Empirical Research Partners: Real Work

  • – Philosophy:

Empirical Research Partners, a broker-dealer and investment adviser, was founded in 2002 with the aim of providing high-quality, in-depth research on a broad range of topics of interest to institutional investors. We are an independent research firm serving clients worldwide, including a majority of the largest investment organizations. Since its inception our firm has consistently been recognized as a top provider of research on portfolio strategy and quantitative topics by Institutional Investor and other organizations. Research is our only line of business and our relationships with clients are consultative in nature.

We pride ourselves on the rigor and depth of our work. To the extent possible we try to understand causality and get to the root causes of market behaviors and that of individual stocks. Our views generally evolve slowly. Our philosophies have been formed over decades, and we’re continually working to improve upon them. It’s that process that makes the principles valuable. We have theories, but we prefer those supported by empirical evidence. We value practicality and common sense. Clients have chosen to work with us and recognize our efforts because we do “real work.”

We’ve been modeling individual stocks for more than three decades in both the U.S. and elsewhere, and our models produce expected returns that for the most part target multi-year holding periods. Our methodologies are transparent and intuitive, and like our fundamental research, we’re continually doing research to adapt to the changing nature of the markets and data sources. Some time ago we incorporated artificial intelligence into our models and we see that as an evolving, fruitful addition to man-made judgments. Ultimately though our models embody our views of how the world operates and what drives success.

  • – Records of Our U.S. Regime Indicator and Our Global Stock Selection Models

  • – Research at Key Junctures:
  •     –  December 2008: Bottom of the Financial Crisis
  •     –  September 2011: European Debt Crisis
  •     –  February 2016: China Foreign Exchange Crisis
  •     –  April 2020: Heart of the Pandemic
  •     –  April 2020: The Small-Cap Opportunity in the Pandemic
  •     –  December 2020: Growth Stock Vulnerability
  •     –  August 2021: The Cost of Hedging Against Inflation
  •     –  January 2023: Turning Point for Growth Stocks