II Research FAQs

Click here for the 2021 Developed Europe & Emerging EMEA Research and Executive Team FAQs

How many rankings does Institutional Investor produce each year?
Where do I vote?

Research Surveys:
What are the requirements for sell-side analysts to be listed on the roster?
Is voting open to all money managers?
Can I nominate an analyst for consideration?
How are the Research rankings determined?
What is the Research Team polling and publication schedule?

Sales, Corporate Access & Trading:
How are these rankings determined?

Executive Teams:
What is an Executive Team survey?
What are the requirements for buy-side participants?
What are the requirements for sell-side participants?
How are the Executive Team rankings determined?
What is the Executive Team polling and publication schedule?

Why are you asking me to supply Institutional Investor with my buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers?
What is this data used for?
Is there a data template I can use?
Can I sign a data sharing agreement?
Can I see your privacy policy?
How do I send you my data?
Will my buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers data be used for any other purpose?
How long will you keep my data for?
Will my company data be passed on to any third parties?
Will you let me know when you are conducting the survey?
Any other questions

How many rankings does Institutional Investor produce each year?

Institutional Investor Research (II Research) conducts 10 surveys globally, spanning North America, Latin America, Developed Europe, Emerging EMEA and Asia-Pacific across equities and fixed income, to produce unique insights and actionable data.

The research data independently captures evaluations of companies, brokers and executives from investment managers, broker firms and corporate issuers, to deliver detailed peer-to-peer comparative analyses every year.

Each survey varies in complexity according to the size of the market but in general cover industry, country and macro categories for Research, as well as Sales, Corporate Access & Trading and Executive Team for Corporates.

Where do I vote?

https://voting.institutionalinvestor.com

Follow the steps to register if you are a new user or if you have changed email addresses (firms) – your email will need to be re-validated. Existing voters can start voting on this platform.

Research Surveys:

What are the requirements for sell-side analysts to be listed on the roster?

An analyst must publish investment research during the period covered by the poll. Each Institutional Investor Research team survey is divided into at least two main voting categories: Industries and Macro. The majority of surveys also include a Countries voting category. Analysts must be certified pursuant to Regulation AC (or equivalent) to be recognized as winners or team leaders in all industry sectors; no such restriction applies to the sectors in Economics & Strategy categories. Winners must achieve a minimum vote count. We will provide guidance on analyst coverage limits in each survey.

Is voting open to all money managers?

We set minimum criteria for the firm and eligibility of the individual. These include:

Firm: Recognised investment institutions, minimum and commission wallet; these vary according to the size of the market.
Individual: Qualified investment professional, Portfolio Manager, Analyst, Economists/Strategists for Research, Role Trader (or Hedge Fund Portfolio Manager) for Trading.

We distribute the list of firms invited to participate prior to each survey and subscribing clients receive the list of buy-side firms that voted. Further details of buy-side participation are confidential and anonymous. We only allow equity investment professionals to vote in equity surveys and fixed-income managers to vote in the fixed-income surveys.

Voting enquiries may be directed to Head of Voter Engagement: dynah.sova@iiresearch.com

Can I nominate an analyst for consideration?

Sell-side firms upload their analyst roster names and the sectors for analysts to receive votes. Survey participants are allowed to add additional names during the voting process; these are verified and validated with the sell-side firm. All sell-side analysts are eligible for consideration provided they meet these requirements.

How are the Research rankings determined?

Both the firm and individual rankings are determined by a numerical score which is detailed in the methodology document issued for each survey. Votes are weighted by the voting firm’s commission payout, or in some surveys, by the firm’s assets under management. Weighted points are used to create the rankings for each sector. First, second, third and Runner-Up (RU) positions are published. To achieve an RU place, the score must fall within 35% of the third-place score.

What is the Research polling and publication schedule?

Polling generally lasts about four weeks per survey. The approximate dates of distribution are in the following table and the dates on which the latest results of each survey will be published on our website. Feature coverage can be found on the website at this time.

Survey Calendar

These dates are subject to change, so please check our web site or LinkedIn page (Institutional Investor Research) for updates.

Sales, Corporate Access & Trading:

How are these rankings determined?

Sales Teams
Most surveys have a generalist sales category, where votes are collected at the firm level across several attributes. Some surveys also ask voters to rate specialist salespeople in specific sectors or regions.

Corporate Access
Corporate Access votes are collected at a firm level across several attributes. Some surveys also allow voters to rate corporate access in specific regions or sectors.

Trading & Execution
Trading & Execution has been merged with our existing Research, Sales and Corporate Access ballot. Buy-side Traders and Hedge Fund PMs are eligible to vote in Trading. Voters are invited to rank their top execution and trading service providers on several key attributes for Delta One, Electronic, High-Touch and Portfolio Trading. Some surveys may have additional Regional or Market Colour sections.

Like the Research methodology, the weighted votes are used to create scores for each firm, which determine the rankings. The leader’s tables for Delta One, High Touch, Electronic and Portfolio trading are based on the aggregate scores of the attributes in each category.

Executive Teams Surveys:

What is an Executive Team survey?

Our executive team rankings illustrate how corporate leaders and companies are viewed by investment professionals by both the buy and sell side. We currently publish seven such equity analyst-perception studies, covering Asia (ex-Japan), Canada, Developed Europe, Emerging EMEA, Japan, Latin America and the United States, as well as results from the Global Fixed Income Investor Relations survey.

What are the requirements for buy-side participants?

Buy-side analysts and money managers who vote in the Research Team surveys are eligible to participate in the associated Executive Team survey. They are invited to name the best CEO, CFO and IR Professional of the companies within their coverage universes.

Voters are also asked to nominate companies for excellence in investor relations by rating their program across several performance metrics. Scores are aggregated to produce an overall ranking for each company.

What are the requirements for sell-side participants?

Analysts who cover the industry may vote in the relevant Executive Team survey. They are invited to name the best CEO, CFO and IR Professional at the companies in their coverage universes.

Voters are also asked to nominate companies for excellence in their IR program by rating them across several performance metrics. Scores are aggregated to produce an overall ranking for each company.

How are the Executive Team rankings determined?

All votes are weighted by rating (one to five stars). The overall combined rankings from the buy side and sell side votes are available in each of the categories — Best CEO, Best CFO, Best IR Professional, Investor Relations Program, ESG/SRI Metrics, Analysts Day and Corporate Governance. Separate buy-side and sell-side rankings are available as well.

To be eligible for inclusion on any of the Executive Teams, a company must be headquartered or have operational or executive headquarters in the relevant region.

What is the Executive Team polling and publication schedule?

Executive team questions are included on the appropriate research-team ballot for buy-side participants while sell-side participants are polled separately during the same period. Polling generally lasts about four weeks per survey. The approximate dates of distribution are in the following table and the dates on which the latest results of each survey will be published on our website. Feature coverage can be found on the website at this time.

Survey Calendar

The publication dates are subject to change, so please check our web site or LinkedIn page (Institutional Investor Research) for updates.

Why are you asking me to supply Institutional Investor with my buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers?

Through the surveys, Institutional Investor captures independent data-driven research from stakeholders including investment managers, sell-side firms and corporate issuers to evaluate the best-in-class of sell-side advisory and execution services, corporate leadership, and IR effectiveness. Whilst II Research has a large database of active participants, the voter landscape is continually evolving, and we need to maximise our reach to invite interested parties to vote.

What is this data used for?

The data provided is used exclusively for survey invitations and reminders. We validate all potential voters to ensure that they are registered professionals at recognised investment management institutions or listed companies; if we receive lists ahead of each survey it enables us to pre-approve registered voters, and ensure they can vote immediately when entering the voting portal.

Is there a data template I can use?

Yes, click here for the data template. You DO NOT have to use this template if you already have the data in another format, however it must include first name and surname, firm, job title, direct telephone number and email address.

Can I sign a data sharing agreement?

Yes you can. Institutional Investor has a data sharing agreement that clearly shows how we will process and use the data. This complies with GDPR.

Can I see your privacy policy?

Please see our privacy policy here.

How do I send you my data?

Either via your company FTP secure data transfer site or similar. Send us the FTP site link and password separately, so we can download and save the information securely.

Send the data in an excel file with their names, firm, job title, direct telephone number and their email address to Jessica Giambo at jgiambo@institutionalinvestor.com. Please ensure you password protect the file and send us the password in a separate email.

Will my buy and sell-side analysts and portfolio managers data be used for any other purpose?

No. Any data you send to us will only be used for the purpose stated above as well as analyses on trends and insights, for example a snapshot of industry trends or an analysis of market sentiment. It will not be used for any other purpose or promotion.

How long will you keep my data for?

Institutional Investor will only retain data for a maximum of three years after voting. You can also ask us to delete your data at any time by sending an email to jgiambo@institutionalinvestor.com

Will my company data be passed on to any third parties?

No, the data will not be passed on to any third parties.

Will you let me know when you are conducting the survey?

We will inform you as soon as the relevant survey is underway to give the opportunity to encourage the investors and analysts who utilise research advisory services or those who cover company stocks to participate.

Any other questions

If you have any further questions, please contact Jessica Giambo at jgiambo@institutionalinvestor.com, or marketing@iiresearch.com