Edison Group, the international equity research and investor access firm, has appointed Tom Teichman as chairman to support its continued global growth plans.
Teichman brings a proven track record in helping grow an array of innovative companies into sector-based leaders. He has helped shape many businesses to enable them to become successful disrupters in established markets by either creating new markets or permanently changing the nature of those markets.
With his deep expertise in finance and technology, Teichman's experience includes helping Mergermarket, as the first backer of the M&A deals intelligence service, realise its growth and value and, as the first external investor in lastminute.com, guiding the online travel firm towards its ground-breaking flotation. More recently Teichman has backed Kobalt Music, Mind Candy, the creators of Moshi Monsters, notonthehighstreet.com, Squawka, Hardlyeverwornit, Doctify and Elevate Direct.
Teichman will work closely with the Edison board, which continues to be led by Fraser Thorne, CEO based in London, Peter Molloy, head of Edison US, and Neil Shah, director of research. The arrival of Teichman will further accelerate the growth of Edison’s successfully established model in providing quality independent equity research. Since its formation in 2003, Edison has transformed the way companies and investors have been able to access new pools of capital and in-depth, high-quality equity research, and today serves more than 400 clients supported by over 110 staff, representing a 50% increase over the past four years.
Current regulatory changes relating to the provision and funding of equities research, as prescribed by the EU under various MIFID directives, are helping to accelerate the fundamental decline in broker research, which in turn is creating even more demand for Edison's services.
Edison's clients include London Stock Exchange, Smith & Nephew, National Grid, WPP and HSBC and an array of mid-cap companies across Europe, Asia and the US.
Over the past four years Edison has expanded out of its London hub to open offices in Sydney, Wellington, Frankfurt, New York and more recently in Tel Aviv in response to demand for its services. It has also started working with a number of stock exchanges globally to help provide equities research for national and dual-listed companies.
Teichman started his career in insurance at Willis Faber before joining Bankers Trust as an economist. He moved to Credit Suisse then Bank of Montreal Nesbitt Thomson ultimately becoming head of European investment banking before taking his investment banking acumen to the technology sector in the early 1990s just as the full potential of the internet was being realised for general business growth.
During his career Teichman has helped raised over GBP3 billion for companies. In addition to lastminute.com, Teichman's technology and media investments include System C, ARC and Argonaut, which he has helped grow either via successful listings and initial public offerings or trade sales.
He founded SPARK Ventures in 1996 which listed in 1999. More recently in 2014 he co-founded The Garage Soho, a start-up incubator, with Sir John Hegarty, one of the founders of advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, which invests in and helps build the brands of tech and creative start-ups.
Fraser Thorne, CEO of Edison, says: “We are delighted Tom has joined the board of Edison as chairman. Tom brings an understanding of how to maximise gains from disruption to markets from technological innovation, ensuring that the companies he is involved with become successful leaders in their field.
Edison will benefit both from Tom’s business leadership and deep expertise in conjoining finance and technology-enabling change for sectors undergoing fundamental shifts in the way they operate. Edison is at the forefront of permanent changes in the provision and dissemination of quality equity-related products and services."
Tom Teichman, chairman of Edison, says: “The opportunities ahead are significant as Edison moves into its next stage of successful growth after many years of good expansion. Edison has been bold and taken its proven success based on total independence and trust from corporates and investors already, from London to other major financial centres. I am looking forward to bringing my experience in investment banking, research, tech and growing businesses to help accelerate that growth in Europe and the opportunity that still awaits in the US and across Asia-Pac.
Edison stands to benefit significantly from the fall-out from the new and major regulatory and market-driven issues faced by investment banks and brokers in the provision of equities research. Investors are clearly seeking information about the next investment opportunity but they do not want this sullied by conflicted positions and commentators, which is not helpful for a calm, unbiased assessment of a company’s value and prospects. Edison cuts through this by providing in-depth, independent views on a company’s prospects and is developing the standard by which all equity research is already measured in the UK and I am delighted to help drive our future success in the USA and other major markets.”
