Unbundling Uncovered NYC - On Demand - June 16th
On June 14th 2023 we reunited the North American investment research industry at the Metropolitan Club, New York – panels covered how the end of the SEC no action relief will play out, where corporate access has levelled out post-lockdowns, how a volatile market climate is affecting the external research and data that asset managers need to consume, and how budgeting and valuation has evolved as a result.
Regulatory issues are back with a vengeance – the SEC’s announcement that it would not be extending the no action relief covering research payments has implications for any firm with a European entity that is consuming US broker research. All the potential solutions have structural challenges and none of them are achievable before the no action expires in July 2023.
Panels also covered how buy side approaches to research budgeting, valuation and consumption are evolving, how corporate access now works post-lockdowns and what’s changed most, and how the greater focus on ESG and alt data works from a research and data budgeting and valuation perspective.
Email [email protected] to request a password for access to the replays from this event.
Panel I: The Evolution of the Research Budget
Buy side firms are increasingly confident in their research valuation processes, which are now reflecting the changes in market climate and resulting changes in demand from their investment teams. What does the research budget look like in 2023, and how is the allocation of that budget and the consumption of research by asset managers changing?
Moderator: Mike Carrodus, CEO, Substantive Research
Speakers: Stuart Howard, Global Head of Research Relationships, Invesco
Amrish Ganatra, Chief Executive Officer, Commcise
Lauren Giametta, Director, Research Services, Blackrock
John E. Pflieger, Jr., Global Head of External Research Services, T. Rowe Price
Douglas Christensen, VP, Head of Capital Market Solutions, Tier1 | SS&C
Panel II: The Regulatory Outlook – Life after the SEC No Action Relief
Of all the regulatory news that has hit the research market in the last few months, the discontinuation of the no action relief covering hard dollar payments from Europe to US brokers is the one that will fundamentally impact the market. Almost 8 months on from the SEC’s surprise announcement, and with 4 months to go before the deadline, there is still no clear solution in place that buy and sell side firms can adopt now. Which options are available and viable? What does a firm’s choice of approach depend on? How does this all affect wider discussion on the future of research funding and payments?
Moderator: Mike Carrodus, CEO, Substantive Research
Speakers: Steve Stone, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Lauren Mullen, Executive Director and Assistant General Counsel, J.P. Morgan
Robin Hodgkins, President, Castine LLC
Jack Pollina, Managing Director, Virtu Financial
Pam Torres, General Counsel of Global Investment Research, Goldman Sachs
Panel III: The Research Product
Market volatility in 2022 is giving the post-lockdown model of packaging and delivery of research a thorough stress test. As pricing in this market stabilises and perhaps even begins increasing again for some providers, asset managers increasingly forensic assessment of the value of their analysis and services is ensuring clear winners and losers. And the buy side’s focus on data, plus ESG now driving asset gathering brings even more demands and potential opportunity for providers to increase their market share and gain new footholds. How can providers ensure they succeed in this market climate, and where is innovation being rewarded?
Moderator: Michael Mayhew, Chairman, Integrity Research Associates
Speakers: Todd Klein, Head of US Operations, Singletrack
Simon Edwards, Chief Revenue Officer, BlueMatrix
Tracy Caliendo, Head of Global Commission Management and Hedge Fund Services, Bank of America
Joshua Maxey, Co-founder & CRO, ThirdBridge
Thomas Li, Co-founder & CEO, Daloopa
Ryan Brier, General Manager, Stream by AlphaSense
Panel IV: The Integration of Research and Data
Given that data and analytics are increasingly incorporated into alternative and long only managers’ internal processes, how is supply and demand for external research adapting to align with this trend? How have brokers adapted and repackaged research for their clients’ more data driven approaches, and how is the buy side delineating research and market data budgets given this overlapping trend? Research budgets have decreased whilst data budgets keep growing, but is this an ongoing trend for the long term?
Moderator: Mike Carrodus, CEO, Substantive Research
Speakers: Oliver Pratley, Research Relationship Manager, Invesco
Aniket Shah, Global Head of ESG Research and Sustainability Strategy, Jefferies
Jim Bode, Global Head of Broker Relations, AlphaSense
Steve Moreno, Global Research Relationship Manager, Capital Group
Virendra Naykude, General Manager, Eidosmedia
Panel V: Corporate Access in a Post-Lockdown World
As we emerge from lockdowns it feels like everything and nothing has changed. The sell side has reasserted its role as a key intermediary, while virtual interactions have emboldened many buy side firms to contact and communicate with companies directly. On the other hand, virtual meetings have completely changed people’s propensity to travel, and there is now a forensic focus on which engagements need to be face to face. What differentiates the sell side’s corporate access services in the new hybrid world? If more asset managers are going direct how are they doing it and what is the feedback from corporates? If you aren’t a large long only then how should you approach your corporate access program in order to ensure your investment process still works in 2022? How are corporates approaching their IR differently now, and what would help them most from brokers and the buy side?
Moderator: Mike Carrodus, CEO, Substantive Research
Speakers: Mark Pellegrino, CEO, CorpAxe
Swaroopa Desai, Head of Corporate Access, Cowen
Bryan Healey, CTO, Aiera
Vesna Tosic, Associate Director, Investor Relations, Regeneron
Matt Garvie, Vice President, Investor Relations, U.S. Xpress
Jeff McLaughlin, Director, Investor Relations, GSK
Panel VI: Research Valuation – How aligned are Buy and Sell Side processes?
How do buy and sell side research valuation processes compare when you look at them in detail? How can they become more aligned to ensure providers invest in areas that deliver the greatest value? How close are both sides to agreeing on one set of data to define how valuable each relationship is to both parties?
Moderator: Brijesh Malkan, VP Product, Singletrack
Speakers: Alex Andronov, Global Head of Business Development, Global Research, HSBC
Lindsey Reardon, Director, Global Research Services & Corporate Access, Wellington Management
Neil Scarth, Principal, Frost Consulting
Kevin Petrello, Director of Broker Relations, S&P Global
Lauren Fochesto, Director of Broker Relations, Glenview Capital
