A veteran fundster just took over marketing for a third-party investment research shop with the "mission to democratize investment research" and an eye towards alliances with mutual fund firms and other asset managers.

Michael Rodov Market Realist Founder, Chief Executive Officer

Market Realist founder and CEO Michael Rodov confirms that last month PowerShares co-founder Jason Schoepke joined as Market Realist's first chief marketing officer and its second C-suite executive (after Rodov himself). Watch for Schoepke to amp up the independent research provider's branding and product offerings, even as they prep a subscription service.

Rodov started Market Realist in 2012 and launched MarketRealist.com in 2013. He now has more than 60 analysts on staff producing about 3,600 research pieces each month covering a "broad range of categories," including: master limited partnerships, real estate investment trusts, and closed-end funds, as well as ETFs and traditional open-end mutual funds. The site is free to access and supported by ads from the likes of fund firms, and the idea is offer institutional-quality investment research to financial advisors, investment professionals, and high net worth investors.

"We provide a variety of products for asset managers," like custom research, site advertising, and tools, Rodov tells MFWire. "We co-produce research with a handful of some of the largest asset managers in the world."

Jason Schoepke Market Realist Chief Marketing Officer

"We're not regulated by Finra. We're independent," Rodov adds. "We can compare products and publish that without going through your compliance."

As for Schoepke, he spent a dozen years at PowerShares (now part of Invesco), first as the ETF shop's sales and marketing manager, then as CMO. An alumnus of John Brown University, he worked at First Trust and Advantax before joining PowerShares in 2003.

Rodov notes that PowerShares has grown into the fourth largest ETF shop in the business and praises Schoepke as being "really widely successful ... building a large firm in the space."

"Jason did work on some projects with us," Rodov says, calling Jason "a tremendous cultural fit" with the Market Realist team. "We really valued his approach to marketing."

Schoepke, for his part, puts his move to Market Realist into the context of the broader rise of independent broker-dealers and RIAs.

"A lot of assets have transitioned over to the fee-based business. Lots of organizations that have grown may not have the opportunity to attain the kind of research available at a wirehouse," Schoepke tells MFWire.

Market Realist, Schoepke says, offers those indy B-Ds and RIAs and their FAs the opportunity "to really outsource [their] in-house research."

Looking ahead to 2016, Rodov has something new in mind for both institutional and retail users of Market Realist's research.

"We also are planning to launch a subscription version next year," Rodov says.

Schoepke plans to help Rodov develop new products and beef up Market Realist's brand.

"It kind of starts with some of the infrastructure elements of formalizing and structuring the brand, communicating that" internally and externally, Schoepke says, "really developing that identity that can be recognizable and consistent and professional." 

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