Coleman Launches Interactions Platform

Coleman Research has launched Coleman Exchange, a cloud-based platform that enables buy-side firms to track their research communications and interactions with partners, industry experts, sell-side analysts, and third-party providers.

Users can plug into a single system on a subscription basis to log and monetize their interactions with other participants during phone calls, conference sessions, meetings, and other events.

The platform records key aspects of the research interactions lifecycle and can be used to publish participants’ availability, schedule appointments for consultations, manage subscriptions, and invoice for analysts’ services. Coleman Exchange is designed to produce real-time reports based on research consumption and the underlying cost of each interaction, to comply with EU unbundling rules mandated by the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II).

“The sell side may put a value on a subscription, but because of Mifid II the buy side needs to determine the value of a research report, the value of a phone call and the value of a face-to-face meeting,” says Kevin Coleman, CEO and president of Coleman Research. “So our platform via our subscription management feature can allow the buy side to put a value on a particular phone call down to the minute.”

Sell-side firms commonly track this information using a customer relationship management system, which is later handed to the buy side to fulfill reporting requirements. Coleman explains that this platform will allow buy-side firms to take control of their reporting and document their own correspondence with banks and third parties in real time. Users can also manage entitlements and reverse entitlements, based on availability to select users.

“We also have entitlements, which basically allows sell-side institutions to control which buy-side institutions get to see that availability,” says Coleman. “We also have reverse entitlements, so that buy-side institutions can also control if they want to be able to see the availability of that sell-side analyst on the particular call.”

As an alternative deployment option, the underlying features and functions can also be fully integrated into a firm’s internal system through application programming interfaces (APIs). Looking ahead, Coleman Research has built in a project management capability that will allow buy-side firms in the future to not only manage their correspondence for reporting requirements but organize a historical record for managing projects.