ConvergEx's low-tech new service

CovergEx sees itself as a leading edge brokerage services and technology fund. One need only look at its recent purchases to get a feel for this. In October, ConvergEx announced a deal to buy Cogent Consulting, a commission management business. The next month it announced a deal to acquire NYFIX's U.S. Transaction Services, which include Millennium, a dark pool. In that same month, it announced a deal to buy NorthPoint Trading Partners, a boutique prime brokerage.

All three deals allow the firm to take on new technology in core areas. But when it comes to the independent research arena, its latest move isn't quite a pure technology play. Instead, it's a good move to acknowledge the demand on the buy-side for access to top industry executives. Its latest service allows sales traders to have direct access to leading executives. Management Access meetings will be limited to a select audience and will feature lengthy Q&A sessions with C-level executives. These sorts of services are must-offers by independents, who face an uncertain future. 

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- here's the release