New York, September 9, 2009 – Despite the financial market crisis, 38% of financial analysts use surveys as part of their investment research process, according to a new survey by Integrity Research Associates, a specialist firm which analyzes investment research, and ValueNotes, an authority on the outsourcing industry.

For the study titled ‘Custom Survey Research’, Integrity and ValueNotes surveyed analysts at 86 financial firms, including asset managers and investment banks in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific from April through June 2009. Based on the survey, the report identifies leading survey firms which serve the financial industry.

Surveys gather data through formal or informal polling techniques. Informal surveys have become especially popular with financial analysts. Surveys help investors confirm their investment theses in a quick and efficient manner from primary sources.

“Conducting a successful survey can be challenging but the payoff can be huge - insights not yet valued into the market,” said Michael Mayhew, Integrity’s chairman and an author of the report. “Surveys are one of the few legitimate ways to get proprietary information.”

Integrity’s 151-page ResearchFocus^SM report profiles forty-nine survey firms that provide services to the financial industry. The report includes the survey results of users of custom survey research and includes a forecast of the current size of the custom survey industry by revenue, the future growth of the segment, as well as summary reports on survey firms. Also included is a best practices guide to conducting successful surveys, specially tailored to reflect investors’ research needs.

"Offshore firms have radically changed the survey industry but not all are serving the financial industry" said Arun Jethmalani, head of ValueNotes. "Increasingly, financial analysts are gaining more cost-effective survey options as offshore firms add services tailored to their requirements."

The ResearchFocusSM reports are used as a “buyers guide” by sell-side security analysts, broker liaison staff, research directors and analysts at institutional investors. For additional information on this report, please contact Neeta Joshi at +91 20 6623 1793 / Neeta@valuenotes.com, or visit http://www.sourcingnotes.com/content/view/535/1/ .

About Integrity Research

Integrity Research Associates, LLC is an information and solutions provider specializing in the investment research industry. Its institutional investor clients use Integrity’s services to find new research providers and monitor existing ones. Integrity ResearchSelect® provides confidential, customized searches tailored to investors’ requirements. Integrity covers over 2,600 research firms in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Additional information about Integrity can be found at www.integrity-research.com.

About ValueNotes

ValueNotes is a leading provider of research, intelligence and information services. The ValueNotes Outsourcing Practice is one of the largest information providers on the outsourcing industry. The Practice tracks the outsourcing industry through regular analysis of news and events and continuous primary research and contacts with the industry.