Thomson Reuters: Powering Financial Analysis

Debra Walton, Chief Product & Content Officer
Technology has irrevocably changed the way just about every business operates. Nothing remains stable for long—new companies that disrupt may eventually find themselves the target of disruption, so there’s no room for complacency. In particular, the financial services sector faces a myriad of challenges that are far different from those of even 20 years ago. Foremost among them are the global regulations put in place after the financial crisis. But the growth of big data, digital currency such as bitcoin, high-speed trading and the rise of the algorithm, peer-to-peer lending, and innovations in fintech are among other tectonic shifts in the industry. “Today, the firms that don’t carefully and strategically map the future may soon be lagging their rivals, or be forced out of the game entirely,” says Debra Walton, Chief Product and Content Officer of Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk. “That’s where we come in. Thomson Reuters is perfectly suited to help clients across the financial services spectrum keep their businesses running at peak levels.” At the core, Thomson Reuters is an information company. “We were delivering financial news even in the age of the carrier pigeon. We have now gone far beyond news and offer a vast array of data to clients, along with the tools for them to manage and benefit from it.”

A good example is the firm’s Permanent Identifier (PermID), a unique, permanent, machine-readable number that allows data to be mapped, linked, and understood. “We’re also embracing an open data model as the best approach for today’s markets,” adds Debra. The age of data walled off in silos is coming to an end. Related to this strategy is the expansion of Thomson Reuters partnership program that brings third-party offerings to their platform.This gives their clients access to a much wider range of tools with Thomson Reuters collaborating with innovate companies.


It’s all part of staying engaged with and relevant to the capital markets industry


Thomson Reuters Eikon offers clients financial content, from streaming real-time data to deep historical information, giving access to trusted, timely, and accurate content from more than 400 exchanges and OTC-traded markets and over 70 direct exchange feeds. Eikon also allows third-party firms and clients to develop apps that are deployed on Thomson Reuters platform. These apps can be for an Eikon user’s internal use only, or accessible to all Eikon users, and in many cases, these apps complement and enhance Eikon’s already robust suite of products. For example, OTAS Technologies recently brought its market intelligence and analytics offering to Eikon, providing users with immediate access to its tools for supporting trading, risk, and portfolio management. Another third-party app, ChartIQ, offers traders a complete technical analysis toolkit.

The company stands out from the competition in a number of ways because of the extent of their data offerings and ability to help clients leverage it to the fullest. “We try to maintain the kind of entrepreneurial mindset that drives Silicon Valley. Our innovation labs in the U.S. and around the world are working to find the next big thing,” explains Debra. As ‘the answer company,’ they seek to solve global challenges and promote academic research in partnerships with the top universities. The staff in Thomson Reuters labs works on a variety of projects covering everything from data science to dashboards, analytics to proof-of-concept applications. “It’s all part of staying engaged with and relevant to the capital markets industry,” she concludes

Company
Thomson Reuters

Headquarters
New York, NY

Management
Debra Walton, Chief Product & Content Officer

Description
Provides analytical tools and in-depth financial information to better advise clients and prospects on mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy and structure

Thomson Reuters