Zacks Investment Research (ZIR) was formed in 1978 to compile, analyze, and distribute brokerage research to both institutional and individual investors.
In 1978, the team at Zacks set out to find patterns in brokerage research data that would serve as an accurate indicator of the future direction of stock price. What we discovered is that Earnings Per Share (EPS) estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices. This led to a groundbreaking article by Leonard Zacks, PhD, published in the Financial Analysts Journal in 1979 entitled EPS Forecasts - Accuracy Is Not Enough.
Based on this seminal work, Zacks created the Zacks Rank which is a quantitative model that uses 4 factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups with #1 Rank being the highest and #5 Rank being the lowest.
To run our quantitative models requires a massive undertaking. Today Zacks recieves daily electronic data feeds and printed research reports on over 4,000 companies from over 220 brokerage firms, provided by more than 3,500 analysts. In response to the SEC Research Settlement, we expanded our research department to include 50 analysts, located in the US, Europe and Asia, who cover over 1,100 companies.
In 1992, after significant quantitative analysis demonstrated strategy efficacy, we formed Zacks Investment Management (ZIM). ZIM gives investors the opportunity to benefit from our expertise in estimate revisions and risk management. As a subsidiary of Zacks Investment Research (ZIR), ZIM has unlimited access to ZIR's analysts who provide unbiased research to aid in the management of Zacks' strategies.
Zacks Investment Management is an SEC registered investment advisory firm that specializes in equity management for institutional investors through our separately managed accounts and limited partnerships. Based in Chicago, IL, the firm manages over $1.1 billion in assets as of December 31, 2006.