By Uri Inspector, Staff Reporter
Institutional research aggregator RSRCHXchange has added an analyst interaction functionality to its platform, allowing research providers to book and sell meetings, calls, webinars and conferences to asset management and other buy-side firms. The initiative aims to help firms consuming research in compliance with MiFID II unbundling to choose services from among the banks, brokers and independents currently offering research via the RSRCHXchange marketplace.
The new features include integrated call and webinar hosting, and a consumption audit trail for both buy- and sell-side institutions. The platform is currently used by more than 1,200 firms and 350 research providers.
According to Jeremy Davies, co-founder of RSRCHXchange, “As our business grows, it’s important that we listen to our buy- and sell-side users and continue to build functionality that addresses their research needs. Research is a service and written reports are only just one part of that. We continue to expand our successful marketplace model to bring a complete research services offering to our buy-side users.”
The addition of analyst interaction comes on the heels of publication of poll results that revealed widespread difficulties among buy-side firms to adapt to the new unbundled research landscape, with small asset managers finding the transition the hardest. The survey of 418 executives from 350 firms globally – sponsored by RSRCHXchange – found that 43% of analysts and fund managers feel negatively impacted by reduced access to research, with 63% reporting having fewer meetings with sell-side research analysts.
Moreover, 45% of respondents from the smallest asset management companies felt worse off, which was much more so than the largest firms. As Davies says, firms have “no choice but to optimise their research strategy”, and the addition of analyst interaction to the RSRCHXchange is designed to facilitate that process.
Vicky Sanders, co-founder of RSRCHXchange, adds: “The findings of our recent survey have shown that 63% of buy-side firms are taking fewer meetings post MiFID II and that this is partly down to confusion over pricing. As a result of cost and time pressures, many of our research providers are increasingly looking for technology to help them to meet with and maintain close relationships with clients.”
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