Regulation in 2018 forced European investors to pick and choose between their research providers. 2020 is showing who chose correctly.
“The value of research has never been seen to be more important than over the last few months,” said Charles Hall, head of research at Peel Hunt.
Peel Hunt, which specializes in U.K. equity research, was among the many firms impacted by MiFID II — a European rule that required brokers to sell research as a separate product, rather than offer it alongside execution and trading services.
When the regulation went into effect at the start of 2018, it caused investors to “cut back on a lot of material they didn’t need,” Hall explained. But it also revealed what research was considered the most valuable — a distinction that has become essential as investors have grappled with the effects of a global pandemic.
“We have thrived through the MiFID period,” Hall said, adding that Peel Hunt’s customers have more than doubled since MiFID II went into effect. “Investors’ overall spending may have come down, but they want to get value for their money.”
The uncertainty and volatility wrought by Covid-19 has further cemented Peel Hunt’s status as the foremost purveyor of insights on U.K. small- and mid-cap stocks...
Background
Following the acquisition of Extel in 2018, Institutional Investor Research (II Research) has been working to integrate the Extel Survey, extract the best practices from both brands and improve the user experience and the client journey. A new portal was launched in 2019 based on the Extel Survey, and the UK Small & Mid Cap is the only independent qualitative assessment of this specialized sector of the equity market.
Historically, the Extel Survey produced a Best UK Small & Mid Cap Broker award that included 18 research categories, as well as sales, corporate broking, and trading. With the changes implemented by MiFiD II, Institutional Investor has focused on research as the headline result, supported by Sales and Corporate Access (including corporate broking), with trading to be released at a later date.
Selection Criteria
To select the members of the UK Small & Mid Cap Research Teams, Institutional Investor solicited opinions of directors of research and investment professionals at asset management firms that have significant holdings in UK Small & Mid Cap companies. Minimum criteria are holding of 10 stocks or more in UK listed companies with a maximum market capitalization of £4 billion. We received responses from more than 293 individuals at 203 firms. The names of individuals surveyed are kept confidential to ensure their continuing cooperation.
Participants rated their top firms in each sector and then separately rated individual analysts at those firms to create two distinct rankings for each sector. A numerical score was produced by weighting each vote based on the responding firm’s assets under management in the sector and the average rating awarded. This created the AuM-weighted rankings.
Using those scores, ranks were determined. Firms/analysts are awarded a “Runner‐Up” position if their score comes within 35 percent of the third-place score in a sector. For the analyst rankings, the cut-off date for individuals is the date of the survey opening (2nd March 2020).
Voters must meet strict eligibility requirements, and winners must achieve a minimum vote count. All ballots are subject to review by the Research Operations Group.
Sales & Corporate Access
In addition to Research, voters are invited to rate firms on both Sales, Corporate Access, and Corporate Broking criteria at the firm level only. Voters may rate up to seven firms in Generalist Sales and then assess each firm on a number of criteria. Top 10 table was produced based on overall vote count.
A more detailed methodology can be found here.