Granite Research, LLC

Granite Research delivers in-depth investment research and ratings on publicly traded companies, producing periodic fundamental-analysis reports and organizing investor meetings for corporate and institutional clients rather than for individual retail investors. The firm’s services are oriented to issuers and institutional investors and do not include management of client investment accounts.

The firm’s analysis is grounded in fundamental research of financial statements, management, competitive position and sector dynamics, and its reports may include recommendations such as longer-term equity purchases. Granite Research does not provide portfolio management for individual clients, does not accept custody of client assets, and is compensated through non-performance fees paid by issuers for research and related services; it discloses and seeks to mitigate the conflicts that can arise from issuer-paid research.

What distinguishes Granite Research from many independent single-advisor shops is its focus on producing security ratings and issuer research sold to the issuers themselves—a practice relatively uncommon among peers of this size—and its explicit policies to preserve editorial independence. The firm operates with a very small client base and enforces a Code of Ethics that, among other controls, restricts employee trading around publication of its research to reduce the risk of front-running.