Burkenroad Reports for Latin America (BRLA) is an investment research project originally created in May 2001 through a three-year grant from the Inter-American Development Bank, Multilateral Investment Fund. The project started with the initial collaboration of three Latin American schools and Tulane University: Tecnológico de Monterrey, in Monterrey - Mexico, Uniandes in Bogotá - Colombia, and IESA, in Caracas - Venezuela. Since 2001, the Burkenroad Latin America project is expanding its geographical reach incorporating new business school partners in Mexico (TEC de Monterrey in Guadalajara), Guatemala (Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala city), Colombia (ICESI in Cali, and Uninorte in Barranquilla), Peru (CENTRUM Católica in Lima), Ecuador (ESPAE-ESPOL in Guayaquil), and Argentina (Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires). Tulane University works with these academic institutions to produce research reports on small- and medium-size Latin American enterprises (SMEs).
Burkenroad Latin America's objective is to improve the efficiency of capital markets and to promote the development and growth public SMEs and less-traded firms in the countries covered by the business schools partners. Firms covered are benefiting from improved coverage. Sometimes BRLA reports are the only investment research reports available since big investment banks are not interested in covering small emerging market firms. Two complementary but equally important objectives are: (1) Improving access of corporations to financial markets, and (2) formation of skilled financial analysts in the region who are hired in prestigious institutions in their home country.
Overall, the project promotes capital movement within the participating countries by enhancing the quality of financial research expertise as well as the quality, transparency, and distribution of financial information to national and international sources of capital.
The project will allow participating Latin American educational institutions know-how developed by Tulane University through "Burkenroad Reports" for SMEs in the United States. The project not only create cross-country reports with a standardized methodology and format but also will create in the future a database of companies that share similar economic and social environment and then can be compared to each other in order to obtain better benchmarking when valuing companies and their prospects. The project's goals will be accomplished by:
- The training of the participating institutions' professors on financial research and investment issues, related to the "Burkenroad Reports" preparation through intensive workshops.
- The development of courses to be offered by the trained professors to students and other practitioners.
- Networking between business schools and organizations that share similar objectives (stock exchanges, brokerage houses, banks, financial markets regulators, among others).
- The preparation and dissemination of the Burkenroad Reports.
