The TRADE’s parent company Asset International, a provider of information services for financial markets, has broadened its North American presence with the acquisition of Toronto-based research and data firm Investor Economics.
Investor Economics will become part of Asset International’s data and research division Strategic Insight, which offers data and research to the global asset management industry. The acquisition builds on a longstanding relationship between Strategic Insight and Investor Economics, which includes a recent research report for the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.
Investor Economics will retain its management team which includes founder and CEO Earl Bederman, who has developed strong links with Canadian banks, asset managers, brokerages and insurance companies over the firm’s twenty-year history.
Jim Casella, CEO of Asset International, said the acquisition would build on the companies’ shared areas of interest and leverage established industry relations in Canada.
“Investor Economics allows us to have an unparalleled offering for asset management business intelligence throughout all of North America and extends our service platforms into adjacent sectors such as insurance and wealth management,” Casella said.
Backed by venture capital firm Austin Ventures, the acquisition is Asset International’s seventh as the company pursues a strategy of extending its offering of specialised information providers to the global asset management and financial services industries.
“Through Asset International’s companies, global financial services firms can now access a broad spectrum of business intelligence information and technology in a comprehensive rather than fragmented manner,” Casella said.