FactSet helps research providers connect and grow

Reprinted from Investorside's March 2011 Newsletter > Member Spotlight
http://www.investorside.org/newsletter/March2011Newsletter.pdf

Independent research providers (IRPs) must not only develop insightful, relevant research, they must  also get it into the hands of research consumers as quickly and effectively as possible. FactSet Research Systems helps IRPs connect with more than 43,600 professionals in the global investment community, who use FactSet’s integrated financial information and analytical applications to enhance their workflows.

“We are interested in forming partnerships with independent research providers that can work to our mutual benefit and help both companies grow,” said Matt Sakey, global director of research contribution. Sakey manages a team of relationship managers who work with existing research contributors and pursue new relationships with research providers. They facilitate communications with
research contributors and help them promote their businesses to FactSet’s captive, buy-side audience. FactSet has more than 850
research contributors from around the world in its research aggregation product, FactSet Research Connect. Contributors
include both investment banks and independent research providers.

Established more than 30 years ago, FactSet, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, serves approximately 2,100 clients from more than 24 locations around with world. The firm continually conducts extensive field research to identify opportunities for creating
new processes, or improving existing ones. The goal is to help end-users in the global investment community save time and money through more efficient workflows.

A focus on new product development

According to Sakey, FactSet is focused consistently on developing new products to help contributors grow their businesses. In 2007, the company released FactSet Research Connect, a global investment product that collects research from hundreds of research providers and distributes it to thousands of investment professionals. 

Two years later, FactSet Embargoed Research was released, which enables distribution of research to groups outside of the buy-side community after an embargo period of typically seven days. Embargoed Research is a subscription service actively marketed by FactSet to investment banks, legal firms, and venture capital and private equity firms. FactSet shares the revenues with its contributors.

An Excel-model distribution service was released this winter. Entitled users can download working Excel models directly from FactSet Research Connect simply by clicking on the appropriate headline. Headlines for Excel models and PDF reports can be commingled or filtered separately. As with PDF report distribution, contributors can control entitlements and access readership reports to analyze who is downloading their models and when.

Sakey explained that Excel-model distribution resides within the company’s Research Connect and enables controlled and transparent distribution of proprietary financial models in Microsoft Excel. “It’s one of the most requested products from the buy-side we’ve ever developed,” he said.

Research providers can contribute to the Excel-model product using an established publishing system or a FactSet-provided application. The application enables contributors to submit both PDF-based research and Excel models.

Strengthening contributor relationships

Beyond new product development, FactSet offers other ways for research providers to connect with its global client base. Every March the company holds an Investment Process Symposium attended by the largest buy-side firms. Contributors who participate with their own booth spaces have an opportunity to reach hundreds of symposium attendees. The 2011 symposium was held March 20 to 22 in Aventura, Fla.

FactSet also supports the Wall Street Journal in its annual surveys ranking U.S. and Asian analyst performance. Ratings data provided by FactSet help determine the top analysts in the U.S. by sector and the top analysts in Asia by sector and by country. As contributors to FactSet, IRPs are in contention for this prestigious honor.

In addition, FactSet itself publishes “Discourse and Opinion” and broadcasts podcasts for its subscriber base. Interviews with IRPs form the basis of contributor profiles that are often featured in FactSet subscriber communications.

To read the published article and to learn more about Investorside, visit http://www.investorside.org/newsletter/March2011Newsletter.pdf