S&P Dow Jones Indices to Acquire ARC Research, Expanding Wealth Data and Benchmarking Capabilities

Rhea-AI Summary

S&P Dow Jones Indices (NYSE: SPGI), the world's leading index provider, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire ARC Research, a subsidiary of ARC Group specializing in investment performance data and benchmarking for the private wealth market.

ARC Research brings significant value with its proprietary dataset of over 500,000 private client portfolios spanning two decades and partnerships with more than 190 investment managers and wealth advisers globally. The acquisition will enhance S&P DJI's ability to deliver specialized benchmarks and data solutions for wealth managers, private banks, and financial advisers.

The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Positive

• Acquisition of world's largest proprietary dataset of private client portfolios (500,000+ portfolios)
• Access to established relationships with 190+ investment managers and wealth advisers globally
• Strategic expansion into private wealth market data and benchmarking capabilities
• Enhancement of S&P DJI's wealth management services portfolio

Negative

• Financial terms not disclosed, creating uncertainty about transaction value and impact
• Regulatory approvals pending, presenting potential closing risks
• Integration costs and challenges may impact short-term performance

Insights

M&A Strategic Analyst

S&P DJI's acquisition of ARC Research strategically expands its wealth management data capabilities, enhancing its competitive position in financial benchmarking.

This strategic acquisition represents a calculated expansion into the high-growth private wealth data sector for S&P Dow Jones Indices. ARC Research brings an exceptionally valuable asset: a proprietary dataset of over 500,000 private client portfolios spanning two decades, with relationships with 190+ investment managers and wealth advisers globally.

The transaction's strategic rationale is clear - S&P DJI gains immediate access to a specialized data ecosystem that would take years to build organically. ARC Research's benchmarking capabilities perfectly complement S&P DJI's existing index offerings, creating a more comprehensive solution for wealth management clients who increasingly demand sophisticated performance measurement tools.

The wealth management industry is undergoing significant transformation, with trillions in assets transferring to younger generations and advisors needing more sophisticated data tools. This acquisition positions S&P DJI to capitalize on this structural shift by offering enhanced transparency and benchmarking capabilities specifically tailored to private wealth portfolios.

While financial terms weren't disclosed, the strategic fit appears strong. The acquisition expands S&P DJI's recurring revenue streams through subscription-based data services and creates cross-selling opportunities with existing index products. The expected Q3 2025 closing suggests limited regulatory hurdles, and the transaction aligns with S&P Global's broader strategy of building out high-margin, recurring data services.

LONDON, July 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI"), a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) and the world's leading index provider, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ARC Research, a subsidiary of ARC Group, and the leading independent provider of investment performance data, benchmarking capabilities and insights in the private wealth market.

ARC Research maintains the world's largest proprietary dataset of more than 500,000 private client portfolios spanning over two decades. The firm is a trusted partner to more than 190 investment managers and wealth advisers globally, supporting performance benchmarking, analytics, and transparency in the private wealth space. Since 2002, ARC Research has collected and analyzed hundreds of millions of data points from investment managers, transforming them into actionable insights for investors.

This acquisition will expand S&P DJI's capabilities to deliver innovative, high-quality benchmarks and data solutions tailored to the evolving needs of wealth managers, private banks, and financial advisers. ARC Research is widely recognized for its robust suite of performance benchmarks, which are trusted by leading wealth management firms to assess and compare portfolio performance.

"The acquisition of ARC Research represents a significant step in our commitment to serving the evolving needs of the wealth management industry. ARC Research's expertise, high-integrity data, and trusted benchmarks are a natural fit with our global capabilities. Together, we aim to elevate transparency and benchmarking across wealth portfolios, enabling clients to make more informed decisions. We are excited to welcome the ARC Research team to S&P DJI," said Dan Draper, Chief Executive Officer of S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The financial terms of this deal were not disclosed. S&P DJI were advised by leading international law firm, Ashurst LLP.

Forward-Looking Statements:  This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements, which express management's current views concerning future events, trends, contingencies or results, appear at various places in this press release and use words like "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "intend," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "strategy," "target" and similar terms, and future or conditional tense verbs like "could," "may," "might," "should," "will" and "would." For example, management may use forward-looking statements when addressing topics such as: the outcome of contingencies; future actions by regulators; changes in the Company's business strategies and methods of generating revenue; the development and performance of the Company's services and products; the expected impact of acquisitions and dispositions; the Company's effective tax rates; and the Company's cost structure, dividend policy, cash flows or liquidity. 

Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements include, among other things: 

• worldwide economic, financial, political, and regulatory conditions (including slower GDP growth or recession, restrictions on trade (e.g., tariffs), instability in the banking sector and inflation), and factors that contribute to uncertainty and volatility (e.g., supply chain risk), natural and man-made disasters, civil unrest, public health crises (e.g., pandemics), geopolitical uncertainty (including military conflict), and conditions that result from legislative, regulatory, trade and policy changes, including from the U.S. administration;
• the volatility and health of debt, equity, commodities, energy and automotive markets, including credit quality and spreads, the composition and mix of credit maturity profiles, the level of liquidity and future debt issuances, equity flows from active to passive, fluctuations in average asset prices in global equities, demand for investment products that track indices and assessments and trading volumes of certain exchange traded derivatives;
• the demand and market for credit ratings in and across the sectors and geographies where the Company operates;
• the Company's ability to maintain adequate physical, technical and administrative safeguards to protect the security of confidential information and data, and the potential for a system or network disruption that results in regulatory penalties and remedial costs or improper disclosure of confidential information or data;
• the outcome of litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries;
• concerns in the marketplace affecting the Company's credibility or otherwise affecting market perceptions of the integrity or utility of independent credit ratings, benchmarks, indices and other services;
• the level of merger and acquisition activity in the United States and abroad;
• the level of the Company's future cash flows and capital investments;
• the effect of competitive products (including those incorporating generative artificial intelligence ("AI")) and pricing, including the level of success of new product developments and global expansion;
• the impact of customer cost-cutting pressures;
• a decline in the demand for our products and services by our customers and other market participants;
• our ability to develop new products or technologies, to integrate our products with new technologies (e.g., AI), or to compete with new products or technologies offered by new or existing competitors;
• our ability to attract, incentivize and retain key employees, especially in a competitive business environment;
• our ability to successfully navigate key organizational changes, including among our executive leadership;
• the Company's exposure to potential criminal sanctions or civil penalties for noncompliance with foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that are applicable in the jurisdictions in which it operates, including sanctions laws relating to countries such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela, anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, and local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials, as well as import and export restrictions;
• the continuously evolving regulatory environment in Europe, the United States and elsewhere around the globe affecting each of our businesses and the products they offer, and our compliance therewith;
• the Company's ability to make acquisitions and dispositions and successfully integrate the businesses we acquire;
• consolidation of the Company's customers, suppliers or competitors;
• the introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies;
• the ability of the Company, and its third-party service providers, to maintain adequate physical and technological infrastructure;
• the Company's ability to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity problem, such as an earthquake, hurricane, flood, civil unrest, protests, military conflict, terrorist attack, outbreak of pandemic or contagious diseases, security breach, cyber attack, data breach, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-made event;
• the impact on the Company's revenue and net income caused by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and
• the impact of changes in applicable tax or accounting requirements on the Company.

The factors noted above are not exhaustive. The Company and its subsidiaries operate in a dynamic business environment in which new risks emerge frequently. Accordingly, the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which it is made, except as required by applicable law. Further information about the Company's businesses, including information about factors that could materially affect its results of operations and financial condition, is contained in the Company's filings with the SEC, including Item 1A, Risk Factors in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by Item 1A, Risk Factors, in our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.  

For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/.

ABOUT S&P DOW JONES INDICES

S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500^® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average^®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.

S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Silke Mcguinness
Global Head of Communications
(+1) 415 205 8414
silke.mcguinness@spglobal.com  

Asti Michou
EMEA Communications
+44 (0) 79 70 887 863
asti.michou@spglobal.com 

 

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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

FAQ

What is the strategic importance of S&P Dow Jones Indices (SPGI) acquiring ARC Research?

The acquisition expands SPGI's capabilities in the private wealth market by adding ARC Research's extensive dataset of 500,000+ private client portfolios and relationships with 190+ investment managers, enhancing their benchmarking and data solutions offerings.

When will the SPGI acquisition of ARC Research close?

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

What assets and capabilities will SPGI gain from the ARC Research acquisition?

SPGI will gain the world's largest proprietary dataset of over 500,000 private client portfolios, established relationships with 190+ investment managers and wealth advisers, and expertise in performance benchmarking and analytics.

How will the ARC Research acquisition affect SPGI's market position?

The acquisition will strengthen SPGI's position in the wealth management industry by expanding its benchmarking capabilities and data solutions for wealth managers, private banks, and financial advisers.

What is the financial impact of SPGI's acquisition of ARC Research?

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The impact on SPGI's financials will become clearer after the deal closes in Q3 2025.