TP Icap has made its first acquisition since the completion of its merger with the purchase of a financial data company to seed a new business focusing on risk and regulatory intelligence.

At the end of last year TP Icap was formed after the completion of Tullett Prebon’s acquisition of the voice-broking business of Icap, the former rival interdealer broker. TP Icap has now acquired certain assets of market research, analytics and business consulting firm Burton-Taylor International Consulting. The consultancy provides data and research across industries including financial services, media and software and clients include global exchange groups, government organizations, regulators as well as private equity and investment companies.

Frank Desmond, chief executive at TP Icap’s data and analytics division, said the transaction expands the unit which already includes Tullett Prebon Information, Icap Information Services and PVM Data Services, covering real-time price information from the interdealer markets. He told Markets Media that he started having conversations with Burton-Taylor last summer.

“Regulation is becoming a bigger focus across industries and we want to expand Burton-Taylor into new areas,” Desmond added. “TP Icap has global reach, technology and expertise and we are in the process of recruiting.”

He continued that TP Icap’s data and analytics division has launched a new risk and regulatory intelligence business and Burton-Taylor will seed this unit.

Data requirements in Europe will increase after the introduction of MiFID II regulations at the beginning of 2018. MiFID II introduces new requirements for pre-trade and post-trade transparency requirements, transaction reporting and for asset managers to provide evidence of trying to obtain best execution.

“We are well-placed to provide data, especially in over-the-counter markets,” added Desmond.”We have historically had a pre-trade focus but will move to provide more post-trade data which clients can use for transaction cost analysis or other metrics.”

John Phizackerley, chief executive of TP Icap, said in a statement: “We have ambitious, strategic growth plans for TP Icap. To be successful in the data business, it is critical to have quality, independent, position-neutral content and that is precisely what a combination of the Burton-Taylor assets and our data and analytics division represent”

A recent survey of asset managers by consultancy Greenwich Associates found that private company business performance, logistics data and satellite imagery can and already do create alpha for investment strategies that need insights beyond what the most commonly analyzed data can provide.

However there are concerns over cost, data completeness and integration. Greenwich said: “For those that can solve these issues first, however, utilizing unique data sources such as private company performance information, social media sentiment or satellite imagery, investors can once again find an edge on their competition with the resulting alpha the prize.”

Greenwich Associates interviewed 69 US and European-based chief investment officers, portfolio managers and traders at investment managers with between $100m and $1 trillion assets under management between October and November 2016.