Burkenroad Reports are widely circulated financial reports on small- to medium-sized companies around the Gulf Coast that are traditionally under-followed by bulge bracket stock analysts. Colloquially the Burkenroad-followed companies are referred to as "stocks under rocks". The reports are published by the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. Under faculty supervision, students work in small groups to produce the reports after visiting companies and interviewing top management. This procedure gives students the opportunity to develop practical stock analysis skills.
History
Burkenroad reports was founded by Peter Ricchiuti in 1993. Since its founding, the reports have gained national attention for their "quality and for avoiding the conflicts inherent when analysts follow a company in which they have financial stake". Over 40 company reports have been published since the project's inception. Twenty-one companies under Burkenroad coverage have been taken over since 1993. The Latin American expansion of the program began in 2001. Later in 2001, The Burkenroad Mutual Fund went live. There are over 400 Burkenroad Reports Tulane alumni in the investment industry. These alumni are colloquially jokingly referred to as "Burkendorks," in reference to their attention to detail and dedication to accurate reporting.
Annual conference
Burkenroad Reports has hosted public investment conferences in New Orleans. The Burkenroad annual conference gives an opportunity for individual and institutional investors to hear directly from top management of Burkenroad-covered companies. The event also provides a forum for students, alumni, and business managers to network with one another.
Mutual fund
The , is managed by and is distributed by SEI Investments. The Burkenroad fund seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks of companies with small capitalizations located or doing business in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The fund managers utilize a quantitative top down approach to picking stocks and use Tulane's Burkenroad Reports as a source of research and analysis when needed. Since inception the fund has outperformed about 94% of domestic equity mutual funds and has significantly outpaced both the Russell 2000 and S&P 500 indexes, although appropriate risk adjustments need to be made.
The Latin American expansion of the Burkenroad Reports started in 2001 when the Inter-American Development Bank issued a grant for the project. Tulane University works in conjunction with universities in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador to provide reports of companies in Latin America. Universities in Guatemala and Ecuador also have plans to participate. The Latin American Burkenroad Reports are .
Objective
Burkenroad Latin America's objective is to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the region by improving its capacity to access financial markets and increasing the local supply of skilled management.
Media coverage
Below is a list of several, but not all, of the media reports on the Burkenroad Reports.
Videos
Peter Ricchiuti & NBR Co-Anchor Paul Kangas, , Nightly Business Report, 21 April 2004.
Kudlow & Company, , CNBC, 22 April 2005.
Peter Ricchiuti, , Nightly Business Report, March 2006.
