Vista Research

Vista Research was one of the pioneers of the expert network industry. Founded in 2001, it grew quickly in tandem with GLG, until it was acquired by S&P in 2005.

At this time, every expert network had a cool name. Whereas GLG had "the GLG Council", Vista ran "the Society of Industry Leaders".

Vista was a high-growth darling of the financial research industry, but soon turned toxic for S&P. In 2007, the New York State Attorney General began investigating Vista and GLG in relation to insider trading probes.

S&P soon sought to divest the company, eventually selling to Guidepoint in 2009 for between $10-13m, booking a $14m loss. The company was merged into Guidepoint, and the Vista brand name was no longer used.

Vista Research spinoffs

Vista employees have gone on to start other successful expert networks:

• 2005 - Primary Insight started as an in-house expert network at Bear Stearns.

• 2008 - Ridgetop Research was founded.

• 2010 - Mosaic Research was founded.

• 2017 - Askvisory was rebooted by a CEO with a background at Vista.

FAQ

Is Vista Research still active? No. Vista Research was sold to Guidepoint in 2009 and fully merged into that company; the Vista brand is no longer used.

What did Vista Research specialize in? Vista Research specialized in connecting institutional investors with industry experts, operating as one of the earliest firms in the expert network industry before its 2005 acquisition by S&P and eventual 2009 sale to Guidepoint.

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