Two former employees of Euronext have established a platform for the dissemination of research. A part of the reports is for free.
Right now, Researchpool has one Belgian writer: the independent analyst Gert De Mesure. You can download his reports on Leasinvest RE, EVS, Barco and Home Invest Belgium, for about 25 euros each.
“If a company pays me for a report, I give it away for free, but of course, I need to be compensated in one way or the other.” A portion of the compensation flows to Researchpool.
The Mesure benefits from his work for the Flemish Federation of Investors to write these reports. “I will wait and see if this works out. If my reports are successful, I will write more of them,” concludes De Mesure.
Since early this year, the Portuguese Pedro Fernandes and Briton James Woodley, two Euronext veterans, have been working on an online platform for the distribution of independent research. This week, the Researchpool website went live.
Investors can browse through 2,300 reports of 800 companies in 42 markets. 22 independent research organizations deliver content. Independent houses can make money in two ways. Either they are paid by the companies – which might raise questions about the independence – or by investors.
In the first category, the British Edison is one of the largest players with over 70 analysts and offices in London, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney and Wellington. On the website of Researchpool you can download a report on Argen-X, written by three analysts from Edison with a medical degree. You will also find a very detailed report on Celyad of 16 pages. These reports can be downloaded for free.
Another big player, the French Alpha Value, works on the principle that the investor pays. On Researchpool you can read a report of 47 pages about Bayer for no less than 3737 euros. Though, the offer of Alpha Value on Researchpool is only a fraction of what you find on the website of Alpha Value itself. For Alpha Value it is more interesting that investors buy through their own website to avoid a commission to Research Pool.
Researchpool focuses both on professional and private investors. However it is questionable if small investors are willing to pay for that research.