The Grassroots Research® division of Allianz Global Investors uses a global network of journalists, Field Force investigators and industry contacts to help us identify important stock and sector trends before our competitors do.
Grassroots® analysts use innovative market research and investigative journalism, to gather information on under-researched marketplace trends, the competitive environment and global business developments that affect our investments today and tomorrow.
We also publish the Grassroots Research® Market Monitor, a quarterly newsletter highlighting key market research studies.
An innovative complement to Allianz Global Investors’ team of global industry analysts, the Grassroots Research® division exemplifies our commitment to going beyond traditional fundamental research. By going directly to the source, Grassroots Research® reports give our investment professionals timely access to solid, research-based insights that help them make informed investment decisions.
| The Americas | Europe | Asia Pacific | Japan | |
| Reporters | 13 | 22 | 22 | 1 |
| Field Force Investigators | 128 | 52 | 119 | 18 |
Total Reporters: 58
The Grassroots Research® reporter network is a global team of professional freelance journalists who research and gather information on a wide range of business-related topics. They conduct interviews with industry experts via phone calls, email and in-person meetings.
Total Field Force Investigators: 300+
Grassroots Research® Field Force investigators are independent contractors specializing in quantitative market research. They survey consumers and gather information on industry trends. Field Force members include students, professionals and retirees around the world.
Total Industry Contacts: 50,000+
In the past two years, freelancers who provide information and reports to Grassroots® analysts have spoken to over 50,000 sources, representing more than 10,000 companies.
In late 1982, US investors expected Atari’s new video game “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” to be the must-have item on every child’s holiday wish list. The rising stock price of Atari’s parent company, an entertainment gaming company, reflected these high expectations.
But actual sales of the game turned out to be disappointing, and the stock price declined sharply, upsetting investors and troubling our portfolio managers.
Several portfolio managers realized that this gap between expectations and actual sales could have been detected earlier if they had spoken directly to retailers who were selling the game, or to parents who were completing their holiday shopping.
From that experience, the idea for Grassroots Research® services was born. The concept was simple: If you want to know about pharmaceutical prescription trends, why not ask the doctors who do the prescribing? If you want the outlook for corporate software spending, why not talk to the IT managers who are planning their companies’ software budgets?
By 1984, the Grassroots Research® division was fully operational and an integrated part of our fundamental stock research platform. Since that time, the Grassroots Research® division has developed into a robust global network providing timely business insight, research and reports.
The Grassroots® staff listens every day to the unanswered questions that portfolio managers and analysts express about company- or industry-specific issues. They then form these questions into market research projects to be completed by independent researchers around the world.
Our research is proprietary to Allianz Global Investors and is tailored to answer these specific questions from our portfolio managers and analysts, which are identified based on their potential to be key stock drivers. This leads us to conduct market research on a wide range of topics in all sectors, from consumer, technology, telecom and healthcare to industrials, materials, financials and energy.
Here’s a look at some of the key roles and responsibilities involved in the Grassroots® process.
1932355
The Grassroots Research® division of Allianz Global Investors commissions investigative market research for asset-management professionals. Research data used to generate Grassroots Research® reports are received from independent, third-party contractors who supply research that, as far as permissible by applicable laws and regulations, may be paid for by commissions generated by trades executed on behalf of clients.
