Q: What is Market Data Answers (MDA)?

A: Market Data Answers (MDA) is a consulting and advisory service specializing in managing market data costs, vendor relationships, compliance, and exchange reporting. We help financial firms reduce expenses, optimize contracts, ensure compliance, and streamline their market data operations.

Q: Who is behind Market Data Answers?

A: The firm is led by Scott Villa, who brings over 30 years of experience in financial services, market data management, vendor negotiations, and compliance. Read more about Scott and MDA on our About page. 

Q: What types of clients do you serve / which geographies?

A: We serve financial institutions, trading firms, broker-dealers, asset managers, and other organizations that consume market data in the U.S. and internationally. While many clients are based in major financial centers, we can also assist clients in other regions (subject to regulatory differences).

Q: Why do I need external help managing market data?

A: Because market data is one of the top 5 expense categories in many financial firms. It’s nontrivial to manage: you have evolving vendor contracts, complex audit and compliance rules, and often decentralized usage across departments. We bring focused expertise to centralize, rationalize, negotiate, and ensure you pay for exactly what you need.

Q: What services do you offer?

A: Our main service pillars include:

• Market Data Offering – vendor management, contract negotiation, invoice reconciliation, vendor displacement, contract inventory, cost optimization. 

• Exchange Offering – reporting, audit defense, compliance, liaison with exchanges. 

• Initial Assessment– a “health check” of your current market data state: cost assessment, contract rationalization, invoice review, and a free quote meter audit (if applicable). 

We often package these into engagements (e.g. assessment + ongoing support).

Q: How does the Initial Assessment work?

1. Review – We collect your contracts, invoices, and usage data across departments.

2. Analyze – We reconcile what you’re paying vs what your needs are (identify redundancy, overcharges, mismatches).

3. Diagnose & Recommend – We deliver a findings report with actionable recommendations and next steps.

As part of the assessment, we include a free quote meter audit (if your firm uses per-quote data), which helps you comply with exchange rules. 

Q: Can you help me during a vendor renewal or renegotiation?

A: Yes — one of our core services is contract negotiation & vendor liaison. We leverage industry relationships, deep vendor knowledge, and usage benchmarking to push for better terms, cost reductions, and favorable service levels. 

Q: What if I get an audit request from an exchange or vendor?

A: That’s part of what we do under our Exchange Offering / Audit Defense. We help manage the response, liaise with the auditing body, interpret policy, and mitigate liability.

Q: How do you ensure compliance / avoid penalties?

A: We build or validate your reporting processes, ensure usage entitlements are correct, aggregate & validate reports, and continuously monitor for policy changes to preempt noncompliance.

We also often embed compliance checks into the optimization process to avoid overpaying for unauthorized usage.

Q: How do I get started?

1. Contact us via our Contact page or email (scott.villa@marketdataanswers.com).

2. We’ll schedule a consultation to understand your landscape, challenges, and objectives.

3. We typically begin with an Initial Assessment, then propose an engagement plan.

Q: How long does a full assessment take?

A: That depends on the size and complexity of your organization, number of vendors, and quality of your data. For many mid-sized firms, the assessment phase can be completed in a few weeks. 

Q: What deliverables will I receive?

A: Common deliverables include:

• Findings & diagnostic report

• Recommendations with prioritized action items

• Contract inventory / analytics dashboard

• Revised contract proposals / negotiation support

• Roadmap for ongoing monitoring, compliance checks & governance

Q: What happens after the assessment/project ends?

A: Many clients opt for an ongoing retainer or support arrangement, where we periodically revisit contracts, monitor changes, assist with renewals, and stay ahead of compliance shifts.