periodical market surveys, supply channel checks, retail polls and an extensive network of industry contacts. Thorough work at this level allows us to identify key trends as well as potential catalysts. Longbow Research was established in 2003 to provide the institutional equity research market with a high quality, independent product, free from the many conflicts of interest that plagued bulge-bracket research at that time.

Initially, the firm consisted only of analysts producing in-depth research on a short list of companies. In 2004, Longbow Research hired its first salespeople and also established an agency-only trading desk to facilitate client payment for the research. While this marked the beginning of their sell-side business model, they have strived to maintain their buy-side stock-picking research culture. Today, Longbow Research has moved beyond the start-up phase and is growing rapidly. They have opened offices in New York City and San Francisco and have also established an international research survey offering to cover a number of important supply channels in Europe, Latin America and Asia. While they have grown from that small group of analysts, they remain committed to their research tools and to their client's investment success. Second, from this foundational research come actionable ideas. Their valuation work combined with their sensitivity to catalysts allow their industry analysts to develop and advance an investment thesis on each company they cover. They are looking for mis-priced securities and the catalysts that will trigger a correction to fair value.