An overview

 

Quest™ is Collins Stewart’s proprietary brand encompassing a global company database, on-line valuation models and analytical tools, and a variety of research publications. Quest™ is innovative, impartial and independent, providing access to 350 data items on 2,800 companies across 28 countries. Our unique Quest™ principles are fully integrated into all of Collins Stewart’s stockbroking services.  To learn more, please follow the link to “An Introduction to Quest™”.

 

Quest™ principles

Developed to assist international equity fund managers, the guiding principles of Quest™ are simple:

 

Corporate wealth creation

 

n        Cash flow returns and sustainability analysis;

n        Identifying key value drivers and assessing business models; and

n        Deployment of capital and capital discipline.

 

Robust valuation framework

 

n        Cash flow modelling;

n        Capital structure considerations; and

n        Embracing ‘other’ valuation factors.

 

Think like an owner

 

n        Aligning management interests with shareholders;

n        Appropriate incentive structures; and

n        Management equity ownership.

 

 

How does Quest™ benefit you?

Quest™ is a one-stop browser-based platform backed by an experienced team of more than 30 professionals. On each company we provide:

n        Summary: In-depth analysis on Strategy, Valuation, Momentum, Commentary, Statistics, Charting, Sensitivity and Modeller.

n        Portfolio & Reports: Allows users to create a portfolio of stocks and compare them using any of the 350 data items in the Quest™ database.

n        Screen for Stocks: Search the Quest™ 2,800 company database and find those stocks that meet your selected criteria. Or use default settings that screen for buy and sell ideas, bond proxies, value destroyers, value creators or takeover candidates.

n        triAngle™: Collins Stewart's proprietary quantitative stock-picking tool that ranks stocks based on measures of Value, Quality and Momentum.

 

Our Cash Flow Return On Capital (CFROC™) methodology is a consistent and disciplined approach that provides a common basis for valuation across sectors, geographies and even time. As discussed below, Quest™ removes the common distortions that bedevil traditional valuation analysis. This approach forms the backbone of Collins Stewart’s research effort.

 

Quest™ data is timely and of the highest quality. The weekly update covers changes in share prices, revised earnings’ estimates, introduction of new corporate events (acquisitions, buybacks, upcoming IPOs etc), publication of new preliminary results and the publication of new accounts. All are updated within a week of issue. In non-UK markets we aim to cover all companies with a market capitalisation of more than US$1bn. This equates to about 85% coverage and keeps stock coverage relevant for Quest™ users.

 

We offer bespoke services – creating customised versions of Quest™ product, or building customised reports for clients. Such products include special stock screens, PortfolioAngle™ and the integration of Quest™ into clients’ intranet.

 

Quest™ is supported by a raft of regular publications. They include:

 

n        CITN™ (Companies in the News) is a weekly summary of our views on topical company and market events as seen through the prism of Quest™. We comment in our unique style, with articles written by the Collins Stewart team of analysts, salesmen and the Quest™ team. Clients can receive CITN™ in any of three formats: on-line, email and hard copy. The online edition gives access to the full archive and keyword searching for 1,000s of previous CITN™ articles.

n        The Newsletter is our equity strategy publication examining the latest issues in valuation, accounting and topical market themes. We look at such pertinent market themes and how we can use Quest™ products and database to analyse their implications.

n        triAngle™ Commentary is a weekly publication that provides clients with trading and investment ideas based on the triAngle™. In addition to buy and sell calls on individual stocks, the document also includes sectorAngle™, sector trends and marketAngle™ – monitoring investment styles and factors driving the market.

 

A quick look at what we offer:

 

Product	UK	Europe	Asia/Africa(1)	US	Global
Quest™	l	l	l	l	l
CITN™	l	l	l	l	–
triAngle™	l	l	l	l	l
Newsletter	l	l	l	–	–
Stock coverage	550	650	700	900	2,800

(1) Includes companies from Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

 

A closer look at Collins Stewart’s valuation approach

Underpinning Quest™ is Collins Stewart’s CFROC™ methodology. This approach makes the shift from an accounting to a cash-based framework to calculate the economic rate of return earned by a company from its operations. Our valuation model provides objective valuations within a discounted cash flow (DCF) framework.

Why do we think it’s superior to accrual accounting? It is in real terms and unaffected by the company's choice of capital structure. This overcomes the limitations of accrual accounting measures by addressing and dealing with, in a consistent manner, such thorny issues as inflation, depreciation, asset life and mix, deferred taxes, holding gains, leases and goodwill. It is also possible for investors to calculate a company's return from published accounts. Overall, there’s a far higher correlation between Quest™ market-to-book and CFROC™/ cost capital, than the traditional relationship of P/E versus EPS growth and price-to-book versus ROE. CFROC™ allows a consistent comparison to be made between companies and across time.

Contact us

Further details on any aspect of Quest™ is available through your Collins Stewart sales contact or by contacting:

Quest™ helpdesk: +44 (0)20 7523 8493 or +1 (212) 584 9106

Email:  questclients@collinsstewart.com