The PRS Group, Inc.

The PRS Group, Inc.
Private Corporation
Industry Consulting
International Affairs
Political Risk Analysis
Country Risk Forecasts
Founded 1979
Headquarters East Syracuse, NY, United States
Area served
 Worldwide
Products CountryData, PRS, ICRG
Owner Christopher Mckee, Ph.D.
Website Official Website
Official Blog
Facebook Page
LinkedIn Company Profile
PRStv

The PRS Group, Inc., headquartered near Syracuse, New York, was established in 1979, placing it among the earliest commercial providers of political and country risk forecasts. In 2010, The PRS Group, Inc. was purchased[1] by CEO/Owner Christopher McKee, Ph.D., who maintains operations for the company and also holds the position of ICRG Editor-in-Chief. Originally the Political Risk Services division of Frost & Sullivan, Inc. and then of UK-based IBC Group (now known as Informa), the company kept its original focus on political risk analysis and became independent in 1999. Cited in 2008 as a “leading organization in investment risk analysis”[2] by investor Jim Rogers, the PRS Group offers two distinct, independent, publicly available methodologies for assessing risk: Political Risk Services (PRS) and the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG). The company produces a range of products based on these two risk rating systems. Online subscriptions to PRS’ products cover over 140 developed, emerging and frontier markets. With a quantitative focus to all of its risk ratings and forecasts, the firm assesses the impact of country and political risk on multinational business operations and on the major asset classes.

Political Risk Services

Generally recognized worldwide as the original system for quantifying and rating political risk, the forecasting model used by Political Risk Services was formulated during 20 years of research conducted by Professors Bill Coplin and Michael O’Leary of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University,[3][4] with the U.S. Dept. of State and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Each of the 100 Country Reports includes an evaluation of the current risk of doing business in a given country. Eighteen-month and five-year forecasts of 17 risk factors affecting a country’s business climate are provided, for each of the three most likely regimes to hold power in the respective time frame. Each report contains ten years of historical economic data, and information on the people, parties, and organizations most likely to influence the level of political risk in that country.

International Country Risk Guide

Cited as “the only risk rating agency to provide detailed and consistent monthly data over an extended period for a large number of countries,”[5] ICRG rates 140 countries each month on the basis of over 30 risk metrics affecting political, economic and financial risk, dating back to 1984 for most.

Studies by researchers have found ICRG data to be positively correlated to better International Monetary Fund program implementation, lower sovereign spreads, and with variability in bank lending volume. Others have found ICRG data to “provide information that has great predictive value with respect to future equity returns globally,”[6] and offers a “reliable, consistent, and valid measure of property rights protection.”[7]

References

  1. ↑ The PRS Group, Inc. "Canadian Firm Acquires PRS." Press Release: May 4, 2010. PDF Last Accessed 2014-08-06
  2. ↑ Rogers, Jim. A Bull in China. New York: Random House, 2008. p.37 Google Books Last Accessed 2011-02-01
  3. ↑ Coplin, William D. and O’Leary, Michael K., Everyman’s Prince: A Guide to Understanding Your Political Problems. Brooks/Cole, 1972.
  4. ↑ Seely, Hart, "Risk is this Company's Middle Name." The Post Standard. 20th Aug. 1997: B-1+.Print.
  5. ↑ Hoti, S. "The International Country Risk Guide: An Empirical Evaluation." Department of Economics, University of Western Australia. Page 5. PDF Last Accessed 2011-02-01
  6. ↑ Epstein, Gene. “Risk Measures Prove To Be Excellent Forecasters Of the Rise and Fall of Markets Abroad.” Barron’s Economic Beat, 11th Mar. 1996. Print.
  7. ↑ Tusalem, Rollin F., Ph.D. “Determinants of Coup d’Etat Events 1970-90: The Role of Property Rights Protection.” International Political Science Review, Jun. 2010, Vol. 31, Issue 3. p. 346-365. Print.

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