Kurz has consistently attracted attention. Institutional Investor magazine ranked him the No. 1 equity strategist in Taiwan in 1992, 1996, and 1998, and gave top spot to his research teams in 1994, 1996, and 2000.
"He brings intellectual passion and fervor to his investment research," said Matei Michalca, who was hired by Kurz as an analyst at Merrill Lynch in Taipei. "He's a role model for many of us in the industry."
Kurz is now competing against his former employers to sell corporate research to foreign institutional investors. He distributes his products to institutions through Capital Securities Corp (
Getting institutional money managers to sign up will be a challenge. "We like to maintain our existing relationships," said Francis Wong, who helps manage about US$600 million in Asian stocks ex-Japan at American Express Asset Management Ltd in Hong Kong. "We don't change our broker list that much."
The third leg of his business is a company that runs an investment fund, though Kurz won't say how much the fund has under management or disclose its investment strategy.
He said there's no conflict between his role as a fund adviser and as an analyst who recommends stocks.
"I don't get involved in portfolio management decisions," Kurz said. "I leave that to a colleague in San Francisco."
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