Credit Suisse First Boston is reshuffling its mortgage-backed securities research to provide more actionable trade ideas, as foreign investors ramp up their participation in the market and value becomes harder to find. Satish Mansukhani, director and head of mortgage strategy, said the firm will now come out with a data-intensive weekly piece on the MBS market and will send out trade recommendation blasts on a regular basis. Previously, it included trade ideas in its regular research pieces, often as part of 20-page reports, he said.
"We feel the investor constituency doesn't have the time to go through all of the published research; we're trying to work toward more easy-to-navigate and executable ideas," Mansukhani said, referring to the one-page trade ideas. For example, last week, it advised investors to buy 20-year 5.5s instead of 30-year TBA 5.5s based on relative value and a favorable extension risk profile. He stressed the research will still have to be vetted by compliance before it is sent out, but noted this is a much quicker process for short reports, which should give investors more time to act.
As for the data, Mansukhani said CSFB will strive to include a compendium of data relevant to the mortgage market. "Data is reading the tea leaves and we feel no one is focusing on all of the data. In a lot of [research reports], data is used to support a view," he said.