Independent written research is the cornerstone of Horizon Kinetics’ investment process—it sets us apart from passive investment strategies and also the vast majority of other active managers. Since our founding in 1994, and before that as individuals, we’ve been guided by the philosophy that meaningful investment insight comes from developing an unbiased understanding of value, particularly where institutional and consensus views miss or ignore longer-term opportunities.
As such, research at Horizon Kinetics is not simply a means to generate investment ideas. It is a disciplined process for developing, testing, and refining a thesis. We believe the practice of putting research into writing encourages deep qualitative and quantitative analysis. It also requires our investment team to articulate the facts, assumptions, frameworks, and potential risks underlying an opportunity. Written research creates a lasting reference point that can be revisited as circumstances change and an investment thesis evolves.
Our independence extends to how we apply our research. We are not constrained by conventional benchmarks, narratives, or the investment trends of the moment. This allows us to look beyond conventional market views and identify areas with hidden value. At Horizon Kinetics, independent research is not a feature of what we do. It is the foundation of our investment process and who we are; it is our north star.
In 2026, following the passing of our cofounder Murray Stahl, we refreshed our research model, using our original Contrarian Research Report as a guiding light. Going forward, we will continue to focus on what we believe independent research does best: identifying interesting, underappreciated, or misunderstood investment opportunities—wherever they may exist.
The Contrarian Research Report
Published since Horizon Kinetics’ inception, the Contrarian Research Report expresses our long-term-value-oriented contrarian philosophy—and the unconventional thinking required to identify successful investments. It details out-of-favor, turnaround, or distressed situations with sufficiently discounted valuations that provide an asymmetrically favorable expected risk/return profile. [1]