July 2007 – 6 am pacific

Pricing Sell-Side Research – Reading the Tea Leaves

Sell-side Research has had some very trying times in the past few years. And it’s not over yet. Unbundling brokerage services (trade execution) from research services has not only compressed research fees, it has also raised important questions like “What is this research really worth?” There seems to be no easy way to measure the value of research. So how does one price the service?

Expertise, which is what a sell-side firm has to offer, is sold in many other industries. There are primarily two pricing models that are common. Law firms and management consulting firms like McKinsey price their services by time. Technology research firms like Gartner sell their research through subscription based pricing models. There are other models of course (investment banks price their services as a % of the transaction value) but these are the two primary ones.

Contaminated Food

The ongoing saga of contaminated toothpaste and food imports from China into the US is in its third month but is far from over.

For those of you who haven’t heard about it here’s what’s been happening.

In October 2006, at least 100 people in Panama died from cough syrup contaminated with diethylene glycol, a poisonous low cost substitute for glycerine. In May 2007 the contaminated glycerine was traced back to its Chinese manufacturer Taixing Glycerine Factory. The same month, the US FDA issues guidance to the industry to test products containing glycerine for diethylene glycol. On June 8, the FDA issued a ‘toothpaste FAQ’ for the general public.

Kerala Ban on Organized Retail – What’s the Logic

Kerala is all set to ban organized retailing. An article in the FT quotes C. Divakaran, minister for food and civil supplies:

The mood of the people is against the entrance of Reliance in the retail sector. We are going to add some powers to the state government to restrict or prevent these monopoly houses in the state-level retail sector.

Wanted: Technical Architect and Project Manager

We’re building a Search Tools team in Mumbai.

If you are a Technical Architect with experience in Object-Oriented Design, Test Driven Development and Agile Practices, drop us a line. For the same team we are also looking for a Project Manager and Software Developers.

In our hiring, we look for talented people who are passionate about work and life. Our offices are in Mindspace, an office complex in Malad (W) in Mumbai. For our employees who choose to live in Malad, the quality of life is great. All the advantages of city life in a metro, with very short commutes (think lunch at home).

More details on the careers section of our website. Apply directly or write to me via the Contact page on this blog. Be sure to attach your resume or a summary of your experience.

Trip to IIM Ahmedabad

Last weekend I made a trip to my alma mater – IIM Ahmedabad. Prof. Arvind Sahay who teaches Marketing and is the Chairman of the PGP X program, invited all the entrepreneurs from my batch (and his). Ten entrepreneurs from PGP 89 came to campus and participated in various classes, panel discussions and presentations. It was great fun. With hugely successful entrepreneurs like Sanjeev Bikhchandani (naukri.com), R. Subramanian (Subhikhsa) and Rahul Bhasin (Barings Pvt. Equity) in the class, the students got a massive dose of ‘from the horse’s mouth’.