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After being clobbered in the aftermath of the dot com bubble, equity researchers were just starting to look perky again. But with banks now looking to cut costs wherever they can, poor old researchers are back to being bludgeoned.

By our own reckoning, everywhere from Bear Stearns to Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Citigroup have been lynching research professionals.

Zaki Ahmed, a research-focused headhunter at Sammons Associates, says the pain for resarchers isn’t over yet: “There has been a change from last year, with a lot of uncertainty making for tough markets. There are more redundancies to come.”

Fortunately, smaller firms have been riding to the rescue. Ahmed says boutiques are mopping up top researchers for knock-down prices: “There are opportunistic gains to be made by boutique firms that are picking up talent at affordable rates. They do not have to buy out top researchers with huge guarantees.”

One head of equity research, who asked not to be named, agrees the mid and small end of the market has yet to feel the pinch.

“Equity research has been under pressure for a number of years, but it is not across the board. Global banks have made a number of strategic decisions to cut staff, but that has not filtered through to smaller banks,” he says.

Researchers focused on commodities, or those with emerging markets experience, are in greatest demand. There are also potential opportunities for small cap analysts, following the London Stock Exchange’s appointment of three research houses to provide data on AIM listed companies.