Feature News

HoldingScan and Alerts Functionality Added

NEW YORK, June 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services continues to expand coverage across the wealth management spectrum of products and assets classes with its MarketScope Advisor(R) (MSA) platform. The MSA platform provides actionable investment intelligence on multiple asset classes including stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and variable annuities. With its latest release, S&P has added to its repertoire of advisor tools with the newly introduced HoldingScan tool and Alerts functionality. HoldingScan provides a detailed look at portfolios and analyzes contents to show exposure to various asset classes, regions, sectors, and individual holdings. Alerts and Watchlists provide the ability to keep abreast with specific securities and market activity. Besides multi-asset class research and tools, MarketScope Advisor provides an independent source for intra-day market commentary and news.

"We continue to look for ways to enhance MarketScope Advisor based on feedback from our equity analysts and from the marketplace," said Andrea Remyn, a Managing Director in Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services. "Our expanded ETF coverage was added earlier this year to address the growing interest on the part of advisors in using these products in investment portfolios. We will continue to add new capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our clients."

To see a demonstration or obtain more information on Standard & Poor's MarketScope Advisor platform, please visit the S&P booth at the SIFMA Technology Conference (June 23-25 @ The New York Hilton Hotel, 1335 Ave of the Americas) or call 1877-219-1247. MarketScope Advisor is part of the Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services family of products. Some of the offerings draw from Standard & Poor's Equity Research's analysts. Used by market professionals, S&P Stock Reports includes STARS rankings and detailed financial information, such as valuation models, sector and peer group analysis, and proprietary Standard & Poor's metrics such as Fair Value and Quality Rankings, on over 1,500 U.S.-listed equities.

About Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services

As one of the world's largest producers of independent equity research, Standard & Poor's licenses its research to over 1,000 institutions for their investors and advisors, including 19 of the top 20 securities firms, 13 of the top 20 banks, and 11 of the top 20 life insurance companies. Standard & Poor's team of over 100 experienced U.S., European and Asian equity analysts use a fundamental, bottom-up and macro-economic approach to assess a global universe of approximately 2,000 equities across more than 150 sub-industries worldwide. Follow Standard & Poor's equity analysts' U.S. market commentary each day at http://www.equityresearch.standardandpoors.com/.

The equity research reports and recommendations provided by Standard & Poor's Equity Research are performed separately from any other analytic activity of Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's Equity Research has no access to non-public information received by other units of Standard & Poor's. Standard & Poor's does not trade for its own account. The analytical and ethical conduct of Standard & Poor's equity analysts is governed by the firm's Research Objectivity Policy, a copy of which may also be found at www.standardandpoors.com.

About Standard & Poor's Exchange-Traded Fund Research

Developed for use by financial advisors, Exchanged Traded Fund (ETF) reports draw from Standard & Poor's Equity Research's analysts. The firm's proprietary research process combines elements of qualitative and quantitative analysis to create relative rankings that can be used by advisors as a tool to select funds and build portfolios. Unique to S&P, the analytical process includes among ten factors company level research based on its STARS coverage, providing important insight into the underlying holdings of the ETF.

S&P's ETF research is delivered through the firm's recently enhanced MarketScope Advisor (MSA), a browser-based portal that provides advisors with actionable investment intelligence and tools across the wealth management spectrum.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 150 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.