Bloomberg and Reuters lose market share to smaller rivals

Bloomberg and Reuters lost market share to smaller financial data providers in 2017, underlining the global finance industry’s gradual shift away from the costly desktop terminals that have long enjoyed a grip on the market, reports Hannah Murphy of The Financial Times.

Murphy reports, “Overall, spending on financial market data, analysis and news rose 3.6 per cent to a record $28.5bn in 2017, according to a report on Thursday from Burton-Taylor International, the business consultancy now owned by TP ICAP.

“While this was the fastest pace of growth since 2011, Bloomberg and Reuters, which provide dedicated data terminals for bankers, traders and money managers, both lost market share to challengers that offer services via cheaper web browsers or software.

“Bloomberg’s market share contracted to 33.2 per cent last year from 33.4 per cent in 2016, while Reuters share fell to 22.5 per cent from 23.1 per cent. By contrast, smaller rival FactSet grew its market share to 4.5 per cent from 4.2 per cent.

“The trend suggests that the trappings of costly desktop terminals, including their chat service, are less of a draw as large investment banks — the core customer base of the data providers — rein in costs amid continued pressure on profitability.”

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