Zacks In The News
For Immediate Release
Zacks CF Research, Crowd Valley Create a Strategic Relationship
New relationship adds value to Crowd Valley and Zacks CF Research by expanding the reach of both companies.
Chicago, Il, April 29th, 2014 - A strategic relationship between two crowdfunding leaders holds the promise of an expanded reach and increased value for both companies. Zacks CF Research, the crowdfunded securities research and valuation arm of Zacks.com, and Crowd Valley (www.crowdvalley.com), an international technology, infrastructure and services company to parties in the crowdfunding and private capital markets sectors, look forward to expanded international services in the partnership.
"The opportunity to expand into foreign markets just cannot be underestimated. The global market for direct investing is huge and getting bigger all the time. International crowdfunding will become increasingly important in the next few years," says Howard Orloff, vice-president and director of Zacks CF Research. In fact, the crowdfunding space has grown in the last five years from a handful of sites to nearly 1,000 securities crowdfunding platforms operating across the world. Crowd Valley CEO, Markus Lampinen said, "the growth and globalization of the crowdfunding and private securities market is driving the need for more information so that investors can make informed decisions. We believe Zacks is well positioned to provide much needed information and transparency in this emerging market, in large part because Zacks is an established and respected public and private company research market leader, with an outstanding reputation among US financial industry actors. This is the type of credibility needed in the international securities crowdfunding space."
He added "Crowd Valley is committed to working with exceptional companies and we look forward to working with Zacks and continuing to expand and develop the services we offer to our customers and partners."
Expanding into international markets is something Zacks CF Research has planned to do from the beginning, Mr. Orloff says. The company was waiting for the right opportunity and the right platform provider to partner with.
"When Zacks CF Research approached Crowd Valley about doing their securities research, we knew this exactly the opportunity we'd been looking for. Crowd Valley operates on six continents, which gives us immediate global access that wasn't possible elsewhere." he said.
For their part, Crowd Valley was looking for a company which could provide independent and reliable valuations for its clientele. "Foreign markets do provide a potential for excellent returns, but obtaining information on foreign investment opportunities could present challenges to investors, simply for the reason that the rules differ from those in the US. By partnering with Zacks we aim at filling this informational gap, providing our customers with reliable information sources, and fostering international investments in the securities crowdfunding market", he added.
About Zacks CF Research
Zacks CF Research provides independent, 3rd party valuation reports for crowdfunded securities offered through our portal partners. Zacks CF Research is the leading provider of crowdfunding valuation reports for Title III, Intrastate and International crowdfunded issues. A division of Zacks Investment Research a multinational firm, based in Chicago, with over 30 years of experience in providing institutional and individual investors with the analytical tools, research and financial information necessary to the success of their investment process. Zacks employs over 600 professionals between our Chicago headquarters and offices overseas. Zacks.com is the second largest independent financial research firm in the nation.
About Crowd Valley Inc
Crowd Valley provides the platform, back office and ecosystem services for crowd funding, peer to peer investing and alternative asset marketplaces for securities professionals. The Crowd Valley infrastructure also allows customers to syndicate investments and tap into networks of investors around the world.
For more information on Crowd Valley, please visit www.crowdvalley.com.
Media Contacts:
Terry Ruffolo, Director Media Relations
(312) 265-9213 or truffolo@zacks.com
Howard Orloff, VP, Zacks CF Research
(312)265-9180 or horloff@zacks.com
