McPherson will be responsible for Markit's US residential mortgage-backed securities pricing service, its European asset-backed securities service and its North American CDS of ABS service. He will report to Kevin Gould, President of Markit North America.

McPherson joins Markit from NewOak Capital, an advisory, asset management, and capital markets services firm. Prior to this role, he was a Managing Director and head of the asset-backed securities syndicate desk at ABN AMRO in New York. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York, where he led asset-backed securities and collateralized debt obligation research. While at Credit Suisse, he received top rankings from Institutional Investor for fixed-income research several years running.

McPherson holds a degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Kevin Gould, President of Markit North America, said: "Neil's extensive structured finance experience and diverse background will be valuable to both Markit and our customers as we intensify our focus on structured finance markets. At a time when participants in these important markets face significant challenges and opportunities, we are delighted to bring Neil on board to help deliver the next generation of innovative solutions."