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Which sales firms represent independent research providers?
Hi there! Thank you for your question on which sales firms represent independent research providers. The short version is that a standard Wonder list contains 7-10 items, and I have found 7 firms that appear to fulfill your requirements: 1) Butcher Financial, 2) Capital Institutional Services, 3) ConvergEx Group, 4) FactSet Research Systems, 5) Hanabergh & Associates, 6) Independent Outlook Group, and 7) Spartan Institutional Research Companies. As you requested, all of these companies are based in the US. Below is a deep dive into my research and methodology.
METHODOLOGY
To answer your question, I began by first reviewing the Original Response. Thereafter, I consulted with Wonder peers and began a general search via Google and LinkedIn. Both the consultation and the general search produced a number of possible companies. Following your suggested resources, I reviewed the content on the Integrity Research and the Investorside Research Association websites, both of which contain valuable information on independent research providers as well as distributors. Also, your having provided the alternative terms for "sales firms" and "independent research providers" proved very helpful.
Through the Investorside Research Association's Member Firms list, I was able to confirm the client base (Institutional) for some of the above-named companies, specifically Capital Institutional Services, ConvergEx Group, FactSet Research Systems, and Spartan Institutional Research Companies. Moreover, after reviewing each of the 83 members on the list, I found that only these four companies fulfilled the requirements of being US-based and focused on the institutional investor community--at least, based upon the information provided on the website.
An observation:
Based upon articles from Integrity Research and elsewhere on the internet, it would seem that the number of US-based sales firms has been decreasing. I noted that companies, such as Bank of America and Bloomberg, appear to have shifted their research services in-house or have ended those services.
US-BASED SALES FIRMS LIST
The list below is the product of my research into the topic. Some of the companies listed appear to be in better standing than others. Of note in this list, due to their size and evident client list, are the following: Capital Institutional Services, ConvergEx Group, FactSet Research Systems, and Hanabergh & Associates.
Butcher Financial is a small business run by its founder Williams Keen Butcher. The site states that "Butcher Financial provides research from a select group of independent equity research partners to the institutional investment community." However, there is no available list of those providers. Location: Texas
-- Independent Research Providers List: (Butcher Financial does not indicate with which companies it works. I tried to triangulate this information; however, I was unable to do so).
Founded in 1977, Capital Institutional Services describes itself as a "woman-owned agency broker." It is not evident with which independent research providers Capital Institutional Services works, but it refers to this group as its "Alliance." Location: Texas
-- Independent Research Providers List: Morningstar, Political Alpha, Value Investment Principals Ltd., Zellman & Associates (Could not find a specific list)
ConvergEx provides a number of services, including research. It is not immediately evident that ConvergEx uses independent research providers. However, on the Corporate Access page, it states that "ConvergEx also partners with independent research providers..." Location: New York
-- Independent Research Providers List: Unknown (ConvergEx does not indicate with which companies it works. I tried to triangulate this information; however, I was unable to do so).
Established in 1978, FactSet provides a variety of services, including research. FactSet works with a number of third-party suppliers, including independent research providers. Location: Connecticut
5) HANABERGH & ASSOCIATES
Founded in 2003, Hanabergh & Associates focus is on providing institutional investors quality research. There is no provider list on the website. However, the available Research has a listing of the provider for each. Location: New Jersey
-- Independent Research Providers List: Bretton Woods Research, Value Investment Principals Ltd., Spin-Off Advisors, and Muzea Insider Consulting Services
Independent Outlook Group describes itself as a "boutique direct marketing firm focused on bringing independent investment research to targeted institutional clients." From the website, it appears to be small business. Location: New York
Established in 1996, Spartan Institutional Research Companies' website states that it "is the leading company representing independent, unbiased institutional research." From my research, it was difficult to understand the exact size of the company, or really anything else of relevance. Location: New York
-- Independent Research Providers List: (Spartan does not indicate with which companies it works. I tried to triangulate this information; however, I was unable to do so).
I was uncertain whether or not AIREX fits your profile. The company does work with independent research providers, such as Edison Investment Research, S&P, and Ineichen Research. The company is based in New York and its CEO is Richard Korhammer.
Also, another possibly US-based (New York) company that may be of interest is Alpha Exchange. The company aims to "connect buy side investors, sell side brokers, independent research providers, industry specialists and investor relations teams..." The founders are Emma Margetts, Alex Correia Santos, and Scott Winship.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the above companies represent the best matches I found through my research, which involved consulting with Wonder peers, using Google and LinkedIn, and exploring the suggested resources. As I noted in my observation before, the number of US-based sales firms seems to be decreasing. It is my hope that some, if not all, of the companies named above will prove useful to you. As requested, I have provided links to LinkedIn profiles and information on clients where available. Thanks for using Wonder! Please let us know if we can help with anything else!