As Stock Research World Shrinks, More Firms Pay to Be Covered

  • Conflict concerns dismissed by sellers of ‘sponsored research’
  • MiFID II rollback highlights handicap small companies face
Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg
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In the incredible shrinking world of brokerage research, one niche is holding up: the one where companies pay directly for analyst commentary.

Dismissing conflict of interest concerns, even global institutions like Exane BNP Paribas are expanding a service that charges firms to be analyzed. That turns the traditional model, where trading customers underwrite the service, on its head.