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Citigroup's equities research director calls for 'thought leaders' Source: The Age, February 4, 2016 Equities analysts need to become "thought leaders" and experts in their field to stay relevant in an industry moving towards electronic trading, index-based funds and more regulation, the new director of research at Citigroup, Craig Woolford, says. "I want our analysts to lead the debate. That can mean different things to different analysts it can be their industry expertise, it can be the accuracy of their financial forecasts or the success of their stock calls. "I want the analysts to hone in on those things that really matter most to them and, more importantly, the skills that are valued by the clients." Mr Woolford is also keen to emphasise the independence of Citigroup's equities research, at a time when several firms have been accused of conflict of interest, lack of objectivity and of being beholden to corporate relationships. "The Chinese walls are incredibly thick at Citi," said Mr Woolford, who reports to Citigroup Australia chief executive, rather than Citigroup's investment banking or markets teams. "Since 2006 the walls have been strengthened and there are numerous examples where the analysts are clearly independent in their views, regardless of any corporate relationships," he said. As a case in point, Mr Woolford has had a recommendation on Woolworths for more than months, even though Citigroup's investment banking arm is reported to be advising Woolworths on its loss- making Masters business. Mr Woolford believes there is a role in the market for independent equities research firms that earn their income from subscriptions rather than commissions. However, he says successful analysts need to be able to pull together a myriad of different sources of information to build a clear picture of a company's prospects, and this requirement favours organisations with extensive resources. "That process has some scale benefits, whether it be the information systems we have access to or the global nature of your research," he said. "Success on that score lends itself to being one of the larger broking firms that does have that global reach. "The success of some of these independent firms only reinforces the view that I have that clients are looking for expertise." In Europe, new rules are being introduced that will require fund managers to unbundle research payments from dealing commissions to avoid conflicts of interest. Investment banks and fund managers have been warned that similar regulations will inevitably be introduced in Australia. "Without a doubt if there is unbundling then research has to have a very high threshold to prove it is adding value. But if we have a team of experts who are well recognised in their field and offer something differentiated then there is no doubt in my mind we can still be rewarded for the research that we do." Question: Discuss the conflicts of interest in this story, and how they are managed
