An Index Provider is a company or organization that creates and maintains financial indices, which are benchmarks used to measure the performance of a specific group of assets, such as stocks or bonds. These indices help investors track market trends and make informed investment decisions. Examples of well-known index providers include S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI. Index providers use various methodologies to select and weigh the assets in their indices, ensuring they accurately reflect the market segment they represent. They often license their indices to financial institutions, which may use them to create investment products like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds.