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PI News
Perfect Information Launches ECM Insight to Give 100% Visibility of ECM Market Practice
London, 19th May, 2010 - Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced the launch of ECM Insight. ECM Insight contains key information extracted from London's four equity stock markets' (Main Market, Alternative Investment Market, PLUS Market and Professional Securities Market) primary and secondary ECM offerings. ECM Insight enables analysts to perform, in seconds, detailed analysis of ECM transactions, a task which can ordinarily take up to five days.
Built by Perfect Information's experienced market practitioners, ECM Insight gives end users access to the UK ECM market within seconds. The product has been designed to assist ECM practitioners in three core areas; winning more business and maximising fees, providing 100 per cent certainty of ECM market practice and creating significant cost and time efficiencies. "The market is experiencing significant downward pressure on costs, whilst at the same time the importance of delivering results has never been greater," said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "Simply put, ECM Insight provides information on market practice which is 100 per cent verifiable, driving down costs and frankly delivering extraordinary time saving advantages to our users. ECM Insight has been created by market practitioners, for market practitioners and delivers exceptional accuracy levels through a user interface that makes sense." Perfect Information's team of professional analysts extract over 400 key terms and data from UK ECM transactions; each transaction then goes through a strenuous quality assurance process. ECM Insight also provides immediate and precise verification with original document source linking. "Having worked in the capital markets industry for many years, I know that researching ECM market practice is both time consuming and resource draining," said Sebastian Monk, Head of Product Strategy, Perfect Information, previously of Slaughter and May, Oriel Securities and Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. "We have rigorously analysed the UK ECM universe to unearth the gold buried within these documents which will assist our clients in winning pitches and understanding current market practice. A process that used to take days can now be performed in seconds, saving valuable time and resources." Key information extracted from Primary and Secondary ECM Offerings, include:
Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial, legal and professional services communities. Products include PI Navigator, PI ECM Insight, PI Filings, PI Private Company Data ('PCD'), PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact the company on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PI Restructures and Expands its Product Strategy Team
London, 11th August 2009 - Perfect Information (PI), a global provider of financial information, today announced that it has restructured and expanded its Product Strategy team. In its commitment to continuous and innovative product development, PI has hired new members to the team to add to the company's in-house market expertise.
PI has appointed Marcus Yorke-Long as a Product Strategy Executive and Juliana Martin as a Product Strategy Analyst.
Marcus' role at PI will see him working with the Product Strategy team and using his corporate finance background exploring new markets, building products and integrating functionality to assist professionals that live amongst corporate information. Juliana, also joins the Product Strategy team and with her background in law, equity capital markets and M&A will be integral in the development of products and functionality for the legal community. PI now has a strong and client focussed Product Strategy team led by lawyer and corporate financier Sebastian Monk with ex-Fund Manager Roland Peters leading the debt capital markets practice. "Now is not the time for companies to rest on their laurels - it has never been more important to invest in product development and teams that have valuable client-side experience," said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "The restructure and growth of our product strategy team is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to developing products that are borne from a deep understanding of our clients' roles, information usage and evolving requirements." Prior to joining PI, Marcus worked as an Analyst in Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Capital Markets Limited's corporate finance division where he advised companies on the Main and Alternative Investment Markets. His responsibilities included preparing comparable trading valuation multiples, share price performance materials and the full range of M&A and IPO documents. In addition to this, Marcus was the primary source of market and company specific data and presentational materials. Marcus worked directly with the firm's lead advisers in a day to day advisory capacity and was a member of the transaction team on over a dozen equity capital markets and merger and acquisitions transactions. Marcus has developed strong relationships with a wide range of corporate advisers across the City and has a first-hand understanding of the value PI can bring to its client base, both today and in the future. Before Kaupthing, Marcus worked on the private client stockbroking side of a London based Investment Management house, predominantly handling high net worth individuals' private enquiries. Marcus has an honours degree in English and Classical Literature from Newcastle University. Juliana joins PI from the College of Law, Moorgate, London, where she successfully passed the Legal Practice Course, majoring in equity capital markets, debt capital markets and public and private M&A. Prior to graduating from the College of Law, Juliana achieved an honours degree in Law and Business from University of Warwick. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Private Company Data, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact the company on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
Covered Bonds
The covered bond market rarely gets a mention in the media, yet it recently came to attention following the European Central Bank's ('ECB') announcement to buy €60 billion of covered bonds between July 2009 and June 2010 as part of the central banks' policy of 'quantitative easing'.
The deep interest rate cuts made by the world's major Central Banks since the collapse of Lehman Brothers had failed to increase money supply and as a result Central Banks started using quantitative easing as a tool of monetary policy. In theory, by buying long term bonds with Central Bank money specifically created for that purpose, the money supply increases and long term borrowing rates decrease. This policy benefits long term borrowers such as companies and households with mortgages. The decision for Central Banks was which long term debt to purchase? Unlike the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, which chose to purchase government and high grade corporate bonds, the ECB decided to purchase covered bonds. We are aware of no reason for the ECB's decision but can speculate that the ECB works with 16 different Eurozone governments, all of whom would welcome the ECB's purchase of their own bonds. How to do this fairly? A 'per country' quota could have been a solution, but a quota by what? A quota based on the size of the governments' bond markets would have benefited the heavily indebted nations; a quota by size of economy would have favoured the three largest Eurozone members. As important is the fact that the ECB would be reluctant to create a precedent, which could give rise to future demands from hard pressed governments asking for assistance in financing their spiraling deficits. As an alternative to government bonds, the ECB therefore decided that purchasing covered bonds could achieve the same results while avoiding the political risks of purchasing government debt. Covered bonds are bonds issued by banks and collateralized with mortgages or public sector loans. At over €2 trillion, the covered bond market is the second largest bond market in Europe and smaller only to the combined Eurozone government bond market. The covered bond originated in Germany and dates back to a cabinet order made by Frederick the Great in 1769. The Mortgage Bank Act of 1899 instituted the German version of the covered bond, the 'Pfandbrief' and gave it a uniform legal basis. Since 1899, no covered bond has ever defaulted and the market has largely survived the credit crunch unscathed, in stark contrast to Mortgage Backed Securities ('MBS'), the alternative mortgage financing instruments, which are believed to have contributed significantly to the credit crisis in the first place. The resilience of covered bonds lies in the strict rules regarding the quality of their collateral assets: residential and commercial mortgages, public sector loans and ships. Unlike MBS or other Asset Backed Securities ('ABS'), covered bonds typically have a tighter legal framework and their supervision and scrutiny is much more rigorous. For example, a covered bond's assets must stay on the issuing bank's balance sheet which ensures that the issuing bank has a vested interest in actively managing and maintaining the quality of the asset pool. In addition, if the issuer is declared bankrupt, a covered bond's asset pool is automatically separated from the rest of the bank's assets and no other creditor has access to them. A covered bond holder therefore not only has a claim on an asset pool but also on the bond's issuing bank itself. In contrast, the collateral of an MBS, like other ABS' assets, is sold to a special purpose vehicle or 'SPV' and thus disappears from the balance sheet, and therefore control, of the originating and issuing bank. Covered bonds' payment terms are also simpler and similar to government bonds in that they are issued as bullet bonds and are therefore subject to one repayment of principal at maturity. Again, this is in contrast to MBS, which are subject to early redemptions in the event of pre-payments in the underlying mortgage pool. Furthermore, covered bonds are not split into different tranches by risk class and tend to offer investors a fixed coupon, unlike MBS which typically offer floating rate interest payments. This simple structure makes covered bonds a popular investment with conservative investors who seek an alternative to government bonds that offer a yield pick-up while still enjoying a 'AAA' rating. Recently, the first Asian issuer successfully sold a covered bond to international investors (Kookmin Bank USD 1BN 7.25% 2014). A peculiar feature of this deal is that it's collateral contains not only mortgages but also credit card receivables. A second Asian covered bond issue is expected from Korea Housing Finance (Euroweek, 15 June 2009). Finally, it remains to be seen whether the covered bond market will develop in the US where the product was first suggested by Hank Paulson, the previous Secretary of the US Treasury in July 2008. You can view the documents by clicking through on the links above. Should you have any questions, please contact Roland Peters, PI Debt Markets Manager, on + 44 (0)20 7892 4239 or email picapitalmarkets@perfectinfo.com. Close
Government Credit Guarantee Schemes: a success story?
An important part of a bank's assets will typically be loans to its customers such as business loans, consumer loans and mortgages. While these loans are usually 'long-term', they are largely funded by 'short-term' deposits and borrowings such as current accounts, savings accounts and inter-bank short term LIBOR loans.
It was this over-reliance on short term borrowings in the form of LIBOR loans which lead to a liquidity crisis when the wholesale market, shortly followed by consumers, withdrew their funds in large numbers from Northern Rock in February 2008. Unsurprisingly, it is long term bonds that serve as an important source of a financial institution's funding: such instruments cannot be redeemed by investors prior to maturity; rather they are only tradable with another investor in the secondary market. Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the resulting funding crisis, government credit guarantee schemes were introduced in all major economies in an attempt to re-open the debt capital markets. PI Debt currently hosts nine schemes which are listed under the section "Guarantee Type" found in "Legal and Capital Structure". A recent example for an issue is Lloyds TSB GBP 2.75BN 2011. Government guaranteed bank debt amounts to some USD 370 billion worldwide and this significant sum has led market commentators to judge these schemes to have been a success. This success has given the UK Government the confidence to apply the same form of guarantee assistance to other asset classes, in this instance, the residential mortgage market. Like the US market, the UK mortgage market depends on securitisation as a means of providing liquidity and funds for the creation of new mortgages. The UK Debt Management Office ('DMO') recently announced the creation of a government guarantee scheme for Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (UK Debt Management Office) with the aim of providing new funds for the UK's beleaguered mortgage market. Government guaranteed bonds have also helped investment banks generate substantial fees: a three year €1 billion guaranteed bond issue produces approximately €1.5 million in fees. This commission is similar to the amount investment banks can earn by marketing bonds issued by national or supranational agencies, e.g. underwriting commission in KfW USD 3BN 2012. However, there are also substantial associated costs. Like agency bonds, which are also government guaranteed, government credit guarantee scheme bonds are AAA rated. Yet the institutions that issue government guaranteed bonds do not really benefit from similarly low coupon payments; on the contrary the issuers pay 50 basis points (i.e. half of one per cent.) to Her Majesty's Treasury as well as the median Credit Default Swap spread for the period July 2007 - July 2008 (Rules of the 2008 Credit Guarantee Scheme). The CDS spread is a form of insurance that protects against an issuer's default: typically this equates to the additional funding costs of the issuer over a credit risk free alternative such as a government bond. In effect, an issuer pays the regular coupon of the bond and a fee at 50 basis points plus a CDS based fee to HM Treasury which is more than the issuers would have to pay without a guarantee in normal market circumstances. Finally, the maturity of bonds issued under the scheme is restricted to a maximum of 3 years and the scheme ends on 9 April 2014, ensuring that government help does not become a permanent feature of financial bonds issued by UK entities. The Government Credit Guarantee Scheme will earn syndicate banks handsome fees but the associated costs for the issuer are high and the Scheme will only last until 2014. Issuing banks have a strong incentive to convince the market that they can issue without government help in the future. In addition, this scheme has also effectively created competitors for agency bonds, bonds issued by national or international agencies such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ('EBRD') or the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau ('KfW'). While the government guaranteed debt security market will remain crowded for the foreseeable future, this will matter little to agency issuers provided that such agencies can sell their bonds. You can view the documentsby clicking through on the links above. Should you have any questions, please contact Roland Peters, PI Debt Markets Manager, on + 44 (0)20 7892 4239 or email picapitalmarkets@perfectinfo.com. Close
Is this how to deal with illiquid Asset Backed Securities?
As you might be aware, Collateralised Debt Obligations ('CDO') are a special form of Asset Backed Security ('ABS'). Most ABS finance their interest and redemption payments from the cash flow of a single asset class, for example residential mortgages or small and medium enterprise loans ('SME'). CDO collateral pools contain fewer but more diverse assets such as bonds or other Asset Backed Securities. To complete the picture, a collateralised loan obligation or 'CLO' is a type of CDO with collateral made up of syndicated loans and high yield bonds.
Bank sector share prices have suffered due to the uncertain valuation of ABS on their balance sheets. When purchased, these securities seemed to be a good diversification from the banks' loan businesses, offering a low risk, long term investment opportunity. When the sub-prime crisis started, the view on the valuation of these complex securities changed dramatically and banks now find it difficult to realise these assets. Now that the credit market bubble has burst, many CDOs barely have a market and, as a result of this illiquidity, are deeply discounted. As is the case with many ABS held by banks and institutional investors, some are deemed 'toxic assets', whilst others perform and, indeed, may continue to do so. Thus banks may find it easier to restructure, i.e. repackage, these ABS into a new CDO and flip these assets onto new owners. Foxtrot Funding I Ltd is a CDO where the collateral comprises of senior and subordinated unsecured bank loans, corporate bonds and Asset Backed Securities. Among this collateral are deeply discounted, i.e. those valued significantly below par, tranches of Collateralised Loan Obligations. CDO such as Foxtrot Funding I Ltd help banks to realise at least some value for the underlying collateral and to remove troubled assets from an investor's balance sheet. We note that repackaging toxic assets in this way appears to be the same process which started the credit crunch in the first place, however whilst Foxtrot Funding I Ltd might be speculative, it is at least indicative of participants returning to the CDO market once more. Finally this ABS also provides a rare insight into the price at which ABS have been acquired for the collateral pool (page 140, "Schedule of Debt Obligations"). This price transparency is however, still the exception rather than the rule. You can view the document by clicking through on the links above. Should you have any questions, please contact Roland Peters, PI Debt Markets Manager, on + 44 (0)20 7892 4239 or email picapitalmarkets@perfectinfo.com. Close
Perfect Information Launches Anti-Money Laundering Service
London, March 2009 - Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced the launch of its anti-money laundering service. PI's research division, is offering anti-money laundering document packages of private companies for an ever growing list of countries. For those working within the professional services, auditing, accounting and anyone performing risk analysis, PI Research provides what it believes to be the fastest and most cost-efficient method of delivering AML data to ensure compliance.
The AML packages include the original document scans, such as the company's annual accounts, certificate of incorporation and directors and shareholders details. The pack also includes a company profile including the key information required to establish the beneficial ownership of the company. PI's company profiles are derived from the information available within the original documents. "We understand the increasing burden placed by anti-money laundering legislation upon our clients, particularly in this current economic climate," said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "We are delighted to be able to provide customers with a new AML compliance service that builds upon PI's work flow and document management expertise and that is managed by our excellent customer services team." The AML packages are provided within two to three hours, depending on the country of incorporation. If documents are not available, it is our policy not to charge customers for PI's research time. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 20 7892 4200. Close
PI Appoints Head of Product Strategy
London, 17th February, 2009 - Perfect Information (PI), a global provider of financial information, today announced that it has appointed Sebastian Monk as Head of Product Strategy. This new role to PI has been brought about by the company's dedication to continue building products that fully reflect the market's changing requirements. Sebastian will lead a new team tasked with exploring new markets and developing products and key functionality to assist both current and prospective clients.
"For over twenty years, PI has prided itself on staying ahead of changing markets and requirements and we are delighted to have appointed Sebastian as Head of Product Strategy." said Greg Simidian, CEO, PI. "Sebastian's background in both the legal and financial worlds as an end-user will prove invaluable as we shape our products and services to help an expanding number of clients." Prior to his appointment at PI, Sebastian worked as both an investment banker and corporate lawyer. As a banker, Sebastian held the position of Assistant Director at Rutley Corporate Finance, part of the Knight Frank Partnership and at Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Investment Bank, where he led a team of professionals originating and executing equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions in the UK, Europe and Asia on both AIM and the London Main Market. Sebastian spent three years at Slaughter and May where he trained in the corporate, competition and litigation departments before qualifying and practicing as a corporate lawyer in the firm's Technology, Media and Telecoms Group advising clients on equity capital markets and both public and private mergers and acquisitions. Before joining the City, Sebastian spent four years as an infantry officer with the Royal Green Jackets, serving in the UK and on operations abroad. Sebastian is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, holds a degree in modern history from Oxford University and is a qualified solicitor. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact the company on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PIC 2009 - Transforming Today's Challenges into Tomorrow's Opportunities
London - 9th February 2009 - PI Conferences, Perfect Information's (PI) events division, today announced the programme for its 2009 conference, the PI Conference 2009 (PIC 09). The PIC 09 will be held at Sopwell House in St Albans from 12th - 14th May (www.sopwellhouse.co.uk).
Designed for senior information professionals, researchers, key decision makers and departmental heads, the PIC aims to provide practical training, topical debate and a platform from which to network and share ideas with industry peers. Entering its sixth year, the PIC 09 will be focused around discussing and investigating ways to transform the challenges we face today and transforming them into opportunities. The programme for this year has been developed following months of research and meetings with previous delegates and industry bodies and reflects their feedback and requests. "The last twelve months stand out." said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "We have recently witnessed some of the most extraordinary conditions. This year's conference, the PIC 09, aims to address the challenges faced by information and market data professionals and equip them to turn the hurdles they are currently facing into positive opportunities." Presentations to feature this year include:
For updates, please visit our website www.perfectinfo.com/currentevents.asp. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact the company on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PI Simplifies Debt Document Search
London, 28th January 2009 - Perfect Information (PI), a global provider of financial information, today announced the launch of new functionality to PI Debt, its database of over 210,000 fixed income securities. When users are unsure where to locate documents pertaining to specific corporate actions, they can simply type a search term, or part of a search term, into a look-up box.
This feature has been designed as a direct response to client feedback and can shave significant time off a document search. "For the past two decades, we have worked closely with our customers to understand their changing requirements," said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "This time saving feature was designed as a result of our continuing commitment to developing products that our clients need and help us to shape." Perfect Debt PI is the definitive supplier of a comprehensive and timely source of original debt documentation. Designed exclusively for the Debt Capital Markets professional, PI Debt provides access to an online Database of over 250,000 fixed income securities, archived since 1986.
Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
Information Needs Grow At Lovells
Perfect Information Signs Three Year Global Deal to Provide Law Firm's Financial Data
London - 14th October 2008 - Perfect Information (PI), a global provider of financial information, today announced that it has signed a three year global deal with Lovells to provide the firm with PI Filings and PI Debt. PI Filings comprises nearly nine million company filings and PI Debt provides users with a comprehensive fixed income securities database. Both PI Filings and PI Debt have been rolled out to fee earners' desktops in parts of the firm and are available to all desktops within Lovell's information centres, signifying an increase in the law firm's use of financial data. "The current financial climate seems to have had little impact on the amount of financial research we carry out," said Robin Hall, Vendor Relations Manager, Lovells. "Response times to our own client base are paramount and having fast access to reliable financial data is as important as ever. When we looked to ramp up our information resources, PI was the natural choice and we are confident that we can enjoy best of breed products and customer service for the next three years." PI Filings PI Filings is a global financial database containing nearly nine million indexed and tagged corporate financial documents including: annual reports; bond prospectuses; structured finance deals; pricing supplements; sovereign and corporate issues; global IPO and M&A documents; private placements; news announcements; shareholder filings; FSA returns; regulatory accounts; sustainability reports; SEC filings and UK private company data. PI Debt Designed exclusively for the Debt Capital Markets professional, PI Debt provides access to an online database of over 250,000 fixed income securities archived since 1986. Perfect Information is the definitive supplier of a comprehensive and timely source of original debt documentation including bond prospectuses, supplements and related documents. The document collection includes: Convertible Bonds; CDO Bonds; Euro-Commercial Paper; Asset Backed; High Yield Bonds; Floating Rate Bonds; MTNs; Guaranteed Bonds; Mortgage Bonds; Debentures; Pricing Supplements; and Secured Loan Stock. "This three year deal perfectly illustrates that by staying close to your customers, you understand exactly what they need and as a result, both parties benefit," said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "We understood that Lovells wanted a best-of-breed product and not a highly integrated, multi-content offering. This flexibility and understanding, combined with the delivery of excellent products and service is validated by the firm's commitment to PI for the next three years." About Lovells With over 3,000 people operating from 26 offices in Asia, Europe and the United States, Lovells is one of the world's leading international law firms. We advise many of the world's largest corporations, financial institutions and governmental organisations. We regularly act on complex, multi jurisdictional transactions as well as some of the most high profile commercial disputes. Lovells (the "firm") is an international legal practice comprising Lovells LLP and its affiliated businesses. Lovells LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC323639. Registered office and principal place of business: Atlantic House, Holborn Viaduct, London, EC1A 2FG. The word "partner" is used to refer to a member of Lovells LLP, or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications, and to a partner, member, employee or consultant in any of its affiliated businesses who has equivalent standing. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PI launches workflow tool for Corporate Finance professionals
PI Navigator is Launched to Empower Corporate Finance Professionals to Reinvent Workflow Processes
London, 22nd July 2008 - Perfect Information (PI), a global provider of financial information, today announced the launch of PI Navigator, a workflow tool for corporate finance teams. PI Navigator has been developed to revolutionise the workflow of corporate finance professionals when using financial documents. PI Navigator uniquely surfaces the value of the data buried within financial documents, providing the ability to significantly reduce the time taken modelling company financials. PI has spent months researching, developing and testing PI Navigator with a variety of teams within the corporate finance departments at some of the leading global investment banks. Having worked closely with these teams, PI's understanding of specific job roles, current workflow processes and users' desires, has resulted in the company bringing to market a product that directly addresses the corporate finance sector's needs. Each function incorporated in PI Navigator has been built to address and resolve a workflow problem for the end user. Whether in the M&A, structured finance or securities research team, PI Navigator enables users to dramatically cut down on the time taken to extract financial information. During the beta test, PI Navigator users experienced savings of up to 40% of the time traditionally taken to model companies. "It has always been at the heart of PI's product development to make the business lives of our customers easier," said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "PI Navigator was born out of a deep understanding of our clients' pressures and processes. It was created to make everyday tasks faster and easier to perform and the unique functionality we are bringing to the market does just this." PI Navigator - Key Features
About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator, PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PI launches International Private Company Data Service
PI Research Provides Market’s Most Comprehensive and Competitively Fixed-Priced Service
London, 8th July 2008 – Perfect Information (PI), a global provider of financial information, today announced that its research division, PI Research, has launched a fixed-price International Private Company Data service. Having built an expansive network of contacts over many years, PI Research is bringing to market private company documents from a continually growing list of countries. The new service offers the most comprehensive global coverage at the market’s most competitive fixed-price. Most filings from European countries can be turned around within one hour. In addition, the team can also obtain filings for a number of countries where documentation is notoriously difficult to source at an additional cost. As part of the International Private Company Data service, the team does not charge for research time therefore if the document is unobtainable, the client will not be charged. "The demand for International Private Company Data continues to rise and our clients are under increasing time constraints – now more so than ever," said Greg Simidian, CEO, Perfect Information. "We have spent years building up our network of contacts in this space and to us, this service is a natural step to take. We can offer our clients a straightforward, fast, transparent and cost-efficient way to outsource this research, which we believe provides real value both productively and economically." Among the documents available from the new service are: Financials/Accounts; Annual Returns; Incorporation Documents; Memorandums/Articles of Association; and Company Extracts/Certifications of Good Standing. Countries covered in the fixed-price service, include:
*State by State availability on request Some of the countries covered in the price on request service, include: Australia; Bahamas; Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Guernsey; Italy; Marshall Islands; and Singapore. About PI Research PI Research is an on-demand research team that is known for its fast access to difficult documents. Over the years, the team has developed a comprehensive network of contacts and resources to ensure that research is carried out quickly and on a cost-efficient basis. Why PI Research?
About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Navigator; PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
The Professional Learning Conference 2008
PI Conference 2008 Closure Report
June 2008 The fifth annual Perfect Information Conference was held from 13th-15th May, 2008 at Walton Hall and Hotel in Warwickshire. The conference went very smoothly. Being both educationally and socially successful, it provided delegates with a varied programme and valuable time to spend with industry peers. The networking opportunities and programme content along with the professional organisation were three aspects which the delegates highlighted as being excellent this year, although there were some less than positive comments made about a couple of the breakout sessions being sales angled and some of the venue facilities failing to impress. We were also very lucky to have a host of sponsors on board this year: mergermarket (PIC 08 Premier Sponsor); D&B; LexisNexis; Experian; ICC; RM Group; Intelligent Resources; Smartlogic; FactSet; and 7Side and we would like to thank them all for their valuable support. We had a record number of delegates in attendance in Warwickshire including 11 brand new companies coming to the conference. The split of industries at the conference was as follows: Law Firms 40% Financial 36% Vendors/Recruitment 19% Other (which includes industry bodies & press) 5% On the whole, the feedback was very positive, with the vast majority of feedback forms recommending that their company attend the conference in 2009. We have already had a number of excellent and exciting suggestions for venues, topics to include next year and ways to better the conference format that we are eager to execute next year. Feedback Highlights: (5 = excellent, 4 = very good, 3= good, 2= fair and 1= poor)
Both the pre-conference and gala dinner evenings received a very warm welcome from the delegates, as they were seen as excellent opportunities to network and socialise with friends, vendors and new industry peers. The pre-conference evening, sponsored by LexisNexis, welcomed delegates to the conference and allowed them to catch up with one another in relaxed and comfortable surroundings. This year's Gala Dinner, hosted by D&B, became quite a lively affair when the Swinging Little Big Band got delegates up dancing. Delegate quotes from the PIC 2008: "Thank you and everybody involved for such a superb event! What can I say - you have pulled it off yet again. And made it look so effortless and never stopped smiling! For me, the conference is now THE industry event!" Isabella Follwell - Threadneedle Asset Management "Thank you for organising the conference superbly - I think your efforts were widely appreciated by the delegates. Well organised, very good range of topics, good duration of time allocated and friendly PI staff." David Mantle - Barlow Lyde and Gilbert "I thought the conference was really good - the content and the social/networking side as well. And all the PI team were very friendly and welcoming - which is really important when you come to something on your own. Good value for money" Frances Holmes - ING Bank "Best welcome I have ever had at a conference!" Sue Hill - Sue Hill Recruitment Close
PERFECT INFORMATION EXPANDS EMERGING MARKETS COVERAGE
Middle-East Expert Hired to Meet Rising Emerging Markets Research Demands
London, 4th March 2008 – Perfect Information (PI), a provider of global financial information, today announced that it has increased its coverage of the emerging markets, in particular, the Middle-East. This growth is a direct response to the increased demand for financial information from the emerging markets. The increase applies to the number of public companies covered within PI Filings. All large market-cap companies’ filings from IPOs to quarterly interims are available to download. Included in the comprehensive emerging markets collection are filings from: Bahrain; Egypt; Jordan; Israel; Kuwait; Lebanon; Morocco; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; and UAE. Other regions included in the recent increase in coverage, include: South America; Africa; Cayman Islands; Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; and Canada. Nahrain Aoudishow has been hired as Emerging Markets Document Manager to oversee the emerging markets sector. Prior to her role at PI, Nahrain worked at QAS in IT software/address management solutions. Before QAS, her focus was in recruitment and resourcing. In addition, Nahrain spent several years in the retail banking sector. She is also fluent is both Assyrian and Arabic. "Foreign Direct Investment in the emerging markets sector has significantly grown," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, PI. "We have witnessed a direct correlation between investment growth and an increase in emerging markets documents usage, in particular, the Middle-East. Our emerging markets documents usage has in fact grown 68% year-on-year, we are therefore responding to the changing market conditions by increasing our coverage to meet this rising demand." In further developments to PI Filings, PI can also announce that is has a seven month archive of global IPO documents now available in Word. This represents a considerable saving in time spent navigating through huge pdf filings, as it enables analysts and researchers to easily download and cut and paste from such documents. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information (PI), a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Serving the top 100 investment banks, top 75 law firms, brokerage firms, asset management houses, consultancies and hedge funds, PI addresses the business information needs of over 60,000 users within the global financial community. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or call PI on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION ANNOUNCES 2008 PI CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
The Information Professionals’ Toolkit
London, 6th February 2008 – Perfect Information’s events division, PI Conferences, has announced the programme for this year’s conference. The PIC 2008 will take place from 13th – 15th May 2008 at Walton Hall and Hotel in Warwickshire (http://www.paramount-hotels.co.uk/hotels/central-england/walton-hall/). The PIC has been designed to increase professional development and enhance delegates’ industry understanding within a practical and interactive environment, surrounded by fellow market experts. The content of the 2008 conference has been carefully developed to reflect this year’s theme, The Information Professionals’ Toolkit. Each of the presentations, panel discussions and break-out sessions has been designed to provide delegates with practical advice and information, reflecting previous attendees’ feed-back and requests. Topics are focused around the needs of senior information professionals, department heads and key decision makers across investment banks, law firms, brokerage firms and consultancies. PI Conferences is also delighted to announce mergermarket as the conference’s Premier Sponsor. Delegates will have the chance to enjoy breathtaking views of the Warwickshire countryside by booking a free flight in the mergermarket hot air balloon. "This year's PIC agenda truly reflects what is currently happening within the industry," said Hamilton Matthews, Director, mergermarket. "Our involvement with the conference is vital, as it provides us with the opportunity to get an exceptional understanding of the issues faced by our customers. We are delighted to be playing such a prominent role in the conference and hope that this year's delegates enjoy the stunning Warwickshire countryside from the dizzy heights of our hot air balloon!" Presentations to feature this year include:
To find out more information about attending, sponsoring or becoming involved in this event, please contact Carley Donegan on + 44 (0) 207 892 4282 or email at carleyd@perfectinfo.com. For any updates, please visit our website www.perfectinfo.com. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information (PI), a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Serving the top 100 investment banks, top 75 law firms, brokerage firms, asset management houses, consultancies and hedge funds, PI addresses the business information needs of over 60,000 users within the global financial community. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION SELECTED BY SIMMONS & SIMMONS PI CHOSEN AS LEADING SUPPLIER OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
London, 28th January 2008 - Perfect Information (PI), a global provider of financial information, today announced that it has signed a three year global deal with international law firm Simmons & Simmons to provide it with: PI Filings, PI’s database comprising nearly nine million company filings; and PI Debt, PI’s fixed income securities database. The three year deal signifies a growth in financial information requirements at Simmons & Simmons and a desire to ensure the firm has reliable and market-leading data provision and customer service. Perfect Information has responded to this growth by tailoring its information provision to offer Simmons & Simmons a flexible, tailor-made, price-performance package.
Simmons & Simmons is now able to spend less time on research and more time on meeting the needs of clients. Reliable and critical data is quickly available to the users from their desktops, enabling time savings to be passed onto their own clients. "Clients increasingly require timely legal advice, so being able to access vital information quickly makes a real difference to the service we can provide to them", said Lorna Goulding, Information Resources Manager, Simmons & Simmons. "Having worked with PI for many years and having been involved with the company’s product development we are confident that PI will continue to deliver us a high quality product and service." PI Filings PI Filings is a global financial database containing nearly nine million indexed and tagged corporate financial documents including: annual reports; bond prospectuses; structured finance deals; pricing supplements; sovereign and corporate issues; global IPO and M&A documents; private placements; news announcements; shareholder filings; FSA returns; regulatory accounts; sustainability reports; SEC filings and UK private company data. PI Debt Designed exclusively for the Debt Capital Markets professional, PI Debt provides access to an online database of over 250,000 fixed income securities archived since 1986. Perfect Information is the definitive supplier of a comprehensive and timely source of original debt documentation including bond prospectuses, supplements and related documents. The document collection includes, Convertible Bonds; CDO Bonds; Euro-Commercial Paper; Asset Backed; High Yield Bonds; Floating Rate Bonds; MTNs; Guaranteed Bonds; Mortgage Bonds; Debentures; Pricing Supplements; and Secured Loan Stock. "Each company has its own embedded workflow processes and it is vital for any supplier to understand how an organisation uses its products," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "Historically, we have worked closely with Simmons & Simmons on the development of PI Debt to reflect the firm's specific information requirements – our emphasis is, and has always been, to deliver products of true value. This three year deal reinforces the fact that our products fit seamlessly with the firm's existing data processes and in addition, helps it to better advise and serve its own client base." About Simmons & Simmons Simmons & Simmons is a world class law firm with an international network of offices in Abu Dhabi, Brussels, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Madeira, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Oporto, Padua, Paris, Qatar, Rome, Rotterdam, Shanghai and Tokyo with over 2,000 staff worldwide. For further information on Simmons & Simmons please visit our website at www.simmons-simmons.com. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
BVDEP LINKS UP WITH PI
BvDEP Users Benefit from Access to Comprehensive Range of Filings & Reports
London, 3rd December 2007 – Perfect Information (PI), a provider of global financial information, today announces that it has partnered with Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing (BvDEP), one of the world’s leading electronic publishers of business and company information, to create access to PI's collection of original company reports and filings from BvDEP products. PI provides comprehensive coverage for 45,000 quoted companies globally, adding around 6,000 documents daily with a total library in excess of 8.7 million filings. The PI documents will be accessible from BvDEP’s OSIRIS and ZEPHYR. ZEPHYR is a global database of M&A deals and rumours with links to company financials. It will include access to M&A related documents from PI, including transaction and offer documents plus prospectuses. "The partnership is ideal for both companies as our product suites complement each other," said Lisa Wright, BvDEP’s commercial director for ZEPHYR, "We’re continually striving to add value for our customers. The accessibility of PI’s collection of filings and documents means users will be able to identify and research deals on ZEPHYR with the added benefit of accessing regulatory deal documentation such as offer documents and prospectuses for planned IPOs." The OSIRIS database contains very detailed information on listed and delisted companies around the world. Users will be able to access the entire library of PI documents from the relevant company reports in OSIRIS. The documents cover a wide range of filings and reports including annual and interim reports, equity, debt and M&A documents, SEC filings, regulatory and non-regulatory news. "PI is excited about this partnership and the opportunities it provides," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "BvDEP has an excellent market reputation and an extensive reach across investment banking desktops making this affiliation a natural fit." The PI links will be demonstrated at the Online exhibition on BvDEP’s stand, number 624. About BvDEP Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing (BvDEP) is one of the world’s leading publishers of electronic business and company information. The company has 28 offices worldwide. BvDEP is best known for its range of international company information products that combines multiple high-quality data sources with flexible software to allow users to manipulate data for research, marketing intelligence and analysis. Products include FAME, ORBIS, AMADEUS, BANKSCOPE, ISIS and OSIRIS. BvDEP also publishes the global M&A database, ZEPHYR and the MINT range of products which is designed specifically for end users. www.bvdep.com About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is a provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Filings, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200, or contact BvDEP via info@bvdep.com or on +44 (0) 20 7549 5000. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION PRIORITISES CUSTOMER CARE
Perfect Information Appoints New Customer Relationship Manager
London – 3rd April 2007 – Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced the appointment of Roberta De Gregorio as CRM Marketing Manager, as part of its commitment to lead the market in customer service. The customers’ needs have always been at the forefront of Perfect Information’s product development and it is of paramount importance that the customers’ requirements are truly understood. Roberta’s role will involve the highly detailed capture of clients’ requirements and the further development of customers’ workflow processes in order for Perfect Information to continue developing products that provide real value. Included in her remit, Roberta will also head up marketing, providing continual benefits to both existing and prospective customers. "Customer centricity is our priority," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "To underpin our dedication to delivering products that add real value, we have taken on Roberta to fully understand clients’ workflow, enabling us to continue building products that our clients truly want. Roberta has a rare mix of experience in both CRM and marketing and we are looking forward to the impact she will have with both clients and internally." Prior to her appointment at Perfect Information, Roberta was co-founder and director of Bamboo PR, a specialist financial and IT PR and marketing agency. At Bamboo, Roberta was responsible for customer relationship management, ensuring Bamboo was embedded with its customer-base. Roberta was also responsible for directing and executing marketing and PR campaigns for the client base. Before setting up Bamboo PR, Roberta was a consultant at Spark Marketing Communications, a full service IT marketing and PR agency. While at Spark, Roberta was responsible managing accounts and increasing revenue for the agency through relationship management. About Perfect Information Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Filings, PI Analysis, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION RE-LAUNCHES FILINGS DATABASE TO FIT SEAMLESSLY WITH EXISTING WORKFLOW PROCESSES
PI Filings Receives Feature and Interface Makeover
London, 13th March 2007 – Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced the re-launch of PI Filings, its database comprising over seven million company filings. PI Filings has been re-designed to feature a new front-end containing enhancements that will increase its value to clients, whilst carefully retaining the intuitiveness of the existing product. When incorporating additional and advanced functionality to the product, Perfect Information spent considerable time consulting with its customers to pin-point exactly what features would best fit with their individual workflow processes. Included in the new version of PI Filings is the ability for users to email documents researched on PI Filings as a link. This feature, which is unique to PI Filings within the market, has significant advantages to both the end user and their organisation as a whole. Instead of spending time downloading the required document, saving it to the desktop and then emailing it as an attachment, the document can be emailed as a link in one, fast, easy step. Moreover, this process negates the limitations of bandwidth, minimising the drain on the company’s infrastructure and enabling the document to be sent anywhere, regardless of bandwidth capabilities. "Product development and the incorporation of new features are all about listening to your customers," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "The changes made to PI Filings may not appear dramatic, but they are significant to the user. We feel confident that the added functionality will not just sit comfortably with their existing workflow processes, but actually add to them." Other recent developments to Perfect Filings include re-indexed SEC filings and expanded coverage of the following document types: Structured Finance (CDOs); Private Placements (144a); FSA returns; Regulatory Accounts; and Sustainability Reports (CSR). Perfect Filings – Additional Features
Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Filings, PI Analysis, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
JPMORGAN CAZENOVE SIGNS THREE YEAR DEAL WITH PERFECT INFORMATION
London - 19th February 2007 – Perfect Information, the global provider of financial information, today announced that it has signed a three year deal with JPMorgan Cazenove to supply the investment bank with PI Filings, Perfect Information’s database comprising over seven million company filings.
Perfect Information has been supplying JPMorgan Cazenove with critical financial information for over twelve years and the bank has chosen to renew its subscription to PI Filings due to the product’s inherent flexibility and the unrivalled document coverage it provides. The database has been deployed across all desktops in JPMorgan Cazenove’s European Corporate Finance departments. PI Filings PI Filings is a global financial database containing over seven million indexed and tagged corporate financial documents including: annual reports; bond prospectuses; structured finance deals; pricing supplements; sovereign and corporate issues; global IPO and M&A documents; private placements; news announcements; shareholder filings; FSA returns; regulatory accounts; sustainability reports; SEC filings and UK private company data. "Signing this three year deal with JPMorgan Cazenove demonstrates that we are providing not only desirable products, but also a unique level of customer service," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "In today’s market, having a real understanding of what your customers need is integral to the overall product and service you supply. Moreover, the ability to adapt as customers’ businesses change is essential to ensuring true customer satisfaction." About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI: Filings, PI: Analysis, PI: Research, PI: Debt and PI: Conferences. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION ANNOUNCES 2007 PI CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Staying Relevant in a Constantly Evolving Environment – What’s Next for the Information Professional?
London, 23rd January 2007 – PI Conferences, the conference division of Perfect Information, has announced the programme for this year's PIC (formerly known as Information Professional Learning Conference – IPLC). The conference is taking place on Tues 1st (optional), Wed 2nd and Thurs 3rd May 2007 at The Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel, Bath. (http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk). The PIC has been designed to increase professional development and enhance delegates’ industry understanding within a practical and interactive environment, surrounded by fellow market experts. The overall theme of the 2007 conference is Staying Relevant in a Constantly Evolving Environment – What’s Next for the Information Professional? Each of the presentations and breakout sessions aims to identify changes and tackle current challenges, presenting ideas to a range of professionals from investment bankers and fund managers; to legal consultancy and accountancy institutions. "The ongoing growth and success of our conference is due to our commitment in providing relevant, practical and current presentations and seminars on the issues that really face our customers," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "We found that delegates attending previous PI Conferences gained extremely productive and practical business value. We continue to focus on providing solid, demonstrative business solutions to current management and information issues." Presentations to feature this year include:
About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI Filings, PI Analysis, PI Research, PI Debt and PI Conferences. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION JOINS CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MOVEMENT
Perfect Information Provides its Customers with Sustainability Reports
London, 5th December 2006 – Perfect Information, the global provider of financial information, today announced that it is making available sustainability (Corporate Social Responsibility – CSR) reports on its PI: Filings database. Most of the world’s largest corporations have voluntarily produced environmental and sustainability reports to assure stakeholders, employees, investors and customers of their environmental and ethical business practices. These documents are collated by Perfect Information under its Annual Report documents database and then made available through PI: Filings, PI’s global database comprising over seven million company filings. "Investors are beginning to take corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investment much more seriously now", said Brian Harrison Spence, Founder, economie. "It is imperative that the information released by companies about their environmental and ethical codes of practice is easily accessible. The fact that companies, such as Perfect Information are making this information easily available, further pushes corporate social responsibility into the mainstream, helping to shape the advancement of an ethically aware global economy." PI: Filings currently holds nearly 700 Sustainability Reports, including all 300 constituents of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. "CSR is becoming a significant part of the financial world and it is shaping the decisions people make. Moreover, it is vital that financial institutions are armed with the information they need in order to act quickly on behalf of their customers. Currently, the market share for ethical investment in the UK is only around 2-3%. However, this is set to rise and mirror the US, where the market share is three times greater", said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "More and more companies are beginning to realise the importance of producing voluntary sustainability reports and our repository is growing accordingly. We are constantly striving to help our customers save time and provide them with well-indexed, reliable data from which they can make fast, well-informed choices." Perfect Filings Perfect Filings is a global financial database containing over seven million indexed and tagged corporate financial documents including: annual reports; bond prospectuses; structured finance deals; pricing supplements; sovereign and corporate issues; global IPO and M&A documents; private placements; news announcements; shareholder filings; FSA returns; regulatory accounts; sustainability reports; SEC filings and UK private company data. About economie Founded in 2005, economie is an international organisation devoted to creating international awareness and establishing social responsible investment and corporate social responsibility as the norm. Headquartered in London, economie is made up of international partners from 20 countries, including Australia, Argentina and Norway, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, South Africa, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA. At the heart of the organisation’s ethos is the belief that much more can be achieved by working together than by standing apart. For more information, please visit www.economie.co.uk About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include PI: Filings, PI: Analysis, PI: Research, PI: Debt and PI: Conferences. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION SUPPLIES GLOBAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO ALTIUM
London, 27th September 2006 – Perfect Information, the global provider of financial information, today announced that Altium, has renewed its subscription to Perfect Information’s repository of financial information. This renewal includes a significant increase in Altium’s usage of Perfect Information’s data. The renewal underlines the success of a two-year relationship with Altium. Perfect Information is providing the pan-European investment banking group with its display, charting and analytical tool, Perfect Analysis. Perfect Analysis is a global securities tool that combines with leading sources of financial information to cover over 100,000 global securities. Perfect Analysis provides news, fundamental company data, pricing and economic data, broker forecasts and global indices.
Altium first collaborated with Perfect Information in 2004 and has since expanded its equity research, sales, trading and corporate finance operations to serve the group’s growing client base. Perfect Analysis has continued to work closely with Altium to ensure the product meets the group’s evolving requirements and the needs of each individual user. "We looked for a product that not only met each of our requirements, but also one that we could tailor to match the working patterns of every user", said Greg Feehely, Head of Research, Altium Securities. "In particular, it was important that we chose a product that incorporated functionality to help users save time. With Perfect Analysis, we have found charting tools, intuitive reporting and viewing formats and more, which help us fulfil this requirement. The level of support we continue to receive is a major factor in our decision to stay with Perfect Analysis and we are confident that the features it provides will continue to enhance the analysis process." The functionality of Perfect Analysis has helped Altium users significantly reduce time spent on analytics, such as the ability to view and analyse data from Excel and PowerPoint at the click of a button. In addition, users are now able to easily export data into Excel and PowerPoint. Altium can now chart and display data according to a variety of criteria, including time span and format. Altium was also keen to take advantage of the customised tear-sheet facility, thereby allowing in-house desktop publishing. "We are entering our third year of working with Altium and are delighted to see how our continued close relationship and understanding of Altium’s processes have led us to continually increase the value that we have provided." said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "We understand that our products can have a significant impact on productivity and enable users to make faster and more reliable decisions. With this in mind, it is of paramount importance that we are constantly striving to improve and update our products with the time and labour-saving features our clients need." Perfect Analysis Perfect Analysis is a global securities research, analysis and reporting application, delivering unrivalled charting, graphical and peer group functionality on over 100,000 global securities. Content includes: global equities database; 12 year archive on thousands of indices; historical fundamental data from Standard and Poor’s; consensus and detailed broker forecast estimates indices; international newswire and regulatory news announcements; Perfect Views (company briefing documents on over 30,000 companies); and exchange rates, macro economics and broker Research (Reuters Research). About Altium Altium is a fully integrated investment banking and securities group providing stockbroking and advisory services across a range of sectors. It has a European office network providing cross border capabilities and is wholly owned by its 140 employees. This ownership structure, almost unique in an investment bank of Altium’s size and market presence, provides a platform from which the firm is able to distinguish itself and its offering to clients. The group focuses on companies with a value of €20-€800 million and offers the full range of investment banking services to its customers – capital raising on AIM and on the LSE Main Market, private equity and debt fundraisings, mergers and acquisitions, and general advisory services. Altium’s advisory clients include quoted companies, private-equity backed enterprises and entrepreneurs. Altium specialises in certain sectors including IT hardware and electronics, IT software, industrials, leisure, retail, media, communications, speciality financials, support services and building and construction. Since January 2005, Altium carried out 84 transactions with an aggregate value of €4.9 billion. Altium maintains offices in Athens, Edinburgh, London, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Munich, Paris and Zurich. Affiliate offices are situated in Helsinki, New York, Oslo, Stockholm and Tel Aviv. Through Altium Securities the group also provides corporate broking, equity trading, sales, market making and high quality institutional research. Clients include UK fund management houses, specialist funds, hedge fund and international funds. For more information, please visit www.altium.co.uk. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and PI Conferences. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION CONTINUES TO EXPAND ASSIGNING A NEW POSITION OF CAPITAL MARKETS MANAGER
Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced the appointment of Roland Peters in a newly created role as Capital Markets Manager. Roland will be responsible for the expansion and development of Perfect Filings - Perfect Information’s global database comprising over five million company filings - and Perfect Debt - an online database of prospectuses and pricing supplements covering over 210,000 fixed income securities.
Before joining Perfect Information, Roland was Manager of Editorial and Data Acquisition at CMA (Credit Market Analysis), where he was responsible for content and product design for credit default swap and bond quote management software. Prior to CMA (Credit Market Analysis), he held the role of Business Manager for Fixed Income and Derivatives at Thomson Financial , where he developed and implemented worldwide fixed income, derivatives, FX, commodities and economics data content strategies in conjunction with the product teams. In addition, whilst at Thomson, Roland held the following positions: Regional Manager for South Africa; and Data Content Manager for bonds. Before joining Thomson, he spent a year as Junior Fund Manager and Equity Fund Manager for DWS (Deutsche Bank). In addition to Roland, Perfect Information has also appointed Craig Harrison and Mark McNerney as Business Development Managers. Craig joined Perfect Information from McBain International where, as Director/Co-Owner, he was responsible for new business development and account management. Prior to this, Craig was a Senior Consultant in client acquisition for The Drax Group/FFS Group. Mark McNerney joined Perfect Information from Market News International, where he held the position of Account Manager. His role within Perfect Information will not only focus on growing existing accounts, but also on increasing the buy-side and non-investment bank business. "This is a very exciting time for us, as we are extending our product and service offerings to customers as well as undergoing a complete rebrand," said Greg Simidian, MD, Perfect Information. "Product and service development is paramount and our ethos is reflected by the industry experts we have attracted to both our product and sales teams." Close
ALLEN & OVERY BENEFITS FROM PERFECT GLOBAL DEAL
Perfect Information Provides Global Filings to Allen & Overy
London, 19th September 2006 – Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, announced that it supplying Allen & Overy global access to Perfect Filings, the company’s database comprising over seven million company filings. Allen & Overy’s global offices are using Perfect Filings to obtain fast and reliable access to shareholder circulars; bonds and RIS announcements. These are used as document precedents, to obtain the details of a transaction, as a news facility (RIS) and to find out more about company strategy. Predominantly used by the London, Hong Kong and Western European offices, Allen & Overy save significant amounts of both time and space because the need to maintain a hard copy collection is negated. Moreover, the company benefits from Perfect Filings’ document collection itself. In particular, Allen and Overy saves time due to the quality of indexing within Perfect Filings, as the indexing and full text search allows users to save time wading through documents looking to see if they are relevant. "We have worked with Perfect Information for over ten years," said Sarah Fahy, Head of Global Services, Allen & Overy. "When we were looking for a global solution, there were a number of companies that offered a comparative service, however, Perfect Information’s products always were and remain the most comprehensive and user-friendly. The global service has also been able to save us a significant amount of time – and space – with regards to maintaining a hard copy collection and then trying to track down a relevant document." Perfect Filings Perfect Filings is a global database comprising over seven million company filings, delivering International Filings and SEC Filings for corporate finance and capital markets specialists. Content includes: Company Annual Report & Accounts; International Bond prospectuses and pricing supplements; Company news announcements; Shareholder filings; US annuals and SEC filings; and Private Company Data (UK). Perfect Filings provides a cost effective, accurate and time saving solution in global document search and retrieval. The database contains over 2,000 indexed search terms and documents are normally available on Perfect Filings within 24 hours of their release to the company’s shareholders. "Long-term customers, such as Allen & Overy reflect our true dedication to customer service and our approach of listening to and taking into account clients’ needs during the product development stage," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "At the core of our product development is the desire to enhance clients’ methods of working, helping them to increase productivity rather than designing products that force them to change the way in which they work." About Allen & Overy Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 4900 staff, including some 452 partners working in 25 major centres worldwide. The company’s areas of experitse include: corporate and commerical; dispute resolution; employment and employee benefits; finance; intellectual property; private wealth and charities; real estate; regualtory; tax; and U.S. law. For more information, please visit www.allenovery.com. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and PI Conferences. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com or contact them on +44 (0) 207 892 4200. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION PARTNERS WITH REUTERS ECOWIN
Perfect Analysis Provides Users with Free Access to Macroeconomic and Financial Time Series Data from EcoWin
London, 22nd August 2006 – Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced that it is providing its Perfect Analysis customers with free access to over 2,000 time series data sets from Reuters EcoWin, covering all key macroeconomic numbers and financial time series data within the main global markets. The partnership with Reuters EcoWin will provide Perfect Analysis customers with in-depth global macroeconomic, commodities and debt data covering the key markets, as well as regional aggregates. For clients needing access to more in-depth content, Perfect Information can also provide them with the entire Reuters EcoWin Pro global macroeconomic and financial database.. "Perfect Information’s client base is outside our normal scope and by partnering with them, we are able to widen our client reach," said Sally Jones, UKI Sales Manager, EcoWin Products, Reuters EcoWin. "The partnership also offers our own clients an alternative platform from which to access the EcoWin data." Perfect Analysis complements Reuters EcoWin data by seamlessly linking the data sets through Perfect Analysis’ powerful charting and reporting capabilities. Reuters’ EcoWin Pro data is all primarily sourced directly from statistical offices, central banks, agencies and exchanges. The database is global, covering 198 countries plus aggregates for more than 35 regions, such as the EU, Eurozone, OECD, South America, World etc. All data is instantly published within one hour of the figures being released. Moreover, redistributed databases from sources, such as OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), IMF (International Monetary Fund), MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International), IBOXX etc are also available. "Perfect Analysis customers will benefit significantly from having access to EcoWin, as it provides them with high value content that is rich in detail and of the highest credibility," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "EcoWin’s data sets enhance our already unrivalled coverage of financial markets. Our clients now have access to invaluable, comparative content. We took the step to incorporate this data as part of the bundled offering so as to create significantly higher value in our standard package." Reuters acquired EcoWin in October 2005. About Perfect Analysis Perfect Analysis is a global securities research, analysis and reporting application, delivering unrivalled charting, graphical and peer group functionality on over 100,000 global securities. Content includes: global equities database; 12 year archive on thousands of indices; historical fundamental data from Standard and Poor’s; consensus and detailed broker forecast estimates indices; international newswire and regulatory news announcements; Perfect Views (company briefing documents on over 30,000 companies); and exchange rates, macro economics and broker Research (Reuters Research). About Reuters Reuters (www.reuters.com), the global information company, provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. Its trusted information drives decision making across the globe based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. Reuters has 15,300 staff in 89 countries, including staff from the acquisition of Telerate in June 2005. It also includes 2,300 editorial staff in 189 bureaux serving 128 countries, making Reuters the world’s largest international multimedia news agency. In 2005, Reuters revenues were £2.4 billion. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and PI Conferences. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. Close
KAUPTHING BANK INCREASES USE OF PERFECT INFORMATION
Perfect Information Supplies Global Financial Information to Kaupthing Bank
London, 12th June 2006 – Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced that Kaupthing Bank has renewed its subscription to Perfect Information’s repository of financial information. This renewal includes a significant increase in Kaupthing Bank’s usage of Perfect Information’s data. Kaupthing Bank will now be using: Perfect Analysis, a global securities research, analysis and reporting application, delivering unrivalled charting, graphical and peer group functionality on over 100,000 global securities; Perfect Filings, a global database comprising over 5 million company filings, delivering International Filings and SEC Filings for corporate finance and capital markets specialists; and Private Company Data. "We have been working with Perfect Information for two years and have enjoyed the benefits the financial information portfolio provides," said Allison Gent, Head of Research, Kaupthing Bank. "During a recent phase of expansion, we needed to look at our financial information service provision to ensure any increase in usage would be catered for. Renewing with Perfect Information was the natural choice for us because they fully understand our business needs and tailor their data sets to exactly match our requirements." Perfect Analysis Perfect Analysis is a global securities research, analysis and reporting application, delivering unrivalled charting, graphical and peer group functionality on over 100,000 global securities. Content includes: global equities database; 12 year archive on thousands of indices; historical fundamental data from Standard and Poor’s; consensus and detailed broker forecast estimates indices; international newswire and regulatory news announcements; Perfect Views (company briefing documents on over 30,000 companies); and exchange rates, macro economics and broker Research (Reuters Research). Perfect Filings Perfect Filings is a global database comprising over five million company filings, delivering International Filings and SEC Filings for corporate finance and capital markets specialists. Content includes: Company Annual Report & Accounts; International Bond prospectuses and pricing supplements; Company news announcements; Shareholder filings; US annuals and SEC filings; and Private Company Data (UK). Perfect Filings provides a cost effective, accurate and time saving solution in global document search and retrieval. The database contains over 2,000 indexed search terms and documents are normally available on Perfect Filings within 24 hours of their release to the company’s shareholders. "Every company has different information needs," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "Not only do they require different content, but the data is often used in a variety of ways demanding flexible presentation and formatting. It is vital that we understand the business needs and workflow processes of our clients so that we can provide a bespoke information package. We are delighted to continue working with Kaupthing and we are looking forward to tailoring our offering, as their business evolves." About Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank is among the Nordic region's ten largest banking groups, and the largest bank in Iceland with assets totalling 6.4 billion Euro at the end of December 2003. The Bank was formed in May 2003 from the successful merger of Bunadarbanki and Kaupthing Bank. Kaupthing Bank is the leading player in all key areas of the Icelandic financial market, combining the complementary features of a strong retail franchise with wholesale investment banking expertise. Internationally, Kaupthing Bank offers the full range of investment banking services, including: treasury; asset management; brokerage; and comprehensive wealth management for private banking clients. The bank’s services are provided through a network of offices throughout the Nordic Region and also in the UK, US, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. For more information, please visit http://www.kaupthing.net. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Media plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and Perfect Learning. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION STRENGHTENS SALES TEAM
Perfect Information, the global provider of financial information, today announced that it has appointed Chris O’Connor and Andrea West as Business Development Managers. Based in Perfect Information’s London office, Chris’ responsibilities include growing the existing customer base and identifying opportunities for new revenue streams. Chris will focus on matching Perfect Information’s content resources with customer requirements and he plans to further branch content out across Europe. Chris is looking forward to analysing niche customer needs and identifying growth potential.
Prior to his position at Perfect Information, Chris spent two years in business development at Thomson Dialog. His role at Thomson Dialog included the creation of innovative information delivery solutions for large corporate clients. During his time here, Chris concentrated on growing his account base and attracting new clients across Europe, particularly focusing on broker research solutions. Before working at Thomson Dialog, Chris spent two years in the sales division at Credit Risk International. In a separate move, Perfect Information has appointed Andrea West as a Business Development Manager, also in the company’s London office. Having spent 6 years with the company, Andrea moves to her new role from August and will be concentrating on growing the UK customer base. "Perfect Information is going through an exciting growth period. We have built up a strong product portfolio and have shaped a dynamic business development division", said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "We never waver from our desire to meet and surpass our customers’ requirements and requests. We are confident that we have found the right people with the expertise to exceed both ours and our customers’ expectations." Close
PERFECT INFORMATION GROWS OVER THE POND
Perfect Information, the global provider of financial information, today announced that it has appointed Denise Slifer as Head of Sales, North America in Perfect Information’s New York office. Having spent over 18 years in the US information sector, and as the Chair of the Business and Finance Group of the New York Chapter of the SLA, Denise commands an enviable reputation across the industry. She will be responsible for the North American operations and will focus on driving growth for the company across the States.
"Having somebody of Denise’s renown in the industry join our team is invaluable," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "Denise’s knowledge of the market is unrivalled; she is well respected by her peers and her achievements to date speak for themselves. Her experience and dedication will further help Perfect Information reach and exceed its goals for the US market. We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead on both sides of the Atlantic." Prior to her role at Perfect Information, Denise was Director of Sales at Snapshots International, a market research company specialising in top-line international market research overviews. Here, Denise was responsible for developing new business opportunities and she developed the sales plan and strategy for the US market. Before Snapshots, Denise held the position of Director of National Accounts at Alacra where she was a senior sales executive for the web based technology company. She achieved 100% of her sales quota during her tenure and was responsible for presentation, development and sale of information portals to the corporate market. From 1999 to 2003, Denise spent four years at divine, provider of enterprise information software services, leaving the company as Director of National Accounts. During her time with the company, Denise focused on new business development, selling enterprise information software to Fortune 1000 clients. At divine, Denise closed $4M against a $2M target and – in addition to increasing revenue – she was directly responsible for retaining existing clients during the divine merger. Before attaining the position of Director of National Accounts, she was the Director of Sales, a role in which she was responsible for the New Jersey Corporate Services Division. Prior to her time at divine, Denise reached the level of National Sales Director at Blackwell’s Information Services. As a senior manager, she exceeded her annual quota targets and developed and executed sales strategies linked to consistent sales growth. She also restructured contract and sales departments, which resulted in increased performance and reduced operating costs, as well as executing the corporate re-branding initiative. Whilst at Blackwells, Denise also held the positions of Acting Customer Service Director and Northeast Sales Manager. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION EXPANSION CONTINUES
London, Monday 26th July 2004 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial information, today announced the appointment of two new staff members to assist in the continuing expansion of Perfect Information’s client and commercial services. Paul Acott has been appointed into a new role as Commercial Director in the London Headquarters and Melanie Ellyard as Regional Sales Manager, to be based in Leeds.
Paul Acott joined Perfect Information in July 2004, bringing a vast range of knowledge and expertise to his role as Commercial Director. He has accumulated ten years of commercial management experience at Dun & Bradstreet, most recently heading their European and UK Sales Operations. During his time there, he achieved unprecedented results by re-engineering the Sales Organisation and is well reputed for implementing original and pro-active sales operations strategies. Paul states, "Perfect Information is a company at the forefront of a constantly evolving sector and I am highly enthusiastic about applying my skills to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of PI and leading the team through continued commercial success." Melanie joined Perfect Information in June 2004, heading up Perfect Information’s sales division in Leeds. As Regional Sales Manager, Melanie is utilising her proven sales and marketing management skills to promote Perfect Information’s services at a regional level across the UK Melanie’s background includes positions held at HSBC Asset Management, Thomson Financial, Moneyline,Telerate and FT Information. Melanie brings a wealth of global market knowledge to the team and has amassed a great deal of experience in sales, project, and market management, through appointments in the UK and Singapore. Melanie has specific expertise in building up pipeline business opportunities and in generating marketing and sales revenues. "We are confident that these appointments will enhance Perfect Information’s standing, both regionally and internationally. Their excellent track-records and original approaches makes both of them a valuable addition to the UK team." said Greg Simidian, MD, Perfect Information, "The commitment they have already demonstrated to Perfect Information, coupled with their combined financial and commercial experiences, will undoubtedly further Perfect Information’s productivity." About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Holdings plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and Perfect Learning. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com. Close
ALTIUM SIGNS DEAL WITH PERFECT INFORMATION
Altium Invests In Perfect Analysis
London, 7th June 2004 – Perfect Information, the global provider of financial information, today announced that it has signed a deal with Altium, providing the pan-European investment banking group with its display, charting and analytical tool, Perfect Analysis. Perfect Analysis is a global securities tool that combines with leading sources of financial information to cover over 100,000 global securities. Perfect Analysis provides news, fundamental company data, pricing and economic data, broker forecasts and global indices. Altium has been expanding its equity research, sales, trading and corporate finance operations and to support this, it needed to intensify its research and analysis into institutional equities. Altium therefore needed a service that would provide them with advanced analytics, but at the same time had a user-friendly interface to fit the needs of many different user skill sets within the company. Perfect Analysis was also specifically tailored for Altium to incorporate a feed for the company’s broker research. "We looked for a product that not only met each of our requirements, but also one that we could tailor to match the working patterns of every user”, said Greg Feehely, Head of Research, Altium Securities. "In particular, it was important that we chose a product that incorporated functionality to help users save time. With Perfect Analysis, we found charting tools, intuitive reporting and viewing formats and more, which helped fulfil this requirement. The level of support we received was a major factor in our decision to choose Perfect Analysis and we are confident that the features it provides will greatly enhance the analysis process." The functionality of Perfect Analysis has helped Altium users significantly reduce time spent on analytics, such as the ability to view and analyse data from Excel and PowerPoint at the click of a button. In addition, users are now able to easily export data into Excel and PowerPoint. Altium can now chart and display data according to a variety of criteria, including time span and format. Altium was also keen to take advantage of the customised tear-sheet facility, thereby allowing in-house desktop publishing. "We recognised from the initial contact we had with Altium that they needed not only an in-depth analytical solution, but also one that was innovative and personalised to reflect Altium’s own working ethos," said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. "We were happy to spend time tailoring our solution for such a forward-thinking company as Altium and look forward to continuing a close working relationship with them as their financial information needs change." Perfect Analysis – Content
About Altium Altium is an independent, pan-European investment banking group focusing on small to mid-market companies. Altium provides a full range of investment banking advisory services to corporate clients (including fundraising, M&A and general advisory services) and to the private equity firms and public market institutions which finance them. Altium’s advisory clients include quoted companies, private equity-backed enterprises and entrepreneurs. Through Altium Securities, the group also provides corporate broking, equity trading, sales and high quality institutional research. Altium Securities’ specialist sectors include leisure, speciality retail, support services, speciality financials, industrials and IT software and services. Altium typically advises on transactions valued at between €20 million and €400 million. In the last three years, the group has helped its clients to complete over 200 transactions with an aggregate value of over €6 billion and raised over €2 billion of equity and debt finance. For further information please visit www.altiumsecurities.co.uk. Enquiries: Altium Greg Feehely, Head of Research 020 7484 4040 Garry Levin, Managing Director 020 7484 4040 About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Holdings plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and Perfect Learning. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com. Close
KAUPTHING BANK SELECTS PERFECT INFORMATION AS GLOBAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION PROVIDER
Kaupthing Bank uses Perfect Information’s Equity Analytics Solutions for Valuable Corporate Finance Information
London, Monday 24th May, 2004 - Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial information, today announced it has signed a deal with Kaupthing Bank to provide it with a tailored package from its solutions portfolio. Kaupthing Bank, among the Nordic regions’ ten largest banking groups, now has access to: Perfect Information’s latest product offering, Perfect Analysis, a cutting edge display, charting and analytical tool; Perfect Filings, an extensive online archived global database of company filings; and research services for European Private Documents. Kaupthing Bank needed to find a single online resource that would provide its Corporate Finance department with varied information on equities and currencies. "We have only recently started using Perfect Information’s solutions, but we are already seeing the benefits they provide, such as the ability to work with Perfect Analysis directly in Excel format and to tailor the presentation of the underlying data,” said James Youngs, COO of Kaupthing Ltd. “We chose Perfect Information because they were able to offer us exactly the service and information we needed, were committed to working with us to roll out the product and delivered our requirements at a very competitive rate. We are confident that Perfect Information will continue to efficiently and accurately provide us with the essential information our department needs on a daily basis." "Perfect Analysis is becoming a vital tool for our customers, not simply because of the application, but also because it is flexible to the working environment of different types of users, from equity researchers to corporate financiers,” said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. “We are very pleased to hear such positive responses from Kaupthing Ltd. and will continue to work closely with them to ensure they receive the content and delivery to match their changing business needs." Perfect Analysis Perfect Analysis is a global securities research, analysis and reporting application, delivering unrivalled charting, graphical and peer group functionality on over 100,000 global securities. Content includes: global equities database; 12 year archive on thousands of indices; historical fundamental data from Standard and Poor’s; consensus and detailed broker forecast estimates indices; international newswire and regulatory news announcements; Perfect Views (company briefing documents on over 30,000 companies); and exchange rates, macro economics and broker Research (Reuters Research). Perfect Filings Perfect Filings is a global database comprising over 5 million company filings, delivering International Filings and SEC Filings for corporate finance and capital markets specialists. Content includes: Company Annual Report & Accounts; International Bond prospectuses and pricing supplements; Company news announcements; Shareholder filings; US annuals and SEC filings; and Private Company Data (UK). Perfect Filings provides the most cost effective, accurate and time saving solution in global document search and retrieval. The database contains over 2000 indexed search terms and documents are normally available on Perfect Filings within 24 hours of their release to the company’s shareholders. Perfect Information is accredited by the Law Society of England and Wales as a provider of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for Perfect Filings. Perfect Research Services Perfect Research Services has been a successful part of Perfect Information since 1995 and offers a wide range of bespoke services to information professionals and end users in the financial and consultancy sectors. Today, its team of multilingual research specialists is available 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday. The Research Bureau Service includes: primary research; desk research; competitor monitoring; customised reports written to client specification; confidential document acquisition; a bureau service for non-subscribers; precedent document research services for clients needing precise examples of a document or transaction; and business translation services. About Kaupthing Bank Kaupthing Bank is among the Nordic region's ten largest banking groups, and the largest bank in Iceland with assets totalling 6.4 billion Euro at the end of December 2003. The Bank was formed in May 2003 from the successful merger of Bunadarbanki and Kaupthing Bank. Kaupthing Bank is the leading player in all key areas of the Icelandic financial market, combining the complementary features of a strong retail franchise with wholesale investment banking expertise. Internationally, Kaupthing Bank offers the full range of investment banking services, including: treasury; asset management; brokerage; and comprehensive wealth management for private banking clients. The bank’s services are provided through a network of offices throughout the Nordic Region and also in the UK, US, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. For more information, please visit http://www.kaupthing.net. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of Centaur Communications, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users of the corporate finance and advisory sectors including investment banks, corporate stockbrokers, consulting, fund management, law and accountancy firms. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and Perfect Learning. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com. Close
EQUITY DEVELOPMENT CHOOSES PERFECT ANALYSIS
Perfect Information Provides Equity Development with Analytical Tool
London, 3rd May 2004 – Perfect Information, the global provider of financial information, today announced that it has signed a deal with Equity Development, the corporate research house. Perfect Information is providing Equity Development with Perfect Analysis, a global securities tool that combines with leading sources of financial information to cover over 100,000 global securities. Perfect Analysis provides news, fundamental company data, pricing and economic data, broker forecasts and global indices. "The nature of our business demands that we have ready access to price and fundamental support for the research publications we publish,” said Miles Saltiel, Head of Research, Equity Development. Although attainable from a variety of sources, a large proportion of our time is spent manually searching for and processing this information. Bringing on board Perfect Analysis has provided us with a winning combination of content, usability and economics, not least saving valuable time, which can be passed on to our clients. Due to the intuitive interface of Perfect Analysis, we also hope to soon develop more ambitious applications as our own standard publications complete their design iterations." Equity Development has in particular benefited from the charting capabilities supplied by Perfect Analysis. The charting function has helped Equity Development ‘s users to chart and display data according to preferred time span or format and add and remove templates. In addition, by using the peer group functionality, users at equity Development can also create and compare their own portfolios of companies, industries or countries of choice. "We are very pleased to embark on this relationship with Equity Development, one of the UK’s most dynamic corporate research houses”, said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. “Equity Development is already benefiting from its use of Perfect Analysis and looks set to enhance its own applications due to the functionality now provided by our product. We are already looking ahead to see how we can extend our offering to Equity Development to further increase its user experience." Perfect Analysis – Content
Equity Development is the leading corporate research house in the UK. It was established in 1997 to provide investors with a clear account of clients’ businesses, products, operations and prospects. Equity Development’s research reports provide information, analysis, estimates and valuations, presenting the investment case in one comprehensive digest. The reports cover client’s business and financial affairs with a detailed breakdown of operations, market and competition, current trading and outlook. It is of the essence of the research that it is objective, based upon verifiable data and transparent. Equity Development’s research is distributed to the company’s proprietary list of 750 institutional and alternative investment fund managers; analysts, private client brokers, private banks and other intermediaries; and financial journalists. The research is also available through aggregators including, Bloomberg, Multex and Reuters. Headquartered in London, Equity Development is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. For further information, please visit www.equity-development.co.uk. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of the leading B2B media group Centaur Holdings plc, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users within the global financial community. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and Perfect Learning. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION ROUNDTABLE REVEALS REACTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES TO CP176
FSA BAN ON SOFT COMMISSIONS COULD SIGNAL THE END FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM CAP BUSINESSES
Perfect Information Roundtable Reveals Reactions and Alternatives to CP176 London, 21st April 2004 – Perfect Information today announced the results of a heated debate between leading industry commentators to discuss the effects of the impending proposals by the FSA that purport to eradicate the use of soft commissions. Panel members contended primarily on the future of small and medium cap companies, should a total ban on softing and bundling be introduced. There was also concern about London taking the first tentative steps into the abolition of soft commissions, which would render London uncompetitive with New York and other major trading exchanges. Perfect Information felt that there was a lot of valuable discussion still to be had on the FSA’s Consultation Paper 176 and hosted a roundtable event on 16th March 2004, chaired by Philip de Sausmarez of CVL Financial Services, bringing together a panel of leading industry experts. Perfect Information wanted in particular to find out if members of the panel, whether supporting or opposing the FSA’s proposal, could suggest a viable alternative to the industry practice of soft commissioning. The main issue voiced by some of the panel was that if soft commissions were abolished entirely, fund manager groups would be less inclined to pay for services previously bound up in the commission, such as research. If research is to be priced separately, the danger is fund managers would decide not to invest in research and therefore choose execution-only services wherever possible. This would endanger the small and medium cap markets because the companies that invest in them are effectively paying for research through the commission charges that are proposed for abolition. If all this were to go, there would be no effective replacement mechanism to deal with the provision of information about small and medium cap stocks. Howard Flight MP, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury and Director of Investec Asset Management, who in principle disapproves of soft commission, states; “The dangers of a full unbundling approach are that they would kill the institutional market and the source of money for medium and small cap businesses.” Conversely, the larger international companies have the resources in place to cover the costs of circulating information about themselves if needed. This opinion is supported by research recently published by Equity Development, a corporate research house that was also represented at the roundtable. The research reveals that thirty or more analysts publish research for each of the top dozen UK stocks, but that no research is published on over 400 of the smallest stocks: a rapid decline since 1999. It then goes onto evaluate that analytical neglect reduces average valuations by up to 32% and due to widening bid offer spreads, liquidity reduces by 50%. Equity Development calculated that the ‘neglect effect’ reduces the capitalisation of UK stocks by at least £8 billion. However, Gunner Burkhart, Global Head of Trading, Deutsche Asset Management believes that we are starting to see growth of more boutique style coverage and smaller mid cap companies. Furthermore, if the research is paid for directly, this will fuel greater growth and make these markets more stable. He comments: "I would beg to differ with the opinion that if unbundling in its proposed format were implemented and then taken two steps further, it would ring the death knell for mid and small cap research. I feel that it would actually benefit small and mid cap research because if you apply an absolute budget to portfolio managers, we have found that the fixed budget is not going to the large broker dealer or to research on the large cap stocks, but is rather going to the small boutique houses or to the small and mid cap research arenas. In fact, there has been more than a 27% decline in the States in coverage of stocks, but there has actually been a great proliferation and growth in boutiques and independent research providers on both sides of the Atlantic." The panel was almost unanimous in fearing that an isolated UK ban on soft commissions would result in a loss of competition with the US. Howard Flight commented; "I think the FSA would actually be pretty uncomfortable in abolishing softing other than on a transatlantic basis. If the FSA decides to go ahead with the proposal, the London-based fund manager, competing for large international portfolios, would have to add to their charges the costs of additional services and technology. Whereas, the New York equivalent would not because this has been provided by softing." Miles Saltiel, Head of Research, Equity Development Ltd, adds; "There may be much to be said, from the point of view of reputation, for the abolition of softing as a practice. However, we do need to work in tandem with the US. It’s my sense that the SEC is looking closely at what the FSA is up to. They regard the proposals here as something of a stalking horse. However, I’ve heard such vehement defences of softing from American practitioners that I surmise that the SEC would find it even tougher than the FSA to go head-to-head. I would care less about the mechanical difficulty of abolishing softing as such than the competitive position of London in worldwide capital markets." Although most participants that attended the roundtable agreed that the industry’s reputation has and will continue to be damaged by the practice of soft commissions, the implications for the UK market do not appear to have been thoroughly analysed in CP176. As Miles Nicholls, Global Head of Sales at Perfect Information summarises: "During the debate, various alternatives to the practice of soft commission were suggested, such as the separation of costs for each service provided, or charging a fixed fee for the management and purchase of third party services, while charging another incentive-based fee for performance. In my opinion, it is transparency that is essential to achieve efficient workings of the financial markets. It is vital that London, as one of the pre-eminent financial centres of the world, doesn’t lose its position." Present at the roundtable were: Howard Flight MP, Director of Investec Asset Management Gunner Burkhart, Global Head of Trading, Deutsche Asset Management Miles Saltiel, Head of Research, Equity Development Matthew Young, Direct, Public Policy Projects, Adam Smith Institute Bob Haville, Director, College Hill Philip de Sausmarez, Director, CVL Financial Services Miles Nicholls, Global Head of Sales, Perfect Information. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION EXPANDS WITH CREATION OF PERFECT LEARNING DIVISION
Perfect Information Expands with Creation of Perfect Learning Division
London, 2nd February 2004 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial data, today announced the launch of Perfect Learning, a new division that has been set up to respond to the market’s call for the provision of high quality conferencing which addresses the industry’s burgeoning issues. The new division will target all top tier professional skill sets, including global investment banking, fund management, legal, and consultancy institutions. "We are very excited about this new addition to our product offerings. Our strength of existing business contacts and market knowledge of the banking, fund management, legal, and consultancy arenas, provides us with the ideal springboard to launch this division”, said Greg Simidian, MD, Perfect Information. “The Perfect Learning brand allows us to keep our conferencing branch at arms length from our online product offerings to ensure that it will maintain its own identity and editorial integrity. The initial response for the Information Professional Learning Conference has been overwhelming and should provide an excellent platform for sponsors to reach an ideal audience." The first conference will be held at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire on 29th-30th June 2004. The Information Professional Learning Conference will provide a forum of discussion for senior corporate information professionals to tackle the challenges of content delivery and information management. Mark Hargreaves will be in charge of all areas within the new division, in his role as Head of Conferences and Marketing. Perfect Information has also created a new role to fulfil the demands of the new division and has appointed Joanna Cramoisan as the events manager. Previously, Joanna worked at BT where she was the marketing and events manager for business-to-business multimedia applications. "We have been working extensively on Perfect Learning and have invested many months of research asking each of our customers about the problems they are currently facing and the issues they feel the market needs to address”, said Mark Hargreaves, Head of Conferences and Marketing. “With this information, we can provide delegates with balanced arguments and core issues for discussion. As a result of this detailed insight, we have set ourselves apart from other conferences and have attracted a calibre of speaker and facilitator of the very highest standard." For more information about Perfect Learning and the Information Professional Learning Conference, please contact Mark Hargreaves or Joanna Cramoisan on 0207 892 4200. Close
INFORMATION CENTRES - PERFECT INFORMATION APPOINTS EVENTS MANAGER FOR NEWLY LAUNCHED CONFERENCES DIVISION - PERFECT LEARNING
London, 2nd February 2004 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial documents, today announced that it has created a new role and has appointed Joanna Cramoisan as the events manager at Perfect Information. This appointment follows the recent establishment of a new division at Perfect Information called Perfect Learning. The division has been set up to respond to the market’s call for the provision of high quality conferencing that addresses the industry’s burgeoning issues.
Joanna Cramoisan joins Perfect Information’s London office from BT, where she was the marketing and events manager for business-to-business multimedia applications. Among other achievements in her three years at BT, Joanna set up a new events department for BT’s product portfolio of call centre products. Before this, Joanna attended St Andrews University and graduated with a 2:1 Joint Honours degree in Management and Spanish. Joanna is bilingual in French and English, fluent in Spanish and also speaks Portuguese. "Joanna has the precise skills, experience and energy we needed in order to launch Perfect Learning,” said Mark Hargreaves, Global Head of Conferences & Marketing, Perfect Information. “I believe her innovative and fresh approach to the information industry, as well as the invaluable relationships she has built up over her years in events management, will make this new division a great success." Close
INFORMATION CENTRES - MOVE FROM COST CENTRE TOWARDS PROFIT CENTRE
Perfect Information Reveals Results of Information Trends Report 2003.
January 2004 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial information, today announced the results of its Information Trends Report 2003, an in-depth research study into changes that have occurred over the last two years in UK corporate information services. The research project focuses on the financial, legal and consultancy sectors and explores four key areas of information centres: productivity, structure, operations and marketing. The study was undertaken by PI Research Services division to draw out the changing trends within the corporate information services industry and show the impacts they are having on the performance of this department. In the past, information centres have notoriously been cost centres, but surprising results from this research suggest that they are now moving towards profit centres. Two years ago, all of the businesses questioned in this study were considered as cost centres, whereas today, 5% of them have already become profit centres and 16% are moving towards profit centre status. Further results in the study indicate possible factors that are contributing to this change in the perception of the information centre and to make its value to the organisation more tangible. The following factors have led to the information department becoming more productive: a more centralised global services model; increased use of end users desktop tools; more in-depth and project based research that is easier to justify in terms of business value than quick reference work; reduced spending on hard copy publications through their availability online; and increased outsourcing. "Because of the adverse market, institutions are under pressure to reduce costs. In many cases the information department has been managed as a ‘cost’ to the business, without a true understanding of their value said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. “Our research has revealed that the need to economise has actually had a very positive effect on productivity. Our products and services have always been aimed at maximising the productivity of the information professional, such as our online database of company filings, our analytical products and our unrivalled research department. These products and services provide information experts with the flexibility to easily search, retrieve, manipulate and analyse data from the very highest quality sources; this saves time and money, by helping them to work in a smarter way. Also, our flexible pricing structures help Information Professionals to be more effective in maintaining their budget targets. We are still committed to keeping abreast of changes to the structure and operations of information centres, so that we co-ordinate our in-house design and development resources appropriately." One important discovery from the research results is that large investment banks and consultancies have started creating economies of scale and increased communication through consolidation. The introduction of a more centralised model has increased by 15% over the past two years. The increased use of marketing tools, global inboxes and usage of digital content via intranets and portals, have made this improved communication achievable for many businesses. It is also likely that the need for more flexible pay-as-you-go contracts will grow as the global centralised model becomes more prevalent for information centres. This has helped counter the effects of reduced staffing levels, as has the greater availability of desktop tools to end-users. The research shows that 58% of the surveyed sample has rolled out up to three more desktop tools over the past two years and that 42% have rolled out between three and fifteen desktop tools. Although the performance of the information centre has clearly been negatively affected by budget cuts that have occurred over the past two years, a decrease in headcount has generally led to an improvement in performance, with the help of increased number of desktop tools and a more centralised service model. It also appears that information managers make better use of their existing resources for in-depth, high-value and project based work if the headcount has been reduced. The report also shows that there has been a trend towards the set up of offshore operations in India. The overwhelming advantage of outsourcing some information centre functions cited by the sample was believed to be the cost saving. However, 74% of the sample declared that they had no plans to outsource. The main concerns of this 74% ranged from confidentiality issues and staff poaching to risk of temporary loss of service for political reasons or weather hazards. With regard to the information centre’s reputation within the organisation, the research found a clear correlating link between the information centre’s performance and marketing initiatives. The 70% of respondents who felt that the corporate perception of their services was accurate use a variety of internal marketing tools, including, intranet presence, departmental presentations, online brochures, branding, inductions for new starters and mailshots. Recurrent ‘user groups’ were considered very successful tactics to improve the end user awareness of information services across different departments within the organisation. Of those that felt the internal service perception was not accurate, 67% had either maintained the same level of internal marketing, or reduced it. Methodology Qualitative interviews were carried out with information professionals and managers of large and medium sized financial institutions, legal, consultancy and accounting firms based mainly in the City of London. Respondents typically managed research/business information centres or corporate libraries, or worked as researchers. The survey asked respondents to compare the structure, operations, marketing and productivity of their information centres at the time of the survey (June – November 2003) with the situation two years ago. Statistical analysis was carried out on the results of the research to investigate the apparent trends. Inferential statistics were used to reach conclusions. This combined with qualitative analysis provided evidence to support the current and future trends in the corporate information services sector. For a full copy of Perfect Information’s Information Trends Report 2003, please contact Perfect RESEARCH SERVICES on 020 7892 4220 or research@perfectinfo.com Close
A SEA OF CHANGE FOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION SEVICES
Perfect Information Expands and Rebrands its Portfolio
December 2003 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial information, today announced the expansion and complete re-branding of its products and services portfolio. Perfect Information is offering its customers a variety of online financial information and analytical applications, through its products: Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, and Perfect Debt. Furthermore, the company has significantly strengthened its client services structure, giving customers 24 hour access to expert research. A hugely experienced and skilled training team will provide clients with invaluable support at the desktop when products are rolled out. Perfect Information has grown considerably over the last year. Within the last six months, the company acquired the Synergy Group, a developer of historic information, charting and portfolio management systems. Synergy’s core product, Hydra, a sophisticated research, analysis and reporting tool, was further developed and re-branded by Perfect Information as Perfect Analysis. Perfect Information has also implemented significant appointments both in the UK and US, extending the sales and research teams to meet customers’ demands for its expanding range of products and services. "Our re-branding will make it clearer and more logical to our clients of what our key product portfolio comprises," said Mark Hargreaves, Global Head of Marketing, Perfect Information. "As the company grows, the 'Perfect' element of our brand identity will become our cultural benchmark across all areas of the business. It is this, which will formulate the core of our global marketing strategy." "This is more than just a simple name change. It reflects an innovative way of thinking about what we can offer our customers and how we work with them,” said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. “It is no longer sufficient to provide clients with data alone; an all round service covering a detailed understanding of the product, client service, cost and technology issues facing the client; is an essential ingredient to our current and future success. Our expanding suite of both online and offline products provide clients with deeper market insight and a set of dynamic business tools. The global expansion of Perfect Information has been carefully orchestrated, by having the right teams of people with the right skill sets, both in the front line and in support roles." Perfect Information’s ranges of product and service offerings include: Perfect FILINGS (formerly Pioneer) Perfect Filings consists of over six million company filings, including: Global Annual and Interim Reports; US Annuals and SEC Filings; Global Bond prospectuses; Shareholder Filings; Company News; and Perfect Private Companies in the UK (International Private Company Annual Reports are available through Perfect Information’s Research Services). Perfect Filings can be viewed in two versions; Perfect Filings OneSearch and Perfect Filings Advanced. Perfect Filings OneSearch is a single search screen where users can view an unmatched collection of filings associated with a specified company in one click. OneSearch also includes: integrated US company electronic and paper filings; grouped searching for major corporate actions; and free text searching of EDGAR and paper documents. Perfect Filings Advanced is an in-depth search engine where a user can search for documents using over 3,000 indexed classifications. Other key search headings include company, industry, document type, issue date, transaction size, currency, ISIN and maturity date. The database contains over 3000 indexed search terms. Documents are normally available on Perfect Filings within 24 hours of their release to the company’s shareholders. Perfect Information is accredited by the Law Society of England and Wales as a provider of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for Perfect Filings. Perfect ANALYSIS Perfect Analysis is a cutting edge display, charting and analytical tool, which uses leading sources of global fundamental financial information. It provides sophisticated online research, analysis and reporting applications that cover over 100,000 global securities. Content includes: a global equities database; a 12 year archive on thousands of indices; historical fundamental data from Standard and Poor’s; consensus and detailed broker forecast estimates indices; an international newswire and regulatory news announcements; Perfect View (company briefing documents on over 30,000 companies); and exchange rates, macro economics and broker research (Multex). Key functionality includes: an extensive graphics package; report building and in-depth analysis; flexible searching and screening across every content area of Perfect Analysis; easy-to-use, peer group analysis; portfolio building and user-created indices; easy exportation of content into Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; tear sheet designer (enabling in-house desktop publishing); and Excel and PowerPoint add-ins, allowing users to work directly within these applications. Perfect DEBT Designed for the debt markets professional, Perfect Debt provides access to an online database of over 110,000 fixed income securities archived since 1986. The database is the most comprehensive and timely source of original fixed income documentation including bond prospectuses, pricing supplements and related documentation. Global collection includes: Straight Bonds; Euro-Commercial Paper; Asset Backed Securities; Floating Rate Notes; Medium Term Notes; Mortgage Backed Securities; Convertible Bonds; High Yield Bonds; and CDOs. Its unrivalled indexing and functionality allow users of Perfect Debt to pinpoint and manipulate key elements of the debt prospectuses and supplements that they require, quickly and succinctly. Perfect Debt is accredited with a SEC No-Action letter allowing US users access to Eurobond documentation. Perfect RESEARCH SERVICES Perfect Research Services has been a successful part of Perfect Information since 1995 and offers a wide range of bespoke services to information professionals and end users in the investment banking, legal, fund management and consultancy sectors. Its team of multilingual research specialists work in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese and are available globally, 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday. The Research Bureau Service includes: Primary Research; Desk Research; Competitor Monitoring; Customised reports written to client specification; confidential document acquisition; a bureau service for non-subscribers; precedent document research services for clients needing precise examples of a document or transaction; and business translation services. Perfect LEARNING Perfect Learning offers specialist conferences and discussion forums for the financial, legal, consultancy and fund management industries. The Information Professional Learning Conference taking place in June 2004, and aimed at Senior Information Professionals, will provide a forum of discussion around key issues that affect these delegates on a day to day basis. It will provide a balanced structure for the development and learning of new ideas, not currently available in the market. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of Centaur Communications, is the online provider of global financial information. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users of the corporate finance and advisory sectors including investment banks, corporate stockbrokers, consulting, fund management, law and accountancy firms. Products include Perfect Filings, Perfect Analysis, Perfect Research Services, Perfect Debt and Perfect Learning. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com Close
FINANCIAL INFORMATION SERVICES EXPANDS TO PROVIDE COST-EFFICIENT INDUSTRY ALTERNATIVE
Perfect Information Launches Perfect Analysis
October 2003 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial information, today announced the launch of Perfect Analysis, a global securities charting and analytical tool. Combined with the best sources of financial information, Perfect Analysis (formerly called Hydra before the acquisition of Synergy) covers over 100,000 global securities, serving the information requirements of investment banks, corporate finance, fund management, law firms, consultancy and academic institutions. Perfect Analysis provides news, fundamental company data, pricing and economic data, broker forecasts and global indices. Perfect Analysis enables users to chart and display data according to preferred time span or format, add and remove templates and by using the peer group functionality, the end user can also create and compare their own portfolios of companies, industries or countries of choice. Perfect Analysis has a user friendly interface which has great flexibility within its functionality to fit the needs of many different user skill sets. Perfect Analysis has been further developed to enable data to be easily viewed and analysed within Excel and PowerPoint at the click of a button. Within Perfect Analysis, the function ‘Perfect View’, provides clients with the facility to access company briefing documents on an unrivalled 30,000 companies globally. A Fixed Income module will soon be offered to customers, which will provide detailed issue information, evaluated data and pricing. Additional functional enhancements and data modules are currently under development including indices and Credit ratings. Perfect Analysis clients can also now request access to specific modules of the Perfect Filings database through Perfect Analysis which include Annual reports, Mergers and Acquisitions, Debt and Equity filings. Greg Simidian, Managing Director of Perfect Information, commented on Perfect Analysis saying: "Combined with our global filings offering (Perfect Filings); this new product offering will allow Perfect Information to further compete with the larger financial information providers. Prior to the launch of Perfect Analysis, we carried out extensive market research into the day-to-day requirements of our clients and discovered that many subscribers to similar products do not maximise the full use of their functionality. We know that our clients are increasingly finding it difficult to justify the traditionally high costs associated with these products, when they are not being utilised to the full. In response to this, we have maintained and further developed a focused feedback programme, to deliver products with highly relevant functionality and essential content, at a price point that sets a new benchmarking standard." Standard & Poor’s will now be providing standardised fundamental data for Perfect Analysis, delivering one of the most timely and accurate data sources available. This will provide users of Perfect Analysis with a high level of cross border and industry comparability, resulting in improved searching and relative performance measurement. The global fundamental data from Standard & Poor’s covers 20,000 companies, which accounts for 98% of the global market capitalisation. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION CONTINUES GLOBAL EXPANSION WITH NEW SALES APPOINTMENTS
September 2003 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial documents, today announced that it has appointed three business development managers, two in London and one in New York. These appointments are testament to the continuing growth of Perfect Information, following the recent agreement to acquire Synergy and consequent expansion of services.
Trevor Charsley joins Perfect Information’s London office from Thomson Financial where he was the leading salesperson in the Sales & Trading team. Prior to Thomson, he spent 14 years with the Industrial Bank of Japan as an FX trader, finally leaving as head of the spot desk.
Jonathan Watson has also started at Perfect Information’s London office with nearly 10 years experience in the real-time sales arena. His last position was also at Thomson Financial, where he left as Director of Strategic Partnership, Europe. Prior to that, he enjoyed great success as the top salesperson at Market News, selling real-time commentary & analysis to the Debt Capital Markets sector.
Kurt Stam, who joined Perfect Information in its New York office in May 2003, has been promoted from the position of Account Trainer to Business Development Manager. He brings a wealth of buy-side experience from his three years as an account manager at Standard & Poor’s. Prior to that, he was an analyst at Oppenheimer Funds in New York. His time at Perfect Information has been marked out with great enthusiasm, together with an extensive knowledge of the financial markets, which has led to his promotion to a revenue generating position sooner than anticipated. "This is a very exciting time for us as we broaden our product and service offerings to customers and expand our client base into new areas,” said Greg Simidian, MD, Perfect Information. “In order to effectively manage this growth, we have sought the top salespeople in the industry and without a doubt have found them, from both sides of the Atlantic. I believe they will play a valuable part in the future success of Perfect Information." Perfect Information’s Growth Perfect Information’s sales figures have risen by 178.5% over the last four years, with an increase of 52.4% in staff numbers during the same time period. Growth of the business is planned to continue into 2004 and beyond; this ambition is reflected in the recent acquisition of Synergy, as well as in the sales appointments announced today. About Perfect Information Established in 1991, Perfect Information, a subsidiary of Centaur Communications, is a global provider of online financial documents. Perfect Information serves the business information needs of over 60,000 contracted users of the corporate finance and advisory sectors including investment banks, corporate stockbrokers, consulting, fund management, law and accountancy firms. It offers a market leading database of integrated resources spanning public company reports and accounts; shareholder filings; private company returns, reports and accounts; regulatory news announcements; International bonds prospectuses and US Edgar filings. Headquartered in London, Perfect Information also has offices in New York. For more information, please visit www.perfectinfo.com Close
PERFECT INFORMATION ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE SYNERGY
Perfect Information Adds A Research, Analysis and Reporting Tool to Complement Existing Financial Information Services
July 2003 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial company information, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Synergy Group. Synergy is a developer of historic information, charting and portfolio management systems. Its core product, Hydra, is a sophisticated research, analysis and reporting tool, which will be re-branded by Perfect Information as Perfect Analysis. Perfect Information undertook this acquisition to broaden its offering and provide clients with an application that will help them present global market data in a flexible, analytical and highly cost effective manner. Perfect Analysis is a versatile data research, analysis and reporting application for investment banks, corporate finance, fund management, law firms and academic institutions. Developed in conjunction with the leading suppliers of global market data, it combines leading edge display, charting and analytical software with the most reliable and comprehensive sources of financial information. Global coverage includes news, fundamental company data, pricing and economic data, company snapshots, brokers forecasts and global indices. "Acquiring Synergy arose from direct customer feedback to supply a broader product offering and advanced capabilities to our clients,” said Greg Simidian, Managing Director, Perfect Information. “Through regular communication with our clients, we understand that they require sophisticated analytical tools in order to serve their own clients, but without the high costs traditionally associated with these products. Integrating the technology from this acquisition into our own products means that we can fulfil this requirement. Placing an emphasis on feedback helps us to maintain our standard of excellence by providing clients with a service that will continue to work for them as the market and their own needs change." Perfect Information will run Perfect Analysis alongside its existing services, Pioneer and Research Bureau. Perfect Information’s core product, Pioneer, is a unique interactive database of over 2,500 financial classifications by which customers can access a global database of over 4 million corporate filings. Pioneer provides a solution to the financial industry’s problem of storing and retrieving valuable information by allowing users live access to an unmatched collection of company filings. Perfect Information’s Research & Bureau Service has been a successful part of Perfect Information since 1995. Today its team of experienced researchers work in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese providing company and industry information including articles of association, bond prospectuses, director biographies, glossy annual reports, SEC Edgar and non-Edgar filings, historical company filings and trust deeds. Close
PERFECT INFORMATION APPOINTS NEW GLOBAL HEAD OF SALES
July 2003 – Perfect Information, the global provider of online financial documents, today announced that it has appointed Miles Nicholls as its new Global Head of Sales. Miles has a wealth of experience in managing large global sales teams in the finance industry, which he will use to drive business as Perfect Information enters a new expansion phase. He will also continue to trailblaze the success of Pioneer, Perfect Information’s corporate finance and debt capital markets database.
Prior to his role at Perfect Information, Miles was Sales Manager at Thomson Financial and previously also worked at Bloomberg, Dow Jones Markets and Dun and Bradstreet. Within his first two quarters at Thomson Financial, Miles drove the Sales & Trading sales team to exceed their target. This was achieved through a combination of implementing a structured process, together with employing strong motivational techniques. In early 2003, Miles was part of the sales management team that, for the first time, incorporated Thomson's three main divisions into one sales force. "We are indeed fortunate to place a seasoned manager of Miles’ calibre in this critical sales role,” said Greg Simidian, MD, Perfect Information. “Miles is a well-reputed and talented sales manager with an enormous amount of knowledge within the global financial market. His experience, energy and commitment to Perfect Information’s growth strategy will prove invaluable." Close
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ECM MARKET PRACTICE BROUGHT TO LIFE IN MINUTES
London, 19th May, 2010 - Perfect Information, a global provider of financial information, today announced the launch of ECM Insight. |





