The rise of boutique financial advisers

From Star Online: Business
29 June 2013

In the local high finance corporate scene, a few boutique advisory firms have been quietly etching a name for themselves, putting together mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and other company restructuring deals.

The names of the owners – who are also the key drivers of these firms - have become household names in the corporate world but outside those circles they are hardly known.

And just like high-flying investment bankers, these specialists earn top dollar for their fees, which average around 1% of the size of the deal they are putting together. That’s a tonne of money, considering that some deals go into the billions of ringgit.

How to rate an analyst

From Star Online: Business

15th June 2013

WHO do you turn to when you need advice on stocks? A broker or remisier will be the obvious choice but they too get their information from a bunch of number crunchers whose job is to analyse stocks.

They are an important cog in the investment chain, often reviewing results, visiting companies, and writing their analyses of the companies under their coverage. The summary of their research culminates in a recommendation which is either to buy, hold or sell the stock.

Listed companies know just how important they are. Whether it’s a company going for a listing, announcing its new earnings stream or when a stock is to be placed out, analysts are sought to come up with a handle on what the companies are doing and what they hope to achieve.

So should we listen to analyst recommendations? How accurate are they, and do they really have retail investor’s interest at heart?