OTR Global
OTR Global is an independent channel-research firm serving institutional investors, founded in San Francisco in 1995 as Off The Record Research. BWG Strategy acquired it in 2023, and the combined business has operated as BWG Global since February 2025.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 012M
- Actions
- 012M
- On record
- Apr 2015 – Jan 2025
Overview
As of 2023, OTR staff conducted more than 12,000 live interviews a year with customers, suppliers, vendors, distributors and executives in over 25 countries. Its syndicated reports, usually published quarterly, tracked panels of industry contacts covering almost 170 core stocks in consumer products, retail and restaurants, cyclical industries, healthcare, and technology, media and telecommunications. In 2017, the firm sold its trading desk and began charging directly for research.
Off The Record Research was founded in San Francisco in 1995 and pioneered an investigative, interview-based channel-check methodology. It expanded its interviews to more than 20 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, rebranding as OTR Global, and was later headquartered in Purchase, New York. BWG Strategy, a portfolio company of Infinedi Partners, acquired OTR Global in March 2023, and the combined business adopted the name BWG Global in February 2025.
Milestones
- 1995
Founded in San Francisco as Off The Record Research
- 2023
Acquired by BWG Strategy, an Infinedi Partners portfolio company
- 2025
BWG Strategy and OTR Global rebrand as BWG Global
Firm facts
- Legal name
- OTR Global LLC
- Type
- Independent research
- Founded
- 1995
- Headquarters
- Purchase, United States
- Parent
- BWG Global
- Chief Executive Officer, BWG Global
- Jon Kurzner
- Director of Research, BWG Global
- Breanne Dougherty
- Rating scale
- PositiveMixedNegative
- Also filed as
- OTR GLobal
- Website
- bwgglobal.com
Research philosophy
Investors could get superior results if they incorporated unbiased marketplace checks into their investment decisions.
Before its 2023 sale, OTR Global described an approach centered on interviews with people who knew a company's products or services. It sought an unbiased view of business conditions from those contacts, rather than relying on management interviews, industry statistics and financial models. Interviewees received reports after a delay in exchange for their time.
Rating methodology
Reports assess channel trends as Positive, Mixed or Negative. The firm states that these assessments are not buy, sell or hold recommendations and does not issue price targets.
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 Enphase Energy, Inc.ENPH | Mixed | — |
 iQIYI, Inc.IQ | Negative | — |
 Palo Alto Networks, Inc.PANW | Negative | — |
 V.F. CorporationVFC | Positive | — |
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10, 2025 | V.F. CorporationVFC | Upgrade | Mixed →Positive |
| Jan 8, 2025 | iQIYI, Inc.IQ | Downgrade | Mixed →Negative |
| Dec 20, 2024 | Enphase Energy, Inc.ENPH | Upgrade | Negative →Mixed |
| Nov 7, 2024 | Palo Alto Networks, Inc.PANW | Downgrade | Mixed →Negative |
| Jun 10, 2024 | POInsulet CorporationPODD | Downgrade | Positive →Mixed |
| Jun 7, 2024 | CTCorteva, Inc.CTVA | Downgrade | Mixed →Negative |
| Jun 4, 2024 | ALAlign Technology, Inc.ALGN | Downgrade | Positive →Mixed |
| Apr 17, 2024 | TPTapestry, Inc.TPR | Downgrade | Positive →Mixed |
| Apr 17, 2024 |  Capri Holdings LimitedCPRI | Downgrade | Positive →Mixed |
| Apr 11, 2024 |  Crocs, Inc.CROX | Upgrade | Mixed →Positive |
| Apr 4, 2024 | iQIYI, Inc.IQ | Downgrade | Positive →Mixed |
| Apr 2, 2024 | GNGenerac Holdings Inc.GNRC | Upgrade | Mixed →Positive |