Investment Banks

Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) can help every division of an investment bank better understand the fundamental issues affecting the companies they are serving or researching by connecting them with highly specialized experts. GLG performs this function to a first-rate service and efficiency level that optimizes clients' time and resources.

Current clients:

Fifteen of the largest 20 global investment banks have licensed access to the GLG platform and are actively tapping the expertise of the GLG Councils^SM. GLG serves teams in every major financial market, ranging from Investment Banking and Private Equity groups to Equities and Fixed Income trading and Investment Management units.

How GLG helps:

GLG's systems and Council Members add value at every step of the research process across all divisions.

Investment Banking and Private Equity — From sourcing to due diligence, experts from the GLG Councils complement a bank's existing resources. Whether in industry groups (e.g., Healthcare, Technology or Industrials) or functional groups (e.g., Private Equity, M&A or Leveraged Finance), GLG Council Members can help in everything from pitch preparation to strategic advisory. Bankers tap a broad range of services, including telephone consultations, in-person meetings, and custom surveys and reports. The ability to engage a single expert for a specific deal on a longer term basis is another valued service.
Equities and Fixed Income Trading — GLG services are used extensively across groups, including Risk Arbitrage, Equity Derivatives, Convertibles, High Yield, Distressed Debt, Bank Loans, Asset Backed Securities, Special Situations, Credit Derivatives, and Quantitative Strategies. From the desk analyst to the head trader, GLG can help with research needs for all types of investments. Traders use all of GLG's services, including telephone consultations, group events, and custom surveys and reports.
Investment Management — Units within investment banks use GLG services in much the same way as independent Asset Managers. Analysts and portfolio managers may begin their research in a new industry or investment theme with an interactive tutorial from an industry or scientific thought-leader, often delivered in-person via a GLG Master Class. As they narrow down their interest to a particular set of companies, specialized outside experts with knowledge of the products, services or issues impacting those companies are tapped for telephone consultations.

Understanding sales, pricing or supply cost trends can be essential in ultimately making an investment decision. Many investors construct surveys of experts or consumers – often on a recurring basis – to identify inflection points. Others commission custom reports in which leading Council Members provide deeper insights on these dynamics.

Unique advantages:

Gerson Lehrman Group helps investment managers and their teams find suitable experts for their research efforts; engage experts through a variety of consulting methods; and manage the use and ongoing relationship with experts, all within a carefully structured and rules-based environment.

Find

GLG's organization of 250+ Research Professionals use proprietary tools to identify, contact and evangelize the benefits of the GLG Councils to thousands of professionals from around the world each month. Investment professionals with urgent requirements can request accelerated recruiting of particular expert populations or individuals.
Once enrolled in the GLG Councils, experts are categorized within unique taxonomies, with dynamic questionnaires canvassing their experience with and knowledge of niche subjects. This continuous profiling helps GLG clients access targeted experts, even on short notice.
GLG assesses Council Member quality through the proprietary GLG CouncilRank^SM algorithm. By enabling over ten thousand consulting transactions each month, GLG has rich data on the demonstrated value of experts.

Engage

Finance professionals do not have time to manage contracts and negotiate consulting fees for dozens of independent experts and consulting firms. GLG puts industry-standard contracting protocols in place before every interaction. Pre-set consulting rates and integrated payment procedures reduce strain on clients' finance departments.
GLG Research Managers can improve an investment professional's productivity at every step of the research process. They help frame the research question, present relevant experts and populations, propose the most effective screening tools, and facilitate complex projects and meetings.

Manage

GLG provides easy-to-use Web-based software for analysts to rate, tag, share and search their directory of expert contacts. This eliminates the need to update personal address books and immediately improves the ease of communication among researchers, while enabling the entire firm to build a proprietary and shared knowledge base.
Compliance professionals easily can block, screen or monitor consultations using the unique GLG Oversight Dashboard technology.
For fund managers and accounting staff seeking to allocate research costs to specific individuals, ideas, and P&Ls, GLG provides tools to track usage and manage spending.