Integrity Research Associates LLC today released a major new study of research pricing designed to make it easier to put a value on investment research.
“Most institutional equity research is still bundled with trading commissions, so neither the consumers nor the producers have a clear idea of how to price it,” said Integrity founder Michael Mayhew. “To provide some clarity, we’ve surveyed independent research providers who generally charge more explicit fees for their research.”
The 68-page study differentiates fees by the type of research offered, including fundamental research, economic research and primary research, as well as more specialized offerings such as technical analysis, policy research, short ideas and quantitative analysis. “Independent research firms tend to specialize in certain types of research, or even in specific industry sectors or geographies, which gives us good proxies for the values for those types of research,” said study author Sanford Bragg, Principal at Integrity Research.
“Our study shows that more explicit pricing of research generates savings for asset managers and their clients,” said Bragg. “On average, unpriced research is nearly twice as expensive as comparable research which is priced.”
Regulators in Europe are implementing reforms which will require more transparency in how research is bought and sold. More broadly, competition from passive investment products is forcing active managers to reduce investment costs, including the commissions which have historically been used to pay for research.
The survey was conducted from September to November 2015, with eighty-three firms participating in the detailed survey.
To learn more about the study, go to http://www.integrity-research.com/researchfocus-independent-research-pricing-study/.