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About

FrostRB is a Research Valuation/Budgeting platform that transcends “broker-vote” systems allowing asset managers to construct comprehensive research valuation/reporting frameworks specifically designed to meet MiFID II requirements.

FrostRB is a multi-asset class solution that harmonizes research budgets between equity and fixed income portfolios for multi-asset products.

Key benefits include:

  1. Ability to generate and aggregate monetary research budgets down to the fund level, eliminating fund cross-subsidization and meeting FCA/MiFID II requirements
  2. Specific selection and valuation of individual research products.
  3. Harmonization of research pricing (both priced and unpriced products) resulting in ~15% top-line research savings.
  4. Alignment of research budgets with investment strategies/universes, portfolio construction and expected returns.
  5. Streamlined workflow. One set of PM/Analyst research ratings can flow down through all of the investment products they influence to create customized fund/strategy level budgets.
  6. Sophisticated, customizable reporting by strategy, fund, research producer etc. to provide granularity of research payments for clients, regulators, internal constituencies.

The FrostRB framework can form the basis of the Research Valuation Policy (equivalent of Best Ex Policy) required by MiFID II. This policy must explain the manager’s research valuation methodology and the manner in which they fairly allocate research costs to different clients.

Neil Scarth

Neil Scarth has held a wide range of roles in asset management and investment banking in Europe and North America over the last 25 years, ranging from running equity businesses at global banks to launching and managing various asset management products.  Neil has comprehensive knowledge of the strategic and competitive framework that governs the inter-relationships between plan sponsors, asset managers and investment banks. 

Neil was a member of the UK Investment Management Association's Research Review Advisory Panel which helped craft the association's response to the FCA on research commissions.  Frost was sponsored by CFA UK and the CFA Institute to write a White Paper on Equity Research Valuation to help asset managers meet new regulatory requirements.

Neil holds an MA from the University of Southern California and a BA from Carleton University.

PJ Davies

PJ Davies has had a wide variety of roles in asset management and software. He served as a senior portfolio manager at Irish Life specializing in Asian equities. Subsequently he spent 12 years at Pioneer Investments in Dublin, where his responsibilities included senior fund management roles, leading the global consumer research team, and acting as Head of Research.

PJ also served as the Managing Director of Quest, Canaccord's proprietary stock screening, analysis and valuation software platform heading the team overseeing system development and distribution.

PJ has degrees from Oxford University and the Cass Business School.





Francois Gour

Francois has been in the investment management and investment banking industry for over 25 years. At Fiduciary Trust, Mr. Gour managed mutual, endowment and pension funds.

He was the co-founder and managing partner of Themavest LLC, a firm with a thematic investment strategy. His sell side experience includes being an Emerging Markets Equity Strategist at Credit Lyonnais Securities and Co-Director of research at Caspian Securities in New York. More recently, Francois has focused on European markets at Oddo Securities, Sal. Oppenheim and Commerzbank. Mr. Gour holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia and an MBA in Finance from McGill University.

Francois is based in New York City.

Kirsty McLaren

Kirsty has been in the investment management and investment banking industry for 16 years, spending time in Hong Kong, New York, Boston and London. As a portfolio manager, she specialised in Asian and emerging markets equities at both traditional asset management firms and hedge funds, including Rothschild Asset Management and Sofaer. She also served as equities research manager for Rexiter Capital Management. Kirsty’s four years on the sell side were spent on the Asian equities sales desk at JP Morgan.

Kirsty has a PhD in finance from Cambridge University, and is a CFA and CAIA charterholder.