“We received high scores on nearly all of the parameters that the survey covered, which shows the strength of our offering,” says Nicklas Fhärm, head of Corporate Research. “What’s extra gratifying is that we continue to be ranked very high for our analysts’ integrity. Over a longer time perspective I think this parameter will be a key criterion for the product.”
In 2018 SEB opened a new business unit for commissioned research, where companies pay for their own corporate analysis. The focus is mainly on smaller companies that are not covered by traditional equities analysis.
SEB does not issue any recommendations or target prices, but in other respects its commissioned research is as extensive and in-depth as other equities analysis with respect to earnings projections and company valuations.
Strongest brand
Prospera’s survey covers eight providers of commissioned research. It shows that SEB has the strongest brand among the research houses included in the study. Customers were also asked to rank the providers in 13 other subsets, and the aggregate result is presented in an Overall Performance score.
SEB was ranked number one with a score of 4.08 on a five-point scale (4.06 last year). In the various subsets SEB received the highest score for its analysts’ integrity, company and industry knowledge, fundamental analysis, forecasts, distribution networks among financial institutions, events and performance (Corporate Access), and change in ownership (ECM).
“From the onset when we launched our commissioned research service we made it clear that we wanted to build upon the research tradition that SEB Equities represents in the market, and we chose to integrate our company and equities analysis in one product,” Fhärm notes. “I think our corporate customers are confident about our ambition and that we stand out as the natural choice for companies interested in targeting the institutional market. I feel that the fact that we have the strongest research brand of all firms evaluated in the Prospera survey confirms our strategy.”