Isn’t company paid research inherently biased?

Clearly, a research firm that is paid by the issuer it is researching has, at a minimum, the appearance of an incentive to write favorably about that company. Additionally, it is admittedly not easy to find many sell recommendations among the reports of company paid research firms. However, it is overly simplistic to conclude from this anecdotal evidence that there is inherent, unfounded optimism in company paid research reports. While it is true that a company paying for research is not likely to renew a coverage contract with a research firm that continuously writes negatively about the company, it is also true that a company that has a positive story to tell should be more likely to be willing to pay for research. We are not aware of any comprehensive studies analyzing company paid research to other forms of research, but instead ask for consideration of the following points:

- While the analyst recommendation and price target get the headlines, there is a great deal more to a research report than these two conclusions. If the analysis of a company paid researcher exhibits bias, it is most likely to manifest itself in the buy/sell recommendation and in the price target. However, the heart of the research report is not necessarily in these two data points alone, but rather in the balance of the report, especially the industry and competitive analysis, as well as the detailed examination of the issuer’s business and position in its markets. A sophisticated investor should be less likely to rely on an analyst’s recommendation and price target, and more likely to make his or her own investment conclusions based on the company and market analytics provided by the researcher. Any reader of research should utilize an analyst’s price target and recommendation with caution, regardless of how that analyst is compensated.

- Company paid research analysts often have licenses or designations accompanied by mandated professional standards and codes of conduct. There is a saying that locks help keep honest people honest, and while professional licenses or membership in organizations such as the CFA Institute certainly in no way guarantee that analysts will act ethically or diligently, the threat of losing a license or the right to use a designation should be one effective safeguard to align the interests of analysts with the interests of the investment community.

- It is in the analyst’s self-interest to get the research right. It stands to reason that a company paid analyst is interested in working as much as he or she is able, and charging the maximum rate that the market will bear for his or her services. It also seems reasonable to conclude that the best way to achieve these goals is to earn a reputation for getting the analysis right. To be effective in the long run, an analyst must earn the respect of the investment community. Producing reports that are flattering to the company funding the research but short on real analysis may keep a company paid researcher busy in the short-term, but only at the expense of the analyst’s reputation in the long-term, which is no service to the analyst or to the companies he or she endeavors to cover.