Informa Global Markets wins analysis award

Informa Global Markets – the firm that bought MMS International last September – topped the rankings for best vendor in FX research and strategy this year, while Reuters held on to the top spot for best market data provider.

Sue Marsh, global head of FX sovereign debt and fixed income at Informa Global Markets put the firm's continued strong presence in the space – MMS had won the award every year since the awards were launched in 1995 – thanks to the strength of the information it offers across different asset classes.

"There has been growing demand for strategic analysis across the board as we have seen that asset classes have become more interrelated," Marsh said. "Customers see the value in a completely independent source of information that they can be confident is not trying to talk up a particular book," she added, pointing out the strength of the independence that non-bank research and analysis providers can have."

Marsh also highlighted increased demand for information that suited individual clients as a reason for Informa's success. "Businesses are looking for tailor-made systems so they can get relevant news and price information as they want it."

The market for research and strategy staff has picked up this year according to Marsh, with more banks hiring in the area. She pointed to a likely growth in demand from the buy side and said Informa was looking to pick up more business from corporate clients in the year ahead.

She added that the way the merger was handled – following the integration of MMS and existing Informa subsidiary MCM to form Informa Global Markets last year – enabled the combined entity to stay ahead of its rivals. "We took the best elements of each business so that now we have a strong capabilities across the board."