1. Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research
The Intermediated Research Initiative
www.irideus.org
Argus Research Company, Pipal Research, &
Independent International Investment Research Plc
A Higher Form of Research: Presentation
by Mark Fenton and Karena Bernard for
Nasdaq, April 8, 2009
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2. Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research
Contents
2
What is Irideus?
Our Distinctive Value Proposition
Opportunity for Exchange to Create Competitive Advantage
Next Steps

3. Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research
A global problem for investors, companies,
and their Exchanges
 Broker research coverage has trended down, leaving
many companies under-researched
 Recent cost pressures on financial institutions are
expected to accelerate the trend
 Public companies without research are invisible to the
investor base
 Public companies without three sources of research lack
a consensus estimate
 Lack of coverage impairs liquidity & access to new capital
 Competitiveness of the listing venue is compromised
 A new challenge in the wake of routed global equities:
restoring the confidence of investors in equity as an asset
classs
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4. What is the Intermediated Research
Initiative?
 An international program to address research coverage
gaps in smaller and mid-cap companies, by providing
research which is objective, comprehensive, cost-
effective and widely distributed
 A model for provision of research that addresses the
perceived quality and objectivity problems associated
with traditional, sponsored research
 An institutional-quality research solution
 A suite of prepared legal agreements
 Your out-of-the-box solution to provide cost effective
objective research on listed companies
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 4

5. Key Attributes
 An intiative harnessing three leading independent
research firms
 Arbitrary matching of research firm to company
 Minimum two year contract term, with advance payment
 Intermediator oversight
 Homogeneous approach to research format/template and
data elements
 Compelling price point for smaller companies
 Established global distribution relationships to facilitate
wide exposure – delivering world-class research to an
international audience
5Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research

6. Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research
Contents
6
What is Irideus?
Our Distinctive Value Proposition
Opportunity for Exchange to Create Competitive Advantage
Next Steps

7. 7
•Best practice for Exchange to facilitate and encourage research on all issuers
•Improves liquidity profile
•Best practice for Exchange to facilitate and encourage research on all issuers
•Improves issuer liquidity
•Improves Exchange’s health and competitiveness as a listing venue
•Research discipline feeds back to improve the general standards of disclosure and
governance of issuers on the Exchange
•Raises international profile
•Best practice for issuers – demonstration of commitment to investors, at only a
modest cost
•Enhances issuer transparency, to maximise the ROI of maintaining a public listing
•Drives issuer liquidity
•Fosters health of issuers by creating conditions for capital raising
•Reduces cost of capital for issuers
•Access to wider, deeper information on issuers
•Enhances the range of investment choices
•Arms-length relationship between issuer and research firm underpins investor
confidence
•Institutional quality research, free of charge
Key benefits
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research
For Investors
For Exchanges
For Issuers

8. Who is behind Irideus?
 Three distinctive global firms with strong international
reputations and long pedigree in independent research
- Argus Research (USA)
- Pipal Reseach (USA)
- Independent International Investment Research Plc (UK)
 All three firms stand behind the London Stock Exchange
scheme, PSQ Analytics, to deliver world-class research
 Two of the firms – IIIR and Argus – have been key participants
in the US GRAS scheme, intermediated by the Regulators
 Combined resources of firms delivers a unique global footprint
and breadth of knowledge across sectors
 Collectively the firms have the intellectual resources, scale and
expertise to rapidly address the widest of coverage gaps
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 8

9. Argus Research Company, Pipal Research Corporation, and
Independent International Investment Research Plc
Argus Research Company:
Founded in 1934, Argus is a leader in independent equity research, offering in-depth economic
analysis as well as forecasts and ratings on more than 700 U.S. and international firms. Argus
employs a rigorous six-step process to analyze companies, and provides clients with regular
updates through consultation and conference calls, online publications, and more than 4000
individual research reports a year.
Independent International Investment Research Plc:
IIR is the UK’s leading source for impartial research and strategy for global equities and foreign
exchange. The Group has become a leading specialist in the USA for the provision of research
on non-US companies. Core product offerings are: GEO Monitor™, providing research on Initial
Public Offerings from around the world; Research Oracle™ (www.researchoracle.com ), which
provides access to the Group’s international research free of charge; and Global Research,
which provides access to financial models, sector analysts, short-term trading strategies, and
corporate access services. IIR is a member of the British Olympic Association Council,
promoting and assisting Team GB athletes in Beijing 2008 & London 2012.
Pipal Research Corporation:
Pipal Research Corporation, a subsidiary of Firstsource Solutions, is a leading independent
investment research, corporate intelligence and analytics company. Pipal’s financial services
offering serves a broad spectrum of clients from buy side to sell side to investment banks and
commercial banks, providing a range of services, including equity/ sector/ country research,
fixed income research, financial modelling and valuation, forensic accounting, portfolio
performance assessment and reporting, investment due diligence, pitch books and other
custom research. Pipal’s global delivery model enables it to deliver timely, high quality, objective
and cost effective research. Pipal is headquartered in Chicago, USA and has operations in UK,
India and Ireland.
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 9

10. High quality research processes
 Collection of background information on the company
and its markets, suppliers, and sector
 Construction of a draft earnings model
 Company visit by the analyst to interview management
and gain first hand exposure to facilities/premises/
operations
 Provide a draft initiation report for management to review
on the basis of factual information only
 Publish research to a global audience on Thomson
Reuters, Bloomberg, Factset, Capital IQ,
ProQuote,Research Oracle.
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 10

11. Irideus delivers the scale for affordability, without
compromising quality
 The price point for the research report is a key
determinant of the take-up amongst issuers
 To keep the price point at the lowest possible level,
Irideus operates to gain scale economies
 Three is the optimal number of participating research
companies, to deliver both scale/price point together with
a viable degree of randomness in matching
 As Irideus extends its operations to new geographies, all
clients benefit from the wider concentration of sector
expertise and benchmarking against global peers
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 11

12. Broad sector coverage
-Consumer staples
-Consumer Disc.
-Energy
-Healthcare
-Materials
-Industrials
-Telecom Services
-Financials
-Information Tech
-Consumer staples
-Consumer Disc.
-Energy
-Healthcare
-Materials
-Industrials
-Telecom Services
-Financials
-Information Tech
-Consumer staples
-Consumer Disc.
-Energy/Green Tech
-Healthcare
-Materials
-Industrials/Manufacturing
-Telecom Services
-Financials
-Information Tech
12Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research

13. Standardized deliverables for cost efficiency
and uniformity
 A draft report for management comment
 An Initiation Report, without management veto or input
 Established global distribution on Thomson Reuters,
Bloomberg, FactSet, Capital IQ, Research Oracle
 Bespoke portal/platform for Intermediator to white label
 Quaterly/semi-annual update
 Ad hoc updates driven by company/industry/economy
news flow
 Annual update report
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 13

14. Sample
report
format
14Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research

15. Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research
Contents
15
What is Irideus?
Our Distinctive Value Proposition
Opportunity for Exchange to Create Competitive Advantage
Next Steps

16. Exchange can play a transformational role
 Intermediator usually expected to be an Exchange (but
could also be regulator, as in the 2004 US Global
Research Settlement)
 Oversight of the issuer contract and SLA’s
 Arbitrator in case of disputes
 Liaison with market participants*
 PR, marketing and sales to issuers
 De facto endorsement of the proposition
 Provide distribution through web portal
 Provide market education program
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 16
Opportunity
for Exchange
to create a
distinctive
proposition for
member firms
Opportunity
for Exchange
to create a
distinctive
proposition for
member firms
* Issuers, Regulators etc

17. Exchange must consider several key decision
points
 Include ratings and price
targets?
 Adopt Irideus standard research
template, or add/subtract
elements?
 Budget/price point?
 Elective or compulsory?
 Subsidised, pass-through, or
profit centre?
 Existing exchange website/new
bespoke portal/Irideus portal?
 Bi-lateral or multi-lateral
contract with issuer?
 Local incorporation of Irideus
required?
 Local regulation of Irideus
members required?
 Own branding (e.g. PSQ
Analytics) or Irideus branding?
 Degree of engagement in
marketing activities?
 Two, three or five year issuer
commitment?
 Hands-on, or mechanical
matching of company to
research firm?
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 17
Irideus brings
implementation
-ready
solutions with
experience to
advise on
these issues

18. Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research
Contents
18
What is Irideus?
Our Distinctive Value Proposition
Opportunity for Exchange to Create Competitive Advantage
Next Steps

19. Suggested next steps
 Local market survey to quantify demand and price point
and nature of product gap
 Irideus to provide draft Memorandum of Agreement for
Intermediator; and draft Client Agreement for issuers
 Determine time-line to launch, with associated marketing
communications plan to address all market players
 Irideus to make a pricing proposal based on expected
scale of local operations and precise requirements of the
Exchange, regulators, issuers and market
 Collect expressions of interest/Letters of Intent from
Issuers to reliably quantify demand – particularly if local
establishment investment required.
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 19

20. Thank You
John Eade, CEO Argus Research, New York
Tel. +1 (212) 425-7500 Email: jeade@argusresearch.com
Shane Smith, CEO Independent International Investment Research Plc, London
Tel. +44 7785 276 703 Email: shane.smith@iirgroup.com
Sanjeev Arora, CEO Pipal Research, Chicago
Tel. +1 (312) 404 9894 Email: sanjeev.arora@pipalresearch.com
Irideus™ - The Intermediated Research Initiative - A Higher Form of Research 20