Bowyer Research
Bowyer Research is a Boston-based consulting firm offering custom anti-ESG proxy voting guidelines, macroeconomic forecasting, and corporate governance advisory services to institutional investors, including state pension plans and sovereign wealth funds managing nearly $100bn in AUM.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Bowyer Research does
Bowyer Research is a Boston-based, privately held financial consulting firm specializing in proxy voting policy, corporate governance advisory, macroeconomic forecasting, and portfolio construction services for institutional investors. The firm's flagship product is the Bowyer Research Proxy Voting Guidelines — a custom proxy voting framework rooted in shareholder primacy that evaluates corporate proposals through the standard of pecuniary benefit to investors and actively counters ESG-oriented measures. The guidelines are codified and distributed through all four major US proxy advisory platforms (ISS, Glass Lewis, Egan-Jones, and Broadridge), giving institutional investors an alternative to mainstream ESG-tilted house policies. The firm also produces a probability-based macroeconomic forecasting tool covering 40 countries, an extensive research library of over 300 white papers plus roughly 400 position papers, and annual Shareholder Engagement Reports.
The firm serves state pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, religious and values-based institutions, and other public fiduciaries managing nearly $100bn in aggregate AUM. Named engagements include the Texas Permanent School Fund, Louisiana State Treasury, Morgan Stanley (Christian values toolkit), and Catholic University of America. The business model combines licensing of proxy voting guidelines (deployed via the proxy advisory platforms) with professional consulting services spanning portfolio construction, asset allocation, macroeconomic forecasting, and corporate engagement across roughly 4,000 annual shareholder meetings and approximately 40,000 proposals per year.
Operationally, the firm is founder-owned and family-operated with 7 employees, all from the Bowyer family or closely affiliated personnel. Jerry Bowyer (CEO) is an economist and media commentator, Susan Bowyer (President/COO) brings deep proxy voting platform expertise across all four advisory services, and supporting staff handle macroeconomic analytics, web technology, statistics/AI, and corporate engagement. The firm has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and operates as a deliberately small boutique focused on a politically and ideologically distinct niche within the institutional governance advisory market.
Bowyer Research firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bowyer Research
- Legal name
- Bowyer Research
- Website
- https://bowyerresearch.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Bowyer Research is a Boston-based consulting firm offering custom anti-ESG proxy voting guidelines, macroeconomic forecasting, and corporate governance advisory services to institutional investors, including state pension plans and sovereign wealth funds managing nearly $100bn in AUM.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bowyer Research industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Institutional Investment Advisory & Proxy Governance Consulting
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Stewardship & Active Ownership (Engagement, Proxy Voting, Shareholder Advocacy) (FSAAALAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Proxy Voting & Shareholder Meetings (AGM/EGM) (FSACAKAB), Proxy Voting & Shareholder Meeting Services (FSAFALAD), Research Compliance & Governance (FSACAGAK)
Keywords
Where Bowyer Research is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Bowyer Research business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Proxy Voting Guidelines Licensing: Bowyer Research provides custom proxy voting guidelines to institutional investors through partnerships with major proxy advisory services. The guidelines are used by state pension plans and sovereign wealth funds representing nearly $100bn in AUM.
- Consulting Services: Portfolio construction and asset allocation consulting, macroeconomic forecasting, and corporate engagement consulting services for institutional investors and public fiduciaries.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Custom proxy voting guidelines for institutional investors |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Bowyer Research product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bowyer Research develops and licenses custom proxy voting guidelines for institutional investors, and provides portfolio construction, asset allocation, macroeconomic forecasting, and corporate engagement consulting. The proxy voting guidelines are designed around shareholder primacy and traditional fiduciary duty (as opposed to ESG/stakeholder capitalism) and are distributed through ISS, Glass Lewis, Egan-Jones, and Broadridge to state pension plans and sovereign wealth funds representing nearly $100bn in AUM.
Product overview
Bowyer Research is a financial consulting firm offering a suite of investment and corporate governance services. Its core product is the Bowyer Research Proxy Voting Guidelines, a custom proxy voting policy available on major platforms including ISS, Glass Lewis, Egan-Jones, and Broadridge. The firm also provides portfolio construction and asset allocation consulting, macroeconomic forecasting, and corporate engagement services. The proxy voting guidelines are designed for investors prioritizing shareholder primacy over ESG/stakeholder capitalism approaches, and are used by state pension plans and sovereign wealth funds. Research publications including the Shareholder Engagement Report support the firm's advisory offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Bowyer Research Proxy Voting Guidelines Custom proxy voting policy framework for institutional investors, available on all major proxy advisory platforms (ISS, Glass Lewis, Egan-Jones, Broadridge). Guidelines evaluate proposals through the standard of pecuniary benefit to investors and actively oppose ESG proposals deemed to divert focus from shareholder returns.
- Portfolio Construction and Asset Allocation Consulting Consulting services on portfolio construction and asset allocation provided to institutional investors and public fiduciaries.
- Macroeconomic Forecasting Service Probability-based macroeconomic forecasting covering 40 countries for growth and inflation predictions; benchmarked as more accurate than IMF economic forecasts and used as one of three inputs in asset allocation by a major asset manager.
- Corporate Engagement and Proxy Voting Consulting Corporate engagement consulting including consulting on proxy votes at annual shareholder meetings and proposals, with engagement directed at publicly traded companies.
- Shareholder Engagement Report Annual written research report on proxy voting policies and shareholder engagement analysis, provided to clients and made available on the firm's website.
Companies that use Bowyer Research
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Bowyer Research technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature3 records
Bowyer Research partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services)flagshipBowyer Research created the Bowyer Research Proxy Voting Guidelines option for ISS, the world's largest and most influential proxy advisory service. The guidelines are implemented through ISS's coding and implementation system.
- Glass LewiscoreProxy advisory service offering Bowyer Research proxy voting guidelines alongside ISS.
- Egan-Jones Proxy ServicescoreAnnounced availability of the Bowyer Policy from Bowyer Research as a new proxy voting policy offering on its research platform for institutional investors.
- BroadridgecoreProxy advisory service offering Bowyer Research proxy voting guidelines.
- Catholic University of AmericacoreConsulted with Catholic University of America, the pontifical university of the US Catholic bishops, in the creation of their proxy voting guidelines, which are now also available on all platforms.
- Morgan StanleyminorHelped in the creation of Morgan Stanley's Christian values toolkit for proxy voting.
- State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF)coreJerry Bowyer serves on the SFOF national advisory committee. The foundation represents state financial officers who may utilize Bowyer Research proxy voting guidelines.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bowyer Research competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS): The world's largest and most influential proxy advisory service. ISS is both a direct competitor providing default proxy voting policies and a distribution partner hosting Bowyer Research's custom guidelines, making it the closest comparable in both product and channel.
- Glass Lewis: Second of the dominant proxy advisory firms (ISS and Glass Lewis together hold ~97% market share). Glass Lewis competes with ISS on default policy recommendations while also distributing Bowyer Research's alternative policy, making it a directly comparable product-and-channel peer.
- Egan-Jones Proxy Services: Third major proxy advisory service offering institutional voting recommendations. Egan-Jones offers Bowyer Research's policy as a custom option on its research platform, and is comparable as a smaller, more customizable proxy advisory competitor.
Emerging players
- As You Sow: Nonprofit shareholder advocacy and engagement firm that files shareholder proposals and engages corporations on ESG and sustainability issues. Comparable as a proxy voting/engagement services organization, though ideologically opposed in its pro-ESG stance.
- Inspire Investing: Values-based/Biblical-responsible investing ETF sponsor with explicit screening and proxy voting policies aligned with conservative Christian values. Comparable to Bowyer Research as a values-aligned investment services firm with proprietary governance policy frameworks.
- Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS): Values-based investment manager that integrates Catholic social teaching into proxy voting and corporate engagement. CBIS is comparable as a faith-based institution that has built its own proxy voting framework, intersecting with Bowyer Research's values-based guidelines approach.
- Heartland Capital Strategies: Advisory firm focused on anti-ESG and fiduciary-first investment policy advocacy for state treasurers and public officials. Comparable to Bowyer Research in its ideological positioning and target segment of state financial officers and public pension plans.
- Walden Asset Management: Sustainable investment manager with deep ESG-focused proxy voting and engagement practices serving institutional clients. Comparable to Bowyer Research as a mission-driven proxy voting policy provider for institutional investors, though representing the opposing ESG-oriented ideological segment.
Broad incumbents
- Broadridge: Provides proxy voting infrastructure and platform services that institutional investors rely on for vote execution. Broadridge distributes Bowyer Research's guidelines through its voting portal and is comparable as a broad incumbent in the proxy voting infrastructure stack.
Others
- Marco Consulting Group: Investment consulting firm specializing in public fund and Taft-Hartley plan advisory, including proxy voting and corporate governance consulting. Comparable as an adjacent institutional consulting peer serving the same public-pension client segment that Bowyer Research targets with proxy guidelines.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Bowyer Research social profiles
Digital presenceBowyer Research financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bowyer Research leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Bowyer Research funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bowyer Research M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bowyer Research
What does Bowyer Research do?
Bowyer Research develops and licenses custom proxy voting guidelines for institutional investors, and provides portfolio construction, asset allocation, macroeconomic forecasting, and corporate engagement consulting. The proxy voting guidelines are designed around shareholder primacy and traditional fiduciary duty (as opposed to ESG/stakeholder capitalism) and are distributed through ISS, Glass Lewis, Egan-Jones, and Broadridge to state pension plans and sovereign wealth funds representing nearly $100bn in AUM.
Is Bowyer Research a public or private company?
Bowyer Research is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Bowyer Research founded?
Bowyer Research was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Bowyer Research based?
Bowyer Research is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bowyer Research make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Proxy Voting Guidelines Licensing is the primary driver. The others are consulting Services.
Who are Bowyer Research's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Glass Lewis and Egan-Jones Proxy Services. Emerging players are As You Sow, Inspire Investing, Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), Heartland Capital Strategies and Walden Asset Management. Broadridge is listed as a broad incumbent. Marco Consulting Group is listed as an others.
Does Bowyer Research have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bowyer Research.
What industry is Bowyer Research in?
Bowyer Research's product category is Institutional Investment Advisory & Proxy Governance Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAALAD, Stewardship & Active Ownership (Engagement, Proxy Voting, Shareholder Advocacy), with a secondary code of FSACAKAB, Proxy Voting & Shareholder Meetings (AGM/EGM). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.