The Future of Finance: 2026 Report
What 219 UK and US finance graduates really think about AI, compensation, culture, and the firms they want to work for
Mark Pacitti
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9 min read
Mark Pacitti
The AI Hype in Primary Research Is Real, But So Are the Limits
A practical guide for PE deal teams, hedge fund analysts, and corporate strategy professionals on the limitations of AI for primary research
Mark Pacitti
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7 min read
International Paper's $70 Price Bet: Structural Tightness or Wishful Thinking?
We are launching primary research to assess whether International Paper's announced $70 per ton containerboard price increase will hold in the channel, or whether distributor and wholesaler behaviour signals a widening gap between producer ambition and market reality.
Mark Pacitti
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11 min read
Cybersecurity's AI Panic: Narrative Contagion or the Beginning of a Real Disruption?
We are launching primary research to determine whether Fortune 500 CISOs view AI-native security tools as a genuine threat to incumbent cybersecurity platforms or as a fundamentally different product category that the market is conflating with endpoint detection, zero trust, and identity.
Mark Pacitti
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11 min read
IBM's COBOL Fortress: Existential Threat or the Best-Timed Overreaction in a Decade?
We are launching primary research to determine whether Anthropic's Claude Code COBOL tool accelerates migration away from IBM mainframes or simply automates the discovery phase of projects that ultimately reinforce IBM's installed base.
Mark Pacitti
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10 min read
How to Brief an Expert Network to Get 10x Better Results
Most primary research briefs fail before a single expert is contacted. This guide breaks down the seven elements that separate briefs that shift your investment view from ones that waste your week.
Mark Pacitti
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7 min read
Blue Owl Capital: Canary in the Coal Mine or Contained Wind-Down?
We are launching primary research to assess whether Blue Owl's redemption freeze signals systemic stress in private credit's retail distribution channel or an isolated fund lifecycle event that the market is mispricing.
Mark Pacitti
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12 min read
Walmart: Whose Recovery Is This?
We are launching primary research to determine whether Walmart's consumer momentum is broad-based and durable, or increasingly dependent on a narrow affluent cohort whose trade-down behaviour may prove temporary.
Mark Pacitti
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12 min read
The 15% Tariff Reset: Who Absorbs the Cost, and Who Passes It Through?
We are launching primary research to determine how Fortune 500 procurement and sourcing leaders across consumer, industrial, and technology sectors are recalibrating supplier decisions, delivery schedules, and pricing strategies in response to the new 15% global tariff regime.
Mark Pacitti
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12 min read
How to Structure, Run, and Synthesize Expert Calls That Actually Drive Investment Decisions
A practitioner's guide for PE deal teams and hedge fund analysts on building discussion guides, running expert calls that produce real signal, and synthesizing insights across 10–20 calls into a view that drives conviction.
Mark Pacitti
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13 min read
Deere's Cycle Call: Consensus-Shattering Beat or One-Quarter Anomaly?
We are launching primary research to determine whether Deere's Q1 earnings surprise reflects a genuine inflection in the North American ag and construction equipment cycle or a transient shipment pull-forward that will reverse over the balance of fiscal 2026.
Mark Pacitti
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13 min read
How Hedge Fund Analysts Use Primary Research to Mitigate Risk and Generate Alpha
A practitioner's guide to the full primary research toolkit — expert interviews, B2B surveys, channel checks, and competitive landscaping — and how top hedge fund analysts deploy each to build conviction, challenge consensus, and create differentiated edge.
Mark Pacitti
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13 min read
How to Evaluate Expert Network Providers: A Buyer's Scoring Framework for Investment Professionals
A practical framework for investment and capital markets professionals to evaluate expert network providers across the six dimensions that actually matter: speed, analyst time, quality, compliance, cost, and coverage.
Mark Pacitti
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10 min read
The 4 Models of Expert Research: How to Choose the Right One for Your Investment Process
A buyer's framework for evaluating expert research models — traditional expert networks, AI-augmented platforms, transcript libraries, and done-for-you research — with key players, pros, cons, and guidance for PE and hedge fund teams.
Mark Pacitti
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13 min read
AI-Led Expert Calls vs. Human-Led Research: What Investment Teams Actually Need to Know
Are AI-moderated calls ready to replace real human expertise? And where can AI help investment professionals in the due diligence process. Here's the full guide.
Mark Pacitti
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10 min read
40 Expert Calls in 8 Days: How a Mid-Market PE Fund Got the Answers It Needed With 15 Minutes of Work
A middle market private equity fund commissioned Woozle to conduct 40 expert calls in 8 days. Here's how we did it.
Mark Pacitti
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4 min read
From Access to Transcripts to Outcomes: The Three Eras of Primary Research
The expert network industry spent twenty-six years selling access. Then it sold transcripts. Neither solved the real problem: the analyst still does all the work. The third era sells outcomes. That's where primary research is going.
Mark Pacitti
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11 min read
Palo Alto Networks: Integration Gamble or Platformisation Payoff?
We are launching primary research to determine whether Palo Alto's simultaneous integration of CyberArk and Chronosphere is accelerating enterprise platform consolidation wins or handing CrowdStrike and Zscaler a six-to-twelve month competitive opening.
Mark Pacitti
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10 min read
How Woozle Helped a European Long/Short Equity Fund Double their Expert Reach at Half the Cost
A European Long/Short equity fund doubled their expert research output at half the cost by switching to Woozle's done for you primary research platform
Mark Pacitti
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9 min read
The Anatomy of a World-Class Primary Research Provider
A buyer’s framework for investment teams evaluating primary research vendors. Criteria, red flags, and the questions that separate providers who deliver edge from those who sell access.
Mark Pacitti
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12 min read
Woozle Research: Key updates February 2026
Explore Woozle's latest key feature updates including commenting, live chat, and analytics
Mark Pacitti
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3 min read
PayPal's Broken Checkout: Kitchen Sink or Structural Decline?
We are launching primary research to answer the question the market is pricing with maximum uncertainty: is PayPal's branded checkout franchise recoverable under new leadership, or has the competitive moat permanently narrowed?
Mark Pacitti
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9 min read
Nintendo’s Memory Crisis: Can Switch 2 Protect Profits Without Killing Demand?
We are launching primary research to evaluate if Nintendo's price increase on Switch 2's will impact medium term earnings outlook.
Mark Pacitti
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7 min read
The SaaS Reckoning: Pricing the AI Disruption
We are launching primary research to answer the question the market is pricing in panic: which SaaS business models survive the agentic AI transition, and which don't?
Mark Pacitti
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9 min read