ICE Expands Climate Change and Alternative Data Capabilities With Acquisitions of risQ and Level 11 Analytics
Leverages sophisticated geospatial data technologies for innovative services in the municipal bond, mortgage-backed security and real estate markets
ATLANTA & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure, today announced the acquisitions of risQ and Level 11 Analytics, which deploy sophisticated, data-driven technologies for managing climate change risk and expanding our alternative data capabilities in U.S. fixed income, municipal and mortgage-backed securities markets.
Since the two companies were founded in 2016 and 2019 respectively, risQ and Level 11 Analytics have leveraged a variety of advanced geospatial mapping systems and have provided extensive expertise in analyzing and joining vast amounts of disparate public, corporate and third-party data sources. This data is integrated together and mapped to financial securities to provide high quality climate risk analytics and investment decision-making tools for the industries the companies serve. Initial offerings have included climate risk and ESG data for the U.S. municipal bond, mortgage-backed securities and real estate markets.
“Understanding and measuring climate risk, and its impact on investment decisions, continues to be a growing area of focus for our customers,” said Lynn Martin, President of Fixed Income and Data Services at ICE. “risQ and Level 11 Analytics provide unique data sets and platforms, and their strong analytical background and focus on ESG factors, real estate and the mortgage markets, serve as fertile ground for creating innovative products that offer more insights for our customers.”
ICE and risQ started working together in January 2020 with the launch of ICE Climate Risk, an offering from ICE that allows investors in the U.S. municipal bond market to incorporate climate risk into project and investment decisions. risQ recently introduced Social Impact Scores to the ICE offering, allowing users to quantify the potential social impact of investments in the municipal bond market. Level 11 Analytics developed much of the underlying geospatial technology and analytics and, together with risQ, offers ESG and economic data on physical land use and the financial assets tied to it in the mortgage-backed securities market.
“Bridging the gap between environmental risks and financial assets has been a key focus in the evolution of our business and the products that we offer,” said Chris Hartshorn, CCO of risQ and co-founder of Level 11 Analytics who will lead the joint group as part of ICE. “With its vast amounts of high-quality data and coverage of markets, ICE has been a great partner in launching new alternative forms of data for the fixed income market.”
“We’re excited to join the team to find new areas where we can apply our unique data, analytical tools and expertise in integrating disparate data sets to derive value and help customers in evolving markets manage climate risks and measure the social impact of their investments,” added Evan Kodra, CEO of risQ and co-founder of risQ and Level 11 Analytics.
ICE provides global financial markets, data and analytics that help customers manage risk around climate change and the energy transition. ICE’s ESG reference data service offers extensive data and metrics on approximately 5,000 global companies and over 2 million fixed income securities. These services play a pivotal role in helping investors, businesses and governments make more informed business decisions as they work to align with net-zero carbon commitments.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the financial impact will not be material to ICE or impact the company’s capital return plans.
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes that offer our customers access to mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and operational efficiencies. We operate exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, and clearing houses that help people invest, raise capital and manage risk across multiple asset classes. Our comprehensive fixed income data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers capitalize on opportunities and operate more efficiently. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming and digitizing the U.S. residential mortgage process, from consumer engagement through loan registration. Together, we transform, streamline and automate industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
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Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 — Statements in this press release regarding ICE’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on February 4, 2021.
SOURCE: Intercontinental Exchange
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