What Absolute Strategy Research does

Absolute Strategy Research (ASR) is a London-headquartered independent macro-strategy research and advisory firm founded in 2006 by David Bowers and Ian Harnett, serving institutional investors, asset allocators, fund managers, and corporate/investment banks globally. ASR sells subscription-based research across five interconnected pillars — Asset Allocation, Equity Strategy, Multi-Asset Strategy, Global Economics, and Climate Macro Strategy — supplemented by specialist modules including IFRS 9 Scenarios, a Proprietary Business Cycle Toolkit, the Quarterly Asset Allocation Survey, and a suite of proprietary indicators (Sentiment Barometer Indicators, Business Cycle and Financial Cycle Indicators, US & EZ Recession Risk Dashboards, a Global House Price Index, an ASR/WSJ Composite Newsflow Indicator built on Dow Jones Factiva, an Equity Risk Premium Series, EM Default & Vulnerability Indices, and a Thematic ETF Tracker). Research is delivered through weekly/quarterly publications, the Absolute Connect webinar series, Absolute Exchange in-person events, a proprietary client portal, and dedicated account managers.

The firm monetises almost exclusively through institutional research subscriptions on an annual billing cadence, sold via a specialist in-house sales team led by a Global Head of Sales and supported by regional heads in North America, the UK, and Australia. Differentiation rests on FCA-regulated independence (no investment banking, proprietary trading, or asset management activities), a 12-consecutive-year #1 ranking in the Extel/Institutional Investor independent research league tables, and a deeply proprietary quantitative indicator stack built up over 15+ years. Revenue model is concentrated in enterprise recurring subscriptions with bespoke add-on engagements, and distribution is increasingly augmented by channel partnerships (e.g., Absa CIB for African markets) rather than self-serve consumption.

Name

Absolute Strategy Research

Legal name

Absolute Strategy Research Ltd

Website

https://absolute-strategy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Absolute Strategy Research is an FCA-regulated, London-based independent macro-strategy research firm providing subscription research, proprietary quantitative indicators, and advisory services to global institutional investors, asset allocators, and banks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Subscription Research Services: ASR provides subscription-based macro-strategy research services to institutional clients globally. The firm operates a specialist sales model, providing ongoing research access through a client portal, alongside bespoke analysis and face-to-face client engagement. Services include dedicated account management and regular webinars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Absolute Strategy Research (ASR) is an FCA-regulated independent research house that provides subscription-based macro-strategy research and advisory services to institutional investors globally. Its core offering spans five research pillars — Asset Allocation, Equity Strategy, Multi-Asset Strategy, Global Economics, and Climate Macro Strategy — supplemented by proprietary indicators (including Sentiment Barometer Indicators, Business Cycle Indicators, the ASR/WSJ Newsflow Index, Global House Price Index, and Equity Risk Premium Series), the Quarterly Asset Allocation Survey, IFRS 9 Scenarios, bespoke projects, and Absolute Connect webinars/Absolute Exchange events.

Product overview

Absolute Strategy Research offers a unified research platform combining multiple interconnected research products and services. The core offering consists of five main research pillars: Macro-Strategy Research (encompassing Asset Allocation, Equity Strategy, Multi-Asset Strategy, Global Economics, and Climate Macro Strategy), supplemented by specialized modules including IFRS 9 Scenarios for regulatory compliance, a comprehensive suite of Proprietary Indicators (including Sentiment Barometer Indicators, ASR/WSJ Newsflow Indicator, Global House Price Index, Equity Risk Premium Series, and Thematic ETF Tracker), and the Quarterly Asset Allocation Survey. All products are delivered through a combination of publications (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports), the Absolute Connect webinar series, Absolute Exchange events, and a dedicated Specialist Sales Service. The platform uses proprietary data and algorithmic indicators to provide actionable investment ideas and market intelligence across global markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Macro-Strategy Research ASR's overarching macro-strategy research franchise providing actionable investment ideas and market analysis across Asset Allocation, Equity Strategy, Multi-Asset Strategy, Global Economics, and Climate Macro Strategy to help institutional clients navigate the global macro environment.
• Asset Allocation Medium-term asset allocation recommendations across major asset classes, drawing on a fundamental framework and factoring in ASR's sentiment and positioning work; supported by the Quarterly Asset Allocation Survey and bespoke projects.
• Multi-Asset Strategy Actionable investment ideas and strategies across multi-asset markets, including the weekly Multi-Asset Essentials tactical opportunities publication and Multi-Asset Rates Strategy with asymmetric payoff ideas relative to market direction.
• Global Economics Detailed macro landscape analysis covering the global economy, US, Europe, and China using ASR's proprietary economic toolkit; includes Economics Weekly, Economics Quarterly, and Central Bank Watch publications.
• Equity Strategy Five-factor framework (macro, earnings, valuation, liquidity, sentiment) for assessing global equity markets with recommendations by region and sector; includes Quantitative Strategy, factor analysis, and proprietary dividend models.
• Climate Macro Strategy Research integrating climate change factors into macroeconomic analysis, strategy, and asset allocation decisions for institutional investors.
• IFRS 9 Scenarios Impartial macroeconomic scenarios designed to meet IFRS 9 requirements, with consistent data-driven assumptions supporting forward-looking credit loss modelling and regulatory stress testing for financial institutions.
• Proprietary Indicators Suite of datasets including Economic Indicators (Leading, Surprise, Expectations, Business Cycle, Financial Cycle), Trade & Logistics Indicators, Semiconductor Indicators, EM Default & Vulnerability Indices, and Recession Risk Models.
• Sentiment Barometer Indicators (SBI) Proprietary indicators covering 1,000 assets across over 177 global markets, combining algorithms quantifying behavioural elements such as price anchoring and trend overconfidence with shorter-term momentum, used to flag markets at risk from over-extended optimism or pessimism.
• ASR/WSJ Composite Newsflow Indicator Monitors positive and negative news stories around six key macro variables (economy, corporate earnings, corporate revenues, labour market, inflation, monetary policy) using proprietary search strings against the Dow Jones Factiva database, with 37 years of potential history covering Global, US, China, Eurozone, Japan, UK, Australia, and Emerging Markets.
• Global House Price Index Timely monthly global house price inflation series using Dallas Fed methodology, tracking property valuations, household leverage, and bank sentiment across three dimensions of housing risk.
• Quarterly Asset Allocation Survey Quarterly survey of CIOs and asset allocators on financial market outlook for the next 12 months, mapping implied probabilities of financial events to their frequency of occurrence over the past decade to forecast the likelihood of certain events.
• Equity Risk Premium Series Composite Equity Risk Premium series combining 9 models, covering 25 countries/regions with at least 8 series per country/region plus a Global Composite ERP.
• Thematic ETF Tracker Tracks the performance of the ASR Thematic 100 list of exchange-traded funds, subdivided into 14 sub-indices including demographics, cyber security, robotics & AI, and water.
• Absolute Connect Webinars Regular webinar series with at least monthly focus on different research areas including Economics, Multi-Asset Strategy, and Equity Strategy, featuring ASR's analysts and guest speakers.
• Absolute Exchange Events Events bringing together the global investment community around industry topics, providing perspective and actionable intelligence and featuring industry expert guest speakers.
• Specialist Sales Service Client-facing service ensuring research needs are met on a relevant and timely basis, led by Verity Hunt, providing deeper understanding of clients' needs through a discreet consulting environment.
• Bespoke Projects Custom research projects available as one-off or ongoing engagements tailored to specific client requirements, delivered through ASR's specialist sales service.

Quantifiable outcome

• 71% of asset allocators surveyed expect Global Equities to outperform Global Bonds (Q1 2026)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Absa Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2025Absa CIB, a division of Absa Group, partnered with ASR to enhance Absa's global research capabilities and expand ASR's reach into African markets. The partnership provides Absa clients across South Africa and Africa with access to ASR's full research suite including economics, equity and FX strategy, investment strategy, asset allocation, multi-asset views, and climate macro strategy. Clients benefit from exclusive webinars, monthly teach-ins, and in-person engagements led by ASR founders and senior analysts. ASR and Absa will collaborate on co-branded thought leadership initiatives including an Annual Absa Investor Survey and integration into ASR's Asset Allocation Survey (Africa subset).

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Capital Economics: Independent economic research and forecasting firm providing macroeconomic analysis to institutional, government, and corporate clients globally. Highly comparable to ASR on the economics and macro-strategy side, including proprietary datasets and subscription-based delivery. (ASR's European Economist Ben Blanchard joined from Capital Economics.)
• CFRA (Center for Financial Research and Analysis): Independent investment research firm offering fundamental equity, fund, and macro research to institutional clients on a subscription basis. Comparable to ASR in independent research subscription model, with a more equity-research-weighted product mix. (ASR's Head of UK Sales James Warden joined from CFRA.)
• GaveKal Research: Independent global investment research firm specializing in macro, Asian, and emerging-markets analysis delivered via subscription to institutional clients. Comparable to ASR in macro research subscription model with a particular strength in Asia/EM that overlaps with ASR's emerging markets coverage.
• BCA Research: Independent macro research firm providing global investment strategy research across asset allocation, economics, and asset classes to institutional clients on a subscription basis. Closely comparable to ASR on product scope, subscription model, and institutional client focus.
• TS Lombard: Independent macro and cross-asset research firm headquartered in London, offering subscription-based macro strategy, asset allocation, and thematic research to institutional clients. Highly comparable to ASR in product scope, client base, distribution model, and London roots. (ASR's Head of Multi-Asset Strategy Andrea Cicione joined from TS Lombard.)
• Variant Perception: Independent research firm providing subscription-based macro and cross-asset research to institutional clients, with proprietary analytical frameworks. Comparable to ASR in subscription model, proprietary research approach, and institutional client focus.
• Roubini Global Economics (now Rosa & Roubini Associates): Independent global macroeconomics and strategy research firm serving institutional clients with subscription-based research and advisory services. Comparable to ASR in macro research subscription model and institutional client base. (ASR's Head of Emerging Markets Adam Wolfe joined from Roubini Global Economics.)
• MRB Partners: Independent global macro and multi-asset research firm offering subscription-based strategy research to institutional investors. Comparable to ASR in product mix (macro, multi-asset, allocation) and distribution model. (ASR's Head of Emerging Markets Adam Wolfe joined from MRB.)

Broad incumbents

• UBS Investment Bank Research: Global bulge-bracket sell-side investment bank whose equity strategy, economics, and macro research teams historically competed directly with ASR. Multiple ASR senior leaders (Ian Harnett, Nick Nelson) joined from UBS. Comparable on research content but operates with banking and execution revenue cross-subsidies that ASR cannot access.
• Bloomberg Intelligence: Bloomberg's research and analytics arm offering macro, equity, and industry research to institutional subscribers as part of the broader Bloomberg Terminal ecosystem. Comparable to ASR in macro and equity research content but distributed as a bundle with Bloomberg's data platform and at scale that ASR cannot match.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asr_london
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/711414

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Absolute Strategy Research