The summary: faster, smarter research

9fin is a leading AI-powered data and analytics platform offering complete visibility into the debt space through a single, intuitive interface. This case study explores how 9fin enabled better, faster decisions when timing mattered most.

• 9fin produced a comprehensive tariff assessment in 12 hours vs multiple days with traditional methods
• 9fin’s tools identified 20+ HY issuers with sector-specific exposures in five minutes
• Outlined trading opportunities, identifying borrowers with both high and limited exposure

Download this case study as a PDF here.

Rapidly breaking down credit exposure when markets are moving

The announcement of sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs by US President Donald Trump on 2 April 2025 sent shockwaves across financial markets. The move pushed indices to reach their widest points in over a year, whilst primary markets effectively shut down.

While some measures were expected, others caught markets off-guard — particularly those targeting Southeast Asia. Many manufacturers had relocated to the region following China-focused tariffs, leaving billions in investments suddenly at risk. Hedge funds and banks scrambled to identify both exposures and opportunities in real-time.

The challenge: finding the needle in a haystack

With billions at stake, the race was on to gather actionable intelligence for faster, smarter decisions. But with critical data scattered across hundreds of sources, and often hidden in password-protected data rooms, traditional research methods would have taken days — time that investors simply didn't have.

The solution: using 9fin’s platform to conduct detailed analysis in hours, not days

With the clock ticking, analysts turned to 9fin’s comprehensive platform — combining AI search, document analysis, and real-time data — to complete a complex, cross-sector tariff exposure analysis, streamlining the entire workflow from days to hours.

Finding hidden risks in a sea of documents

Our credit team used the document search tool in 9fin to scan over 750,000 offering memorandums and public documents for terms like "Vietnam," "Manufacturing," and "Supply Chain."

Within 5 minutes, they identified 20+ European high-yield issuers with manufacturing exposure in Southeast Asia, across sectors from apparel to aluminium.

Surfacing insights buried in earnings call transcripts

Earnings calls transcripts are gold dust, but it usually takes a lot of digging to get to the good bits. 9fin made this fast and focussed, enabling direct searches within 9fin’s library of 10,000+ transcripts to rapidly uncover any mention of tariffs.

Earnings call transcripts are available on 9fin five minutes after earnings calls, complete with an AI summary and LLM tools to uncover hidden insights — delivering unmatched speed and accuracy.

If you’d like to see these tools in action, and learn more about how 9fin can transform your credit research, request a demo of the platform here.

9fin AI: a reliable research assistant, built for speed

9fin AI is a powerful, ChatGPT-style Q&A tool designed specifically for credit professionals. Our nalysts used this to ask company-specific questions and get instant, source-linked answers pulled from a vast universe of filings, financials, cap tables, and more — complete with an audit trail to verify and dig deeper.

Our analysts also used 9fin AI — our ChatGPT-style Q&A tool — to get fast, reliable answers to company-specific questions.

9fin AI searched across thousands of data sources, including SEC filings, company financials, cap tables, and instrument data to give a response in seconds. Crucially, 9fin AI includes an audit trail to help verify the accuracy of the answers and enable further research.

Learn more about how customers use 9fin AI to accelerate their research in this blog.

Results: transforming the speed and quality of credit analysis

When every minute matters, 9fin’s dramatically reduces research time while significantly enhancing analytical depth.

Clients could navigate complex investment decisions while competitors were still gathering the basics — turning disruption into potential opportunity.

9fin: the ultimate tool for an increasingly volatile market

In this new era of trade tensions and economic uncertainty, 9fin has become essential for asset managers and investment banks seeking to capitalise on opportunities others might miss. It delivers the news and insights and advanced tools they need to cut through the noise and instantly surface critical information — fast.

Request a free trial of the platform to see how 9fin can help you operate faster and smarter in this fragmented, politically driven market.

Or, to read the full analysis from our credit team on the impact of Trump's Tariffs on European High Yield, click here.