In 2014, the percentage of clients rewarding dealers for fixed-income related research nearly doubled from two years prior, and the growing importance of research in more illiquid products such as high- yield credit is even stronger.

According to new report from Greenwich Associates, Analysts Rejoice: Fixed-Income Research Gains Importance for Investors, a combination of complex new regulations, reduced credit market liquidity and dealers looking to remain relevant despite an inability to commit capital have dramatically increased institutional investor demand for fixed-income research.

In 2012, only 28% of the more than 1,000 U.S. institutional investors participating in the annual Greenwich Associates Fixed-Income Investors Study directly rewarded dealers for research. In 2014, that percentage jumped to 54% of the investors interviewed. The share of investors directly rewarding dealers for research now is even larger in illiquid fixed-income products such as high-yield bonds, in which 68% of investors now compensate dealers for research provision.

“In the past, dealers were able to keep clients happy by providing primary offering allocations, committing capital in the secondary market and offering aggressive pricing,” says Kevin McPartland, Head of Research for Market Structure and Technology at Greenwich Associates. “Today, none of those actions is easy nor a given, so dealers are meeting investors’ new demand for insight and ideas.”

Trade ideas took the top spot as the most-valued research service among investors in 2014, pushing macroeconomic research down a notch to No. 2. “With fewer questions about Fed policy, portfolio managers and traders can now focus on how exactly to make money as that policy is implemented,” McPartland said.