Draft:Argus Research

Founding and early years

Harold B. Dorsey founded Argus Research in January 1934, while serving as chief statistician at the brokerage firm Laird & Co. According to his 1970 obituary in The New York Times, Dorsey established the firm because he believed Wall Street needed a source of objective economic and investment analysis independent of brokerage conflicts. He persuaded Laird & Co. to transfer its annual research budget of $19,100 to the new organization.^[4]

The firm's earliest surviving internal document, dated January 24, 1934, records the first weekly meeting of Argus's "statistical organization," at which Dorsey led discussions of conditions in the oil, chemical, sugar, motor, railroad, and steel industries.^[5]

By the mid-1960s, Argus had grown to a staff of roughly 20 analysts covering approximately 350 stocks, with more than 150 institutional subscribers. A 1967 profile in Business Week described it as providing weekly stock reports, industry studies, and monthly client meetings, and noted that the firm's economic research was regarded by many brokers as among the best in the industry.^[6] A 1967 New York Times brief noted that Argus supplied research to "stock brokers, mutual funds and banks."^[7]

Harold B. Dorsey

Harold B. Dorsey was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from New York University. Before founding Argus, he worked as an economist at Standard Oil of New Jersey for eight years before joining Laird & Co. as chief statistician.

Dorsey served as an economic and financial adviser to officials of the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. For nearly 35 years he wrote the Argus Weekly Staff Report, an analysis of the economy and stock market that was closely followed on Wall Street and in Washington. From 1955 until shortly before his death, he also wrote a weekly column of economic analysis for The Washington Post.

Dorsey was president of Argus until 1961, when he was named board chairman. He died on August 10, 1970, at his home in Harrison, New York, at the age of 70. He was survived by his wife, Marguerite Foster Dorsey, and two sons, Joseph and George, both of whom were involved in the firm's operations.^[8]

Later history

In 1960, the firm established Argus Investors' Counsel, Inc., a subsidiary registered with the SEC as an investment adviser, to provide discretionary portfolio management services.^[9]

In 1976, Argus acquired Vickers Stock Research Corporation, adding insider and institutional ownership data services to its offerings. A Barron's article from August 1977 cited Vickers data in coverage of mutual fund portfolio activity, reflecting the data service's use among institutional investors at that time.^[10]

In 1993, the company established Argus Vickers American Equity Research Ltd. in London to provide equity ownership data for UK-listed securities.^[11]

Joseph Dorsey, a son of the founder, served as president of the firm for many years. Sharon Dorsey Wagoner, a member of the Dorsey family, served as chairman of Argus Investors' Counsel before her recent retirement. By 2002, a Fortune magazine profile noted that a third generation of Dorseys was helping run the company.^[2] John Eade subsequently became president of Argus Research, a position he continues to hold.^[12]

The firm and its analysts have been covered in national financial media over several decades. A May 2004 New York Times feature profiled Argus chief economist Richard Yamarone in the context of employment forecasting disagreements on Wall Street.^[13] In November 2002, The Wall Street Journal included Argus in reporting on Wall Street research practices and the role of independent firms.^[14] In 2006, Time magazine included Argus in a review of analyst performance at independent research firms.^[15]

Shadow Open Market Committee

Beginning in the 1970s, Joseph Dorsey participated in the founding of the Shadow Open Market Committee (SOMC), an independent group of economists formed to offer alternative analysis of Federal Reserve monetary policy. Early SOMC meetings were held at Argus's offices and chaired by Dorsey.^[16]