NEW YORK-Scott Cleland, chief executive officer of The Precursor Group, and John Eade, president of Argus Research, formed on July 24 Investorside Research Association, which plans to promote investor trust by providing investment research aligned with investor interests.
To join the association and use its “certified provider” seal, member firms must undergo a review of their research methods and must prove they do not also provide investment-banking services. Typically, investment banks, which underwrite debt and equity securities, provide free research as a promotional tool, the association said.
In addition to Argus and Precursor, the founding members of the association are Avalon Research, Battle Road Research, BNY Jaywalk Inc., GARP Research, Investars, OTA-Off the Record Research, Schaeffer’s Investment Research, Vista Research and Vickers Stock Research. Investors interested in more information and research firms wishing to obtain membership and certification requirements can access the association’s Web site at www.investorside.org.
The association announced its formation at a press conference in Washington, D.C., at which U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) offered this endorsement: “I support the Investorside Research Association’s stated goal of restoring trust in the U.S. capital markets by striving to eliminate the conflicts of interest that exist in investment services.
“Addressing these conflicts is an important step in restoring faith in our capital markets.”
