Ockham Research Staff @ January 30, 2009 # No Comment Yet
In this post we are piggy-backing off of an interesting article from TechCrunch.com which got us thinking about an emerging world of data collection and research in the web 2.0 existence. Mint.com is the subject of the article as they are able to collect and organize a massive amount of data to yield some meaningful research.
More on: Perspective from the Spending Guru
Ockham Research Staff @ November 23, 2008 # 3 Comments
Once again, the Institutional Investor magazine rankings of Wall Street research firms demonstrates the need for a complete system overhaul. The ratings on stocks, which is perpetually stuck in last place by importance, is a massive boat anchor wrapped around each professional analyst. Not only were “Buy/Hold/Sell” ratings at the root of the last collapse of Wall Street research, but it looks as though they could be there again. For quality research professionals, its time to start listening to the annual survey, and cease the ratings game.
More on: And Deliver Us from Estimates, Amen…
Ockham Research Staff @ November 17, 2008 # One Comment
FINRA is putting another nail in the coffin of prorprietary research departments at the big investment banking firms. Basically, no longer will advanced access to research be allowed. And since the proprietary trading desks (which trade the brokerage firms own money) could make lots of coin on that advanced access, there is a possibility that more firms will cut their research budgets and analysts staff.
More on: Proprietary Trading and Research Divorced?
Ockham Research Staff @ November 14, 2008 # No Comment Yet
The Wall Street research analysts are still declining, both in number and in coverage, and there is no reason to believe that they will be saved. The term “bailout” isn’t used when referring to these analysts, and it appears to us that this is due to the changing requirements for research. Goldman Sachs just let 13 more analysts go, and from what we can see, it appears this trend will continue until anaysts can reconcile the “why” with the “when”.
More on: Analysts and Research Still Evolving
Ockham Research Staff @ October 28, 2008 # One Comment
Wall Street research departments at the largest firms are still struggling with two very big issues: pricing and format. Companies like TheFlyOnTheWall.com and others are far to fast and nimble for the big firms to keep up, and its causing all sorts of problems (and lawsuits). In the end, Wall Street research is going to need an overhaul, which might include a complete structural overhaul to accomodate lower costs while increasing utility and speed. At least, that is what Ockham’s Razor would dictate.
More on: FlyTape: Wall Street Tries to Catch The Fly on the Wall
Ockham Research Staff @ October 22, 2008 # 2 Comments
This post references a great article by Fortune magazine that demonstrates how Wall Street analysts come up short against many unpaid blogger analysts in predicting Apple’s earnings yesterday. Also, it is a proven fact that many Wall Street analysts have a history of changing ratings ex post in order to make them look better. Perhaps it is time to change the way we look at equity research, and not get too caught up in Wall Street analysts because often times they are flat wrong.
More on: Blogging For Apples… Wall Street Drowns, Bloggers Victorious
Ockham Research Staff @ September 12, 2008 # One Comment
Research ratings such as Buy, Hold, and Sell have always been misunderstood as verbs. While the investment community has evolved to a clear understanding of these terms, recent developments and regulations have again made it very hard to decipher just what a rating means. At Ockham Research, we want our clients to understand how the industry got to this messy state, and how just comparing adjectives to verbs can truly help them slice through to the truth.
More on: Research, Ratings, and The Death of Grammarians