NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Capital IQ and SNL, a leading provider of market research, data and analytics, announced today that its Alpha Factor Library, an extensive and proprietary collection of global equity selection signals, or alpha factors, used by fundamental and quantitative investors, Fund of Funds, ETF providers and other investment professionals, now includes more than 500 alpha factors for over 40,000 companies in 90 countries. 

Available on the S&P Capital IQ platform and the Xpressfeed data feed, the expanded Alpha Factor Library offers access to a wide range of investment strategies supported by academic and industry research, potentially saving users considerable time in researching, building and verifying critical information used in stock selection and idea generation. It also enables systematic screening of stocks based on fundamental and technical criteria, as well as historical back-testing that can assist in the development of stock selection models and more. 

Recently introduced alpha factors in the Library include 115 industry-specific signals utilizing S&P Capital IQ's robust industry data, tailored to identify unique value drivers for 14 key industries. These include content such as Same Restaurant Sales Growth (Restaurants), Combined Ratio (Insurance), Revenue Passenger Mile Growth (Airlines), and Wireless Penetration Rate (Telecom). This information can be delivered before major markets open around the world. 

"Active investors are increasingly facing challenges from passive investment strategies, making maintaining an edge in alpha generation critical to their success," said Warren Breakstone, General Manager - Investment Management, S&P Capital IQ and SNL. "With the expansion of Alpha Factor Library coverage, our clients can now stay on top of these new alpha ideas and focus more on building differentiated stock selection strategies in markets around the world."

S&P Capital IQ regularly adds new content and capabilities to the Alpha Factor Library. In addition to continually expanding and updating research and data points aimed at assisting users in the development of innovative investment ideas, future plans also include making the data more easily accessible through data APIs, Excel Plug-ins and other platform and feed deliveries, and the exploration of sector data from SNL.  For more information about the Alpha Factor Library or to request a product demonstration, contact John Logan at jlogan@spcapitaliq.com.

About S&P Capital IQ + SNL Financial
S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, a business unit of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE:MHFI), is a leading provider of multi-asset class and real time data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment and commercial banks, investment advisors and wealth managers, governments, corporations and universities around the world. The newly combined firm, previously S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial, integrates breaking news, comprehensive data and analysis into a variety of tools to help track performance, generate alpha, identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform investment risk analysis.  The firm offers the S&P Capital IQ, SNL, Global Credit Portal and Market Scope Advisor desktops as well as enterprise solutions, such as S&P Capital IQ Valuations; and research offerings from Leveraged Commentary & Data, Global Markets Intelligence, SNL Kagan, SNL Energy, SNL Real Estate and SNL Metals & Mining. Together, S&P Capital IQ and SNL sharpen financial intelligence into the wisdom today's investors need. For more information, visit www.spcapitaliq.com or www.snl.com.

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SOURCE S&P Capital IQ and SNL Financial