HSBC expands small and mid-cap equity research teams

HSBC has announced that it is expanding its small and mid-cap equity research teams, with new hires in the UK and Hong Kong. 

The new additions to the equity research teams ‘demonstrate the increasing importance of small and mid-cap stocks to investor portfolios globally,’ says the bank in a press statement.

It adds that the newly expanded team will ‘address the significant gap between the investment requirements of small/mid-cap companies and institutional investors.’

HSBC notes that the UK small and mid-cap market – which it says is valued at £500 bn ($658 bn) – is not widely covered. David Phillips, head of equity research for developed Europe, says: ‘Our aim is to produce in-depth quality research, to understand the businesses and their supply chains fully.’

The news follows around two years of warnings that small-cap companies in particular would be hard hit by cuts to equity research after the introduction of Mifid II, which came into force at the start of 2018. 

In London, five new analysts will be added to the small and mid-cap equity research effort. These are:

• Mike Tyndall, who joins from Citi and will focus on UK mid-cap industrials and industrial technology
• Dan Cowan, joining from Investec, to cover UK mid-cap commercial services
• Two UK mid-cap generalists in the form of Anand Date and Joe Spooner, who join from Deutsche Bank and Jefferies, respectively
• Doriana Russo, who joins the consumer and retail research team from JPMorgan

In Hong Kong, York Pun joins HSBC as head of small and mid-cap equity research for Asia-Pacific, with the bank noting that ‘the team will focus on ASEAN, Hong Kong and China-listed companies and add 150 small and mid-cap companies to its coverage’.