Citi broadens its scope to delve into private sector research initiatives.
In a significant move, global financial services giant Citi has announced that it is expanding its research coverage to include around 100 large private companies, primarily tech firms in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace, and cloud computing. This initiative aims to fill the transparency gap caused by the decline in public company listings and the rise of influential private tech firms with high valuations, such as AI developers like Anthropic.
The strategic expansion comes as Citi acknowledges the shift towards private markets as a significant structural change in the financial landscape over the past 10-15 years. Heath Terry, previously from Goldman Sachs and other prominent firms, has been appointed as the head of technology and communications research at Citi, leading this new direction.
Citi's research approach for these private firms involves fundamental analysis through direct engagement with their customers, vendors, and partners—similar to how they cover public companies—focusing on event-driven factors like product launches, customer acquisitions, and R&D spending. However, these reports will not include price targets or buy/sell recommendations.
This move aligns Citi with similar moves by other major banks like JPMorgan Chase, as they all seek to better understand and track innovation and market impact within the private tech sector.
Meanwhile, Citi Vietnam has announced a leadership transition in Vietnam, with Ramachandran AS leaving his position as country officer and banking head for Citi Vietnam and Citibank Ho Chi Minh City's general director. Ramachandran is returning to London to pursue other opportunities.
In a separate development, Citi is enhancing client experience with CitiService Agent Assist, a generative AI-powered solution for customer service agents.
Citi's goal is to identify how different profit pools will be disrupted and which companies, whether private or public, may emerge as winners or losers in this rapidly evolving landscape. The focus on approximately 100 large and influential private firms, primarily in the tech sector, will allow Citi to publish research when these firms undertake actions relevant to broader markets, complementing their existing public company research with access and commentary on private companies.
- Heath Terry, the new head of technology and communications research at Citi, will lead the firm's strategic expansion into the research of around 100 large private companies, primarily tech firms in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), aerospace, and cloud computing, as they aim to better understand and track innovation and market impact within the private tech sector.
- Citi's focus on approximately 100 large and influential private firms, primarily in the tech sector, will allow them to publish research when these firms undertake actions relevant to broader markets, forming part of their goal to identify how different profit pools will be disrupted and which companies, whether private or public, may emerge as winners or losers in this rapidly evolving business landscape, with a particular focus on technology.
