Citi expands into private company research with new hire

July 23 (Reuters) - Citigroup C.N has hired Heath Terry, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs GS.N and Daniel Loeb's Third Point, to sharpen its research on private companies as Wall Street adapts to the trend of firms delaying public listings.

Terry will lead the bank's technology and communications research and focus on the artificial intelligence industry, Lucy Baldwin, head of Citi Research, said on Wednesday.

The announcement comes days after Citi's peer JPMorgan Chase JPM.N released its first research report on OpenAI, as part of a similar push to expand its research into prominent private companies.

The shift signals a major change in Wall Street research, which has long focused on publicly traded firms. Analysts typically issue ratings and price targets for listed companies, guiding investors on whether to buy, hold or sell stocks.

But as major startups with transformative potential stay private longer, institutional investors are pushing for deeper insights.

For banks, offering private company research is a way to meet that demand, potentially courting venture capital clients.