McGraw Hill Financial hosted its inaugural investor day in New York on Tuesday, March 18. The headlines were that the company: 1) reaffirmed its 2014 guidance (not really a surprise given that it just issued guidance last month); 2) announced that it is evaluating strategic alternatives for McGraw Hill Construction; 3) announced a three-year target to identify at least $100 million in cost savings; and 4) announced long-term financial targets for mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth and midteens EPS growth.

The company also provided a little more granularity on the operations of its main businesses, which provided us with a bit better understanding of each business. Our views about the ratings and index businesses did not change much, but we walked away feeling a little better about the growth outlook for S&P Capital IQ, Platts, and JD Power. At a high level, management also tried to convey a message that McGraw Hill Financial is being managed in a more efficient and collaborative manner than in the past.