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Kelsey Zhu

Research Analyst at Autonomous Research

Kelsey Zhu is the lead Information Services Research Analyst at Autonomous Research, specializing in coverage of Financial Information Technology companies in the US. He analyzes and publishes research on key firms in the financial information technology sector, leveraging over eight years of prior research experience before joining Autonomous in 2022. Zhu's career spans in-depth equity research roles, with a particular focus on technological transformations impacting financial services, and he is recognized for his analytical acumen within the sector. He holds industry-relevant professional credentials, though specific FINRA registrations or rankings are not publicly listed.

Kelsey Zhu's questions to Verisk Analytics (VRSK) leadership

Kelsey Zhu's questions to Verisk Analytics (VRSK) leadership • Q2 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu from Autonomous Research sought more detail on the competitive pressures Verisk is facing in its auto business, asking about the nature of the competition.

Answer

CEO Lee Shavel acknowledged that Verisk faces a large competitor in the auto space where it has less scale, leading to occasional competitive pressures. He stated that Verisk continues to compete by finding ways to integrate its other data assets, such as claims data, into its auto underwriting solutions.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to Verisk Analytics (VRSK) leadership • Q4 2024

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked about the expected pricing contribution to 2025 growth, considering the two-year lag on premium growth that impacts 20-25% of revenue, and requested a quantification of the 2024 pricing contribution.

Answer

CFO Elizabeth Mann acknowledged the formulaic input from strong 2023 premium growth but emphasized that the primary driver of pricing outcomes is the client's perception of the value Verisk provides. She did not quantify the specific pricing contribution for 2024, instead pointing to the success of value-based conversations.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to TransUnion (TRU) leadership

Kelsey Zhu's questions to TransUnion (TRU) leadership • Q2 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu from Autonomous Research asked about TransUnion's strategy for gaining market share with VantageScore, particularly in light of the recent FHFA announcement validating its use in mortgage, and also inquired about the strategy for non-mortgage verticals.

Answer

President and CEO Chris Cartwright stated that TransUnion supports the FHFA's policy clarifications, as they promote modernizing scores with more predictive trended data and encourage healthy competition. He noted that while the operational rollout will take time, TransUnion and VantageScore are ready to assist the GSEs. The core strategy relies on the principle that competition drives innovation and better outcomes for consumers and lenders across all verticals, not just mortgage.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to TransUnion (TRU) leadership • Q2 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu of Autonomous Research asked about TransUnion's strategy to increase market share for VantageScore in both mortgage and non-mortgage verticals following the recent FHFA announcement.

Answer

President and CEO Chris Cartwright affirmed TransUnion's support for the FHFA's policy clarification, viewing it as beneficial for the mortgage ecosystem. He advocated for modernizing scoring by adopting trended credit data, which VantageScore uses, and welcomed the increased competition to drive innovation and better pricing. He noted that while operational details need to be resolved, TransUnion is ready to assist the GSEs in the transition.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to TransUnion (TRU) leadership • Q4 2024

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked about the drivers of consumer credit demand, noting that while credit supply is expected to improve, it's unclear what will spur demand recovery in a higher-for-longer interest rate environment.

Answer

CEO Christopher Cartwright pointed to several factors supporting demand. He noted that lenders have replenished capital and are eager to lend, while consumer delinquencies are normalizing. He believes consumers are adjusting to current interest rates and highlighted a specific demand driver: the need for debt consolidation loans for consumers who increased card balances during the COVID era, which is fueling fintech lending.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to TransUnion (TRU) leadership • Q3 2024

Question

Kelsey Zhu of Autonomous Research asked for more color on the drivers behind the strong, share-gaining growth in Canada and inquired about the expected medium-term growth rate for the region.

Answer

President and CEO Christopher Cartwright attributed over a decade of outsized growth in Canada to consistent innovation, including importing U.S. products and being a first-mover with trended data. While he expects the high-teens growth rate to decelerate as the company laps large gains in a mature market, he expressed confidence that the team will continue to innovate and perform well.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to MSCI (MSCI) leadership

Kelsey Zhu's questions to MSCI (MSCI) leadership • Q2 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked about MSCI's positioning and economic model for active ETFs, particularly given the wave of launches in the U.S. market.

Answer

Chairman & CEO Henry Fernandez described active ETFs as a significant growth opportunity with high client engagement. He explained that MSCI's economic model is flexible, ranging from selling data and benchmarks for unconstrained strategies to licensing indices and earning AUM-based fees for more structured, enhanced indexation products, similar to the passive model.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to MSCI (MSCI) leadership • Q1 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked why the Analytics segment didn't see stronger new sales growth in Q1 given the market volatility and what the growth expectations are for the rest of the year.

Answer

Chairman and CEO Henry Fernandez argued that significant turmoil only began in the latter part of Q1. He explained that future growth will be shaped by three forces: two positives (increased client need for data/analytics in turmoil and asset reallocation to non-U.S. markets) weighed against one negative (potential client budget constraints). The net effect on sales is yet to be determined.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to MSCI (MSCI) leadership • Q4 2024

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked for color on the declines in retention and net new sales within the Private Assets segment and inquired about the timeline to achieve the 20% revenue growth target for Private Capital Solutions (PCS).

Answer

CFO Andrew Wiechmann distinguished between the two parts of the segment. For PCS, he noted a slight slowdown but steady growth at 15%, attributing softness to normal volatility. For Real Assets, he confirmed continued pressure from a large client down-sale and weakness among brokers. He did not provide a specific timeline for achieving the 20% PCS growth target but noted early positive signs in the market.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to MSCI (MSCI) leadership • Q3 2024

Question

Kelsey Zhu inquired about MSCI's medium-term strategy for private assets, particularly regarding the expansion into transaction benchmarking data and the associated timeline and investment.

Answer

President and COO Baer Pettit outlined a strategy focused on collecting deeper and broader data in private markets, enhanced by AI, to serve both LP and GP clients. He mentioned that the company is actively redeveloping the acquired benchmarks to create new use cases beyond real estate. He expressed excitement about the opportunity and noted the new leadership will help accelerate this strategy.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to EQUIFAX (EFX) leadership

Kelsey Zhu's questions to EQUIFAX (EFX) leadership • Q2 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked about a specific RFP win with the state of Maine, inquiring about the drivers of its significant contract value growth, and also asked for perspective on the net impact of the OBBBA bill on the EWS business.

Answer

CEO Mark Begor acknowledged the impressive detail but deferred specifics on the Maine contract, suspecting it reflects deeper service penetration. Regarding the OBBBA bill, he stated that while it may reduce the number of benefit recipients, the tailwinds from increased verification requirements are overwhelmingly positive for EWS, given the massive $5 billion TAM that Equifax is penetrating.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to EQUIFAX (EFX) leadership • Q1 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked how Equifax's business components would perform in a stagflation scenario and inquired about the impact of CMS/USDA funding changes on the Government vertical's growth.

Answer

CEO Mark Begor stated that the company had not performed a specific stagflation analysis, having focused on a 'typical recession' scenario. Regarding government growth, he noted the impact of the CMS/USDA funding changes was already in the guide, and they are hopeful the current administration will reverse the policy. He emphasized that state-level penetration and the new administration's focus on improper payments are key long-term drivers.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to EQUIFAX (EFX) leadership • Q4 2024

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked for details on the SSA contract extension and for an update on sizing the record additions from the Workday partnership and the overall 2025 record growth outlook.

Answer

CEO Mark Begor clarified the SSA contract is a direct federal agreement unaffected by state-level CMS changes and will benefit 2025 from a price increase. He declined to size specific partner contributions but noted that a strong backlog of new partners from 2024 provides good visibility for continued record growth in 2025.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to EQUIFAX (EFX) leadership • Q3 2024

Question

Kelsey Zhu of Autonomous Research asked for the expected number of incremental record additions from the new Workday partnership and the timeline for onboarding. She also inquired about the drivers behind the growth re-acceleration in the EWS consumer lending vertical, given the soft end-market.

Answer

CEO Mark Begor described the Workday partnership as strategic and the expected record additions as "sizable," with the bulk coming online through 2025. He noted this was one of six new partnerships signed in the quarter. Regarding consumer lending, Begor and CFO John Gamble explained that growth is driven by the high value of combining income and employment data with credit files, which allows lenders to approve more consumers with lower loss rates. They also cited the direct benefit of strong overall record growth in The Work Number (TWN) database.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS (FDS) leadership

Kelsey Zhu's questions to FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS (FDS) leadership • Q2 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked for an update on the client traction for FactSet's Generative AI products, specifically inquiring about the pricing strategy and client receptiveness to these offerings as add-on services.

Answer

CEO Phil Snow and Chief Revenue Officer Goran Skoko responded, stating they are pleased with the momentum and on track to meet their monetization goals for the year. Snow highlighted that Pitch Creator has the most traction among banking clients, while the conversational API is seeing broad interest. Skoko added that clients are reacting well to the pricing structure, recognizing the productivity gains, with nearly 2,000 active trials for Pitch Creator.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS (FDS) leadership • Q1 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu asked about managed services as a key growth driver for buy-side ASV, inquiring about the total addressable market, key competitors, and FactSet's expansion strategy.

Answer

CEO Frederick Snow highlighted recent momentum, including a deal with an outsourced CIO and a partnership with JPMorgan. Chief Revenue Officer Goran Skoko added that the service leverages highly skilled talent to augment client teams, which is effective in a cost-sensitive environment. Chief Financial Officer Helen Shan noted they are tracking high attach rates for the service with existing clients.

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Kelsey Zhu's questions to FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS (FDS) leadership • Q1 2025

Question

Kelsey Zhu from Autonomous Research inquired about managed services as a future growth driver for buy-side ASV, asking about the total addressable market, key competitors, and FactSet's expansion strategy.

Answer

CEO Frederick Snow highlighted recent momentum, including a significant deal with an outsourced CIO and a partnership with JPMorgan. Chief Revenue Officer Goran Skoko added that FactSet's offering is unique, focusing on augmenting client capabilities in performance and risk reporting, making direct competition difficult to define. CFO Helen Shan noted they are tracking high attach rates for these services.

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