Jefferson Research has been providing research to institutional and other investors since 1989 and is based in Portland, Oregon. The company was founded by Dr. Bruce A. Gulliver, CFA, who developed the firm's research methodology based on forensic financial analysis using best- of-breed academic research, forensic accounting and financial analysis. The Financial Sonar reports were developed in 2003 for investor clients of four major brokerage firms under the Global Research Settlement.
Methodology
Investors are overwhelmed by data, reports, news and traditional sell-side analysis that offers few true insights on individual companies. Jefferson's Financial Sonar reports use a unique approach to synthesize information on nearly fifty variables from the 3 financial statements to identify buys and sells for a portfolio. Jefferson's unique approach analyzes companies through two periscopes, fundamental performance and financial reporting forensics. Most researchers deal with one or the other but not both. The Sonar reports allow investors to cut through the fog of research, saving time and effort and improving odds for successful investing.
The Sonar reports identify stocks that are improving fundamentally as potential buys and those that are deteriorating as sells. The warnings helped investors avoid the price collapse of many notable torpedo companies including Enron and Worldcom. The Jefferson reports offer the following advantages to investors:
- Measures changes in company fundamentals in a consistent, unbiased manner
- Saves investors the time and effort of performing institutional grade forensic research
- In extreme cases, uncovers aggressive accounting
- Provides a hedge against overly bullish analyst reports or management distortions
The eleven page Financial Sonar Reports include text, graphics and tables including overall ratings on 2,300 companies and containing sections on:
- Earnings Quality
- Cash Flow Quality
- Operating Efficiency
- Balance Sheet Quality
- Valuation
