Research technology priorities for broker-dealers in the U.S

Over the past year, the U.S. broker-dealers community has come under enormous public scrutiny over the role that their research departments play within the whole organization. Questions about independence of these reports have resulted in a number of these organizations being tried in the courts of public opinion. However, changing the public perception of the value and independence of these reports is not the only challenge that faces producers of financial research reports. Many are also facing a number of less well-known challenges associated with how they produce and disseminate their research. It is my opinion that the combination of these internal and external pressures will force a number of research report producers to increasingly take advantage of new technologies to help them in the process of research authoring, production, and distribution. With the maturation of a few key technologies, it is now time to rethink the research technology model, with an eye towards meeting the myriad of challenges faced, and planning for the future. This paper will review the critical challenges faced by sell-side research producers, set research technology priorities for enabling operational solutions to these challenges, and suggest an application architecture for supporting research in the future.