Financial Data and Index Providers Face Increased SEC Oversight

Wall Street’s main regulator is examining whether index and financial data providers should face tough investor-protection rules.

The move by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to seek feedback on how to regulate the firms, whose products are tracked by funds with around $10 trillion in assets, could be the first step to more oversight. The scrutiny raises the possibility of S&P Dow Jones Indices, MSCI Inc., Bloomberg LP, and Nasdaq Inc.facing strict SEC rules typically reserved for money managers.

Information providers can exercise great discretion in structuring indexes and pricing assets, the SEC said Wednesday in ...