Direct Access Partners, LLC Adds Merchant Forecast to Alternative Research Group

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Direct Access Partners, LLC (Direct Access), a diversified institutional financial services firm, today announced an exclusive partnership with independent research firm Merchant Forecast, LLC. Merchant Forecast will provide coverage of the retail sector as part of the Direct Access Alternative Research Group (ARG).

“Merchant Forecast has become one of the leading resources for institutional investors in the retail space and we’re excited to be working with them”

Merchant Forecast provides actionable investment insight into the retail sector utilizing more than 150 mall-based retailers across the U.S. This proprietary field team channels information back to the group’s senior analysts, themselves retail industry veterans. This unique primary research model – built and driven by retailers – is designed to give asset managers a definable edge.

“Merchant Forecast has become one of the leading resources for institutional investors in the retail space and we’re excited to be working with them,” said Mike Dolan, Managing Director of the Alternative Research Group. “The backgrounds of these analysts – all former merchandising managers – combined with the firm’s proprietary field team and detailed, relevant monthly data, is what makes the research so valuable to investment managers,” he added.

ARG’s goal is to generate alpha for institutional investors by providing them with actionable information and content derived from high-quality independent sources. ARG continues to focus on acquisitions of, and exclusive relationships with, highly-differentiated analyst teams across different industry sectors.

“The experience of the sales and trading teams at Direct Access provides an ideal fit for our clients,” said Dan Hess, founder and CEO of Merchant Forecast. “Our 11-year track record of adding value to investment decisions creates a win-win for us and the Direct Access client base,” he added.

About Merchant Forecast:

Merchant Forecast was founded by veteran merchant Dan Hess. Believing that no one can evaluate a retailer better than other retailers, Merchant Forecast built a proprietary field team of over 150 mall-based retailers across the US. This field team provides a constant flow of ground-level information on retail conditions filtered by the judgment and experience of the firm’s in-house merchant analysts. Simultaneously, the in-house analysts conduct their own mall-based research, resulting in unique insight and actionable ideas across retail companies and sectors.

About Direct Access:

Direct Access Partners, LLC (Direct Access) is a diversified institutional financial services firm founded in 2002. It has a platform of unique business verticals that allow experienced institutional sell-side trading teams and product groups, each with demonstrated success in their specialized fields, the flexibility to provide custom solutions to best serve their clients.

Clients receive unparalleled blend of expertise, personalized service and operational excellence. Direct Access Partners offers a well-rounded suite of institutional products, including agency trading in global equities, global fixed income, listed derivatives, commission management, introduced prime services, capital introduction, capital raising, capital markets and alternative research.

The firm received their minority and women business enterprise (MWBE) designation in 2007 and has been certified by numerous states, cities and counties. It operates from offices in New York, Boston, Miami and St. Louis.

Direct Access is a member of NYSE Euronext, FINRA, MSRB, NFA and SIPC.

For more information about Direct Access Partners, LLC please refer to our website at www.daptrading.com.