ICE Data Services has acquired Andrew Kalotay Associates to enhance its fixed income analytics, bringing Kalotay’s proprietary software to ICE’s network of data, analytics and execution services for municipal bonds and other fixed-income securities.
Kalotay Analytics has provided high-speed, high-precision software for fixed-income market participants for more than three decades. It includes quantitative real-time pricing of bond exchange-traded funds to instantaneous mortgage-backed securities portfolio analysis for risk managers along with several municipal securities tools.
“Onboarding Kalotay Analytics is part of our broader strategy to strengthen the municipal marketplace with more data, more tools and more analytics,” said Pierce Lord, director of fixed income analytics at ICE Data Services.
Lord said the acquisition is a continuation of ICE’s expansion into the municipal space.
Kalotay’s MuniCycle product enables issuers, advisors, and underwriters to analyze contemplated transactions, giving participants option-based analysis for current refundings, and new-issue structuring with different coupons and call protection periods. It offers yield curve comparisons, structuring and refunding analysis.
“We believe the depth and expertise of Kalotay Analytics, along with ICE’s current analytics business and distribution network, will lead to greater market adoption of these innovations in the muni space,” Lord said.
The merger will bring several advantages as ICE provides a network of data, analytics and execution services for municipal bonds and other fixed income securities, the firms said.
The Kalotay Analytics team will be brought under ICE’s umbrella.
Relationships with current clients of Kalotay Analytics will remain in place under the acquisition.
“The rising demand for real-time pricing and risk calculations makes Kalotay Analytics a great fit for ICE,” said Andrew Kalotay, founder and president of Andrew Kalotay Associates. “For 30 years we have received top client ratings on the speed and quality of our fixed-income analytics. Now we can reach further under the ICE umbrella.”
Municipal analytics are challenging, Lord said, and the speed with which Kalotay’s products run is beneficial for the marketplace.
“Kalotay Analytics’ proprietary software can run tens of thousands of calculations in a few seconds,” he said. “This speed is very powerful for the front office.
“His fixed income analytics are a bit ahead of their time and we appreciate this innovation.”
ICE has been growing its footprint in the municipal space over the past few years from expanding its municipal scales to taking stakes in other municipal bond businesses to launching social impact scores.