What Longview Economics does

Longview Economics is a London-based independent macro research and investment advisory firm founded in 2003 by Chris Watling (CEO and Chief Market Strategist), operating through Longview Economics Limited, a UK private limited company registered with Companies House and an appointed representative of FCA-authorised Messels Ltd. The firm generates intelligent, objective investment advice free from sell-side conflicts for institutional and high-net-worth clients globally, with publicly cited coverage spanning the United Kingdom, the Eurozone, the United States, Canada, Australia, and China.

Its research output is anchored on a suite of proprietary quantitative models developed and refined over more than 20 years, including a Liquidity Indicator that the firm states has correctly forecasted all of the last six US recessions, a Tactical Asset Allocation framework combining proprietary quant signals with behavioural and liquidity inputs over a 1-4 month horizon, a Risk Appetite Gauge (RAG), a SELL-off Indicator for forecasting risk-aversion waves, and the Colvin Model for measuring global risk-asset breadth. These feed a multi-horizon product architecture covering daily briefings (Daily Dose of Macro & Markets, Daily RAG), weekly publications (The Short View, Longview on Friday, China-India Weekly), tactical and strategic asset allocation (Tactical Equity Asset Allocation; Quarterly Global Asset Allocation with a 6-24 month horizon), thematic macro coverage (Global Macro Reports, Longview Letters), and commodities research, distributed through PDF briefings, slide decks, raw data, video commentary, and a podcast series.

The business is monetised through recurring annual research subscriptions to institutional clients (multi-asset portfolio managers, private banks, wealth management teams, investment consultants, and CIOs), team and firm-wide licensing arrangements, ad hoc consultancy engagements, and increasingly through self-serve free trials and sample-download lead capture for smaller accounts. Operational scale remains boutique — headcount is in the 1-10 range — with distribution concentrated around direct digital delivery and earned media presence in Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Financial Times. Forbes described the firm as 'perhaps the best independent markets and economics research firm' in July 2024.

Name

Longview Economics

Legal name

Longview Economics Limited

Website

https://longvieweconomics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

London-based independent macro research firm founded in 2003, providing subscription-based quantitative macroeconomic research and investment advisory services to institutional investors, advisers, and sophisticated private investors globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Macroeconomic Research and Investment Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Investor Education, Research & Portfolio Analytics Services (Retail) (FSAAAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Long/Short Equity & Market Neutral (Active) (FSAAAIAK), Balanced & Allocation (Multi-Asset) Funds (FSAAAEAD)

Keywords

• Macroeconomic research
• Asset allocation analysis
• Investment advisory services
• Market timing models
• Independent financial research

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Subscription Services: Longview Economics generates revenue through subscription-based access to their research publications including Daily RAG, Monthly Market Outlook, Quarterly Global Asset Allocation, Longview Letters, Commodities reports, and China-India Weekly. Payment is processed via credit or debit card.
2. Consultancy Services: Professional consultancy services offered to institutional clients, subject to terms of engagement issued prior to service delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Longview Economics is an independent macroeconomic research firm that provides subscription-based investment advisory and asset allocation services to institutional investors, wealth managers, family offices, hedge funds, and sophisticated individuals. Its core deliverable is forward-looking, model-driven cross-asset recommendations covering equities, bonds, currencies, commodities, and volatility, packaged as scheduled written research, daily video commentary, event-driven alerts, and bespoke consulting.

Product overview

Longview Economics offers a comprehensive suite of macroeconomic research and investment advisory products delivered through a multi-tiered, multi-horizon platform architecture. The core portfolio includes: (1) short-term products such as The Short View (weekly positioning/sentiment analysis), Daily Dose of Macro & Markets (daily briefs), and Daily RAG (daily risk appetite signals); (2) medium-term Tactical Equity Asset Allocation (1-4 month S&P500 recommendations); (3) strategic products including Quarterly Global Asset Allocation (6-24 month multi-asset portfolio recommendations) and Monthly Global Asset Allocation updates; (4) thematic/long-form content including Longview Letters, Global Macro Reports, and Commodities research; and (5) video/webcast commentary. The products integrate proprietary quantitative models, CFTC positioning data, technical analysis, behavioral finance indicators, and fundamental macro research across equities, bonds, currencies, commodities and volatility asset classes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Asset Allocation Analysis Subscription-based cross-asset allocation research covering equities, bonds, currencies, commodities and volatility, providing institutional and sophisticated individual clients with forward-looking tactical allocation recommendations derived from Longview's proprietary quantitative models.
• Tactical Equity Asset Allocation Recurring equity-focused tactical asset allocation research for institutional clients and wealth managers, delivering model-driven equity positioning calls as part of the Asset Allocation Analysis subscription.
• Quarterly Global Asset Allocation Quarterly global cross-asset allocation outlook providing institutional clients with a forward-looking, model-driven view on positioning across equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and volatility.
• Thematic Macro Research Subscription-based thematic macroeconomic research delivering in-depth, long-form analysis of secular macro themes and structural trends for institutional investors and advisers.
• Shortview Video Commentary Subscription-based daily and short-form video macro and market commentary from Longview's senior strategists, providing rapid-fire updates on market-moving themes for time-pressed institutional and individual subscribers.
• The Short View Daily short-form video market commentary authored by Chris Watling, providing a concise same-day view on global markets and macro developments for subscribers.
• Event Driven Research Alerts Ad-hoc event-driven research alerts issued to subscribers in response to material macro or market events, delivering rapid, model-informed views outside the regular research schedule.
• Longview Letters Long-form thematic research letters providing deep-dive analysis of structural macro and market themes for institutional clients and sophisticated individual subscribers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully delivered positive alpha in 14 of the last 15 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Messels LtdcoreOthersLongview Economics Ltd is an appointed representative of Messels Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This regulatory relationship is essential for their ability to provide investment research and advisory services in the UK.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Société Générale Cross Asset Research: Sell-side cross-asset research franchise of a major global bank offering macro, strategy, and quantitative research — a much larger incumbent providing overlapping but broader research that competes for institutional budget.

Emerging players

• CrossBorder Capital: Independent macro research firm specialising in liquidity-driven capital flow analysis — a thematic peer with overlapping quantitative-liquidity methodology directly comparable to Longview's Liquidity Indicator franchise.
• Variant Perception: Independent research firm focused on thematic and cross-asset macro insights — an adjacent independent peer with overlapping macro coverage but a smaller, more thematic product set.

Direct peers

• Ned Davis Research: US-based independent investment research firm providing quantitative-driven asset allocation and market timing research to institutional subscribers — closely comparable on the quant-timing model offering and institutional subscription model.
• BCA Research: Montreal-based independent global macro research firm selling subscriptions to institutional investors with proprietary cyclical indicators and asset allocation frameworks — the closest direct analogue to Longview's subscription model, scale, and client base.
• TS Lombard: London-based independent macro research house offering multi-asset strategy, sector, and thematic research to institutional clients — comparable in size, geographic focus, and subscription-based delivery of independent macro and asset allocation views.
• Lombard Street Research: Independent macro and multi-asset research firm offering global economic and investment strategy to institutional clients — a London-based peer with a similar boutique scale and methodology-driven subscription product.
• Capital Economics: London-headquartered independent macroeconomics research firm selling subscription-based country and global economics research to institutional and corporate clients — directly comparable in mission, channel, and tone of independent macro research.
• Gavekal Research: Independent global research firm providing macroeconomic and asset allocation research with deep Asia coverage, serving institutional investors — closely comparable to Longview's institutional subscription model and multi-asset macro orientation.

Others

• Institute of International Finance (IIF): Global association of financial institutions publishing macroeconomic and capital markets research — a thematically adjacent research provider serving institutional clients with macro content, useful as a competitive reference for institutional macro research distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZwuNwDW8qCFm3rv8VIaVOw?sub_confirmation=1
• Xx.com/Lvieweconomics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/longview-economics-limited

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Longview Economics