Independent Intl Inv Research Announcements

Independent Intl Inv Research PLC
14 March 2008
14th March 08
Independent International Investment Research plc (the "Company")

Research Oracle Launches, Offering Institutional-Grade Equity Research Free To
Institutional and Private Investment Communities

Leading Research Firm Leverages Innovative Advertising Revenue Model to Provide
In-Depth Investment Research On Top 400 Global Stocks Free of Charge
IIR Group plc (LSE: IIR.L), the UK's leading source of impartial research and
strategy for global equities and currencies, has launched The Research OracleTM
(www.researchoracle.com), an online tool available to institutional and private
investors alike which provides institutional-grade research analysis on 400 top
global stocks completely free of charge.

The service, which is already used by seven of the world's largest investment
banks, is being made available as the result of an innovative online advertising
model. The research reports on The Research Oracle are identical to those
available to and used by leading financial institutions.

The research provided by IIR Group plc through Research Oracle is completely
independent since the company has no investment banking, broking or asset
management activities. The Global Research Analyst Settlement implemented in
2004 under Elliot Spitzer (then New York Attorney General) together with the
SEC, NASD, and other U.S. regulatory bodies, provided a much-needed boost to
investor protections by eliminating the financial incentive that encouraged
research analysts at major banks to write undeservedly up-beat reports. However
the Settlement comes to an end next year and consequently The Research Oracle is
its natural successor as the service is funded via advertisers and not
subsidised by investment banking mandates, or payments from the company being
researched.

Shane Smith, CEO of IIR Group plc, commented:

"This launch represents a genuine leap forward for the finance sector as it
allows investors at all points of the spectrum equal access to information and
analysis, the lifeblood of the industry, on a level playing field - from the
smaller private investor, to the investment clubs with a slightly greater vested
interest, to seasoned professionals working for global financial institutions."
One of the independent consultants chosen by the regulators overseeing the
Settlement and a key IIR client, added:

"The Global Research Settlement offered investors an opportunity to receive,
free of charge, unbiased research from a broad spectrum of independent research
providers, one of the best of which is IIR, the sponsor of The Research Oracle,
which offers a much broader universe of investors the same opportunity."

The research information offered by Research Oracle delivers a true picture of
risk and reward for investors that are looking to add foreign shares to their
portfolio and require information regarding both company fundamentals and
currency risk - or possible upside. IIR's long-only model portfolio has been
consistently ranked in the top-three best performing portfolios by Investars, an
independent ratings performance tracking firm, part owned by Goldman Sachs (*).

Information available via Research Oracle is published simultaneously on
Reuters, Bloomberg, Thomson, Capital IQ, Factset, Jaywalk and our other
distribution channels. Users can set up alerts to know when an update is
published on a company of interest to them.

A full schedule of companies covered by the Research Oracle is available here:
http://www.iirgroup.com/products/GER/researchuniverse/. The research can also be
embedded as a widget on third party websites by downloading and embedding a link
from : www.iirgroup.com/index.php/researchoracle/link

(*http://www.investars.com/bvic_universe.asp?coveragematch=0&AlgorithmID=4&
RegionID=4&period=1&NumOfPositions=4&index=0&Trusted=1&itime=0&SearchID=0&
imageField.x=73&imageField.y=13)
About IIR Group

IIR Group plc was established in 1996 and is the UK's leading source of
impartial research and strategy for global equities and currencies for
broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers. The company is
headquartered in London and traded on AIM (LSE: IIR.L). The IIR Group has no
research conflicts - as it does not offer brokerage, investment banking or asset
management services. IIR's research activities are regulated and authorised by
the FSA and registered as an investment advisor with the SEC. .
Press Enquiries:

Pete Goold / Philip Keightley
Punch Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 1858 545 959
Mob: +44 (0) 7830 236824
Email: pete@punchcomms.com / philip@punchcomms.com
Web: www.punchcomms.com

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange