J&A_50310219P0024_(redacted).pdf

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND IXCHANGE COMMISSION

l00 FSTREEI', NE

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

OFFICE OF

ACQUISITIONS

JUSTIFICATION FOR SOLE SOURCE ACQUISITION

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as the Contracting Officer, hereby approve the use of limited competition of the proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of FAR Part 13.5 in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1901, only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency Requirements.

1. Identification, of the agency and the contracting activity, and specific identification of the documental a "Justification for otherthan full and open competition."

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, NE Washington, DC 20549

This document serves a Justification for a sole source justification.

2. Nature and Description ofAction Being Approved:

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to award a sole source purchase order for subscription that provides information and analysis on the specialty industry of structured retail products.

3. A description ofthe supplies orservices required to meet the agency's needs (including the estimated value).

The requirement is for enterprise-wide subscription to data analysis and product details for over l4 million structured products which are sold to investors. The database provides analysis of underlying instruments, information about projected risk/returns, and a variety of stats and fields that allow for analysis of risk and type of investment. The National Examination Program's (NEP) New and Structured Products Working Group (NSPWG) is conducting a variety of analytics on structured products sold to retail investors.

The specific items required are as follow:

Access to Structured Retail Product database and its Application Programming Interface (API). an online database of structured retail investment products in the United States. including information on market structure, sales volumes, growth trends, and competitive analysis of structured retail products.

Access to aggregates structured products information directly fro►n issuers into a proprietary database.

Ability to easily identify structured products sold to retail investors independently of what a registrant may identify a product as.

Access to over 50 data fields and prod~ict prospectuses for more than 120,000 structured retail products.

Searching, analysis, and reporting tools for data that are categorized on various levels, including asset class, payoff structure, and issuer.

The SEC intends to award a purchase order for a base period of performance of 12-months, and four (4) 12-month Option Periods. The total estimated value of the Base Period is . which will use FY 19 funds. The total estimated value of the purchase order is

4. An Identification of the statutoryAuthority for OtherThan Full and Open Competition:

FAR Part 13.5 in accordance with 41 U.S.C. 190], only one responsble source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

5. Demonstration that the proposed contractor's unique qualifications or nature ofthe acquisition requires use ofthe authority cited:

Structured Retail Products.com is the only known source capable of meeting the SEC's information needs in the specialty industry of structured retails products. The publications available through the subscription provide unique analysis and reporting in this industry that cannot be obtained through any other sources. Additionally, the subscription includes an extensive accompanying database with 15 years of data that is not available through any other source. The publications are under copyright protection; therefore, Structured Retail

Products.com is the only source that can meet this requirement.

6. A description ofefforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whethera notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under5.202 applies.

The SEC Office of Acquisitions (OA) posted a Synopsis on FedBizOpps on January 31, 2019 with notice of the SEC's intent to award a sole source procurement to Structured Retail Products.com in accordance with FAR 5.201. Any responses to the notice will be reviewed by the SEC.

7. Determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to tl~e Government will be fair and reasonable.

The anticipated cost to the government is determined to be fair and reasonable.

8. A description ofthe market research conducted and the results ora statement ofthe reason market research was not conducted:

Based on market surveys done by knowledgeable individuals in the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, the SEC has determined that no other source is available to meet this requirement.

9. Any otherfacts supporting the use ofotherthan full and open competition:

None.

10. A listing of the sources, ifany that expressed, in writing an interest in the acquisition:

A listing of sources that express interest in the acquisition, if any, will be maintained in the contract file.

11. A statement ofthe actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies orservices required:

The SEC will perform market research for future acquisitions for the purpose of verifying the sole source nature of this requirement.

12. Required Signatures:

TECHNICAL &REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATIONS: Icertify that the facts and representations which form the basis for this justification are accurate and complete.

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION: I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Since this effort exceeds $250K but does not exceed $700K, this cert~cation serves as APPROVAL.