Our Mission is to Help Our Clients Increase Revenue

Our Philosophy

We believe that to be great, research  must be accurate, actionable, and influential, and we believe such research can only be created if the following are present:

• Knowledge of the market

• Research expertise
• Process for design, execution, and communication of findings

Our mission is to provide financial services executives with solid facts and well-informed opinions, so they can make effective decisions leading to increased revenue and strong growth.

Our Focus

Sway Research is the creation of Chris J. Brown, a leading authority on retirement market trends, such as the impact of the aging of the baby boomers and the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution. Not surprisingly, the focus of our research is on the retirement markets, including:

• Defined Contribution Investment-Only Distribution
• Mid-and Late-career Accumulators
• Retirement Income Products and Services

Our Clients

Our research is typically designed for financial services executives, such as heads of sales, marketing, product development, and competitive intelligence.

Our client firms are asset managers and distributors, including leading mutual fund companies, banks, brokerages, and insurance companies. These firms purchase our research in syndicated (i.e. multi-client) reports, through custom research and consulting engagements, and through half- and full-day strategy sessions in which we present our research and views on specific markets and facilitate a strategic discussion among the clients’ senior management team.

Our Partners

Founded by Laura Varas, Mast Hill Consulting, Inc. specializes in research and consulting in the financial services industry, with an emphasis on retirement and investments. MHC consistently delivers on its motto, "your financial services insider… outside™", by offering clients in-depth understanding of the financial services industry and the unbiased perspective of a trusted, independent third party. MHC is especially known for its expertise in the retirement income marketplace.

Hearts & Wallets™ is a partnership of Sway Research and Mast Hill Consulting, whose past collaborations have led to improvements in investment products, planning tools and communications for investor groups such as pre-retirees, retirees, small business owners. Hearts & Wallets™ is a new series of research projects designed to illuminate underserved, yet potentially very profitable, customer segments.