S&P Global Boosts Private Markets with AI-Powered iLEVEL Enhancements

S&P Global has integrated new AI-powered capabilities into its iLEVEL platform, allowing private market asset managers to connect proprietary data to external tools like Copilot and Claude. For fintech professionals, this move signals a shift toward governed AI connectivity, enabling firms to automate data-intensive workflows while maintaining strict access controls over sensitive investment information.

What was announced

The expansion centers on iLEVEL, S&P Global’s platform for portfolio monitoring, reporting, and data management. The update introduces native AI capabilities, including an iLEVEL Agent designed to automate data-intensive workflows and facilitate natural-language searches for portfolio insights. A key technical addition is the iLEVEL MCP server, which provides a secure bridge for customers to connect their internal data to third-party AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude. This setup is intended to allow firms to use external agentic workflows without compromising existing permissions or access controls.

Beyond AI, the update includes deeper integration with S&P Global Private Market Valuations. This simplifies the exchange of documents and data required for third-party valuation opinions, delivering results directly within the iLEVEL interface. For private credit teams, new covenant monitoring tools have been added to track compliance against credit agreement terms and flag signs of financial deterioration. The platform has also expanded its performance analytics datasets through collaborations with Cambridge Associates and Mercer, covering private credit, real assets, and private equity. These enhancements are currently available to iLEVEL’s user base, which includes more than 700 private markets firms globally. The platform also continues to expand connectivity with other S&P Global solutions, including Capital IQ, WSO, Outreach360, and CLM Pro.

The companies involved

S&P Global is a dominant force in the global financial information and analytics sector. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SPGI, the company provides essential intelligence, including credit ratings, benchmarks, and workflow solutions across multiple asset classes. Its Market Intelligence division, which houses the iLEVEL platform, focuses on providing deep data and analytical tools specifically tailored for capital markets and corporate professionals.

The iLEVEL platform itself has a 15-year history in the private markets sector. It was developed to address the specific complexities of non-public investments, where data is often fragmented and opaque. By serving over 700 firms worldwide, S&P Global occupies a central role in the private equity and private credit infrastructure, competing with other major data providers to become the primary operating system for asset managers. The company’s strategy has increasingly leaned toward ecosystem integration, connecting its various acquisitions and legacy products—such as Capital IQ and WSO—into a unified workflow for the investment lifecycle.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed S&P Global’s strategic moves to modernize its data infrastructure and expand into emerging financial technologies. Recently, the company moved to strengthen its position in the digital asset space, as seen when S&P Global to Acquire OpenZeppelin to Secure Institutional Onchain Finance. This acquisition highlighted a focus on security and institutional-grade blockchain solutions.

Furthermore, the firm has demonstrated a commitment to scaling onchain data capabilities through strategic investments. FF News reported on this when Kaiko Secures $110M Series B Extension Led by S&P Global to Scale Onchain Data Infrastructure. These previous reports underscore a broader corporate trend of integrating advanced technology—whether blockchain or AI—into the core of S&P Global’s institutional offerings.

What this means

This announcement moves the needle by addressing the "walled garden" problem in private markets data. By offering an MCP server to connect with Copilot and Claude, S&P Global is acknowledging that asset managers want to use their preferred AI tools rather than being forced into a single proprietary ecosystem. This puts pressure on competitors who maintain closed loops, as the market shifts toward interoperability. However, it raises significant questions regarding the liability of AI-generated insights. While S&P Global provides the governed data, the industry must now grapple with how much weight to give AI-driven valuations and covenant analysis in a sector where precision is paramount and the cost of error is exceptionally high.