystem and is known for its specialised expertise and high-quality products,” says Mark Almeida, president of Moody’s Analytics. “Adding RiskFirst’s platform to Moody’s Analytics’ product offering creates significant opportunities for growth and demonstrates our commitment to extend our reach and capabilities to the buy-side and asset owner community.”
RiskFirst generated £16.5 million of revenue in 2018. Moody's says it expects the deal to be accretive to earnings per share on a GAAP basis in 2022.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.