CitedResearch - Source-Cited Research Output

Generate research outputs with proper inline citations and source tables for PE investment research.

Citation Format

Hybrid approach:

Inline citations on key statistics and claims: [value](url)
Sources table at bottom with reliability ratings

Inline Citation Rules

# Good - key stats linked
Market size is [$209B](https://source.com/report) with [7.9% CAGR](https://source.com/growth).

# Bad - clutters reading
According to [Grand View Research](https://...), the market [size](https://...) is [$209B](https://...) and growing at [7.9%](https://...) [CAGR](https://...).

When to inline cite:

Market size figures
Growth rates / CAGR
Company counts / statistics
Percentages from studies
Geographic concentration data
Succession/demographic figures

When NOT to inline cite:

General statements of fact
Logical conclusions
Internal analysis
Qualitative assessments

Sources Table Format

## Sources

| Source | Type | Reliability | Key Data |
|--------|------|-------------|----------|
| [KfW Research](url) | Government | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Succession stats |
| [PitchBook](url) | Financial Data | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | PE activity |
| [Industry Report](url) | Market Research | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Market sizing |

Reliability Ratings:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Government, major financial data (KfW, Destatis, PitchBook)
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Industry reports, advisory firms (McKinsey, Rödl, IMAP)
⭐⭐⭐ - Trade publications, news sources
⭐⭐ - Company websites, press releases
⭐ - Blogs, unverified sources

Research Note Templates

Sector Analysis (SECT-XXX)

---
id: SECT-XXX
type: sector
created: {{date}}
tags: [sector, {{industry}}, {{geography}}]
thesis_fit: high|medium|low
---

# SECT-XXX - {{Sector Name}}

## Executive Summary
[2-3 sentences with inline citations on key stats]

## Market Overview
### Market Size & Growth
| Metric | Value | Source |
[All values should be inline linked]

### Geographic Concentration
[Regional data with citations]

## Succession Dynamics
[Statistics with KfW/government sources]

## 4M Framework Assessment
[Internal analysis - no citations needed]

## Sources
[Full sources table with reliability]

Company Research (COMP-XXX)

---
id: COMP-XXX
type: company
tags: [company, {{sector}}, {{status}}]
---

# COMP-XXX - {{Company Name}}

## Overview
[Basic info with website link]

## Financial Summary
| Metric | Value | Source |
[Revenue, EBITDA, margins - cite if public]

## Thesis Fit
[Internal analysis]

## Sources
[Sources table]

Usage

With Helias/PAI

When I conduct research, I will automatically:

Collect sources during web searches
Apply inline citations to key statistics
Generate sources table with reliability ratings
Follow the appropriate template

Example Command

"Research [topic] for the investment thesis"
→ Produces fully cited sector note

"Create a sector analysis of [industry] in [geography]"
→ SECT-XXX note with 4M framework and citations

Integration with Existing Skills

With Fabric

Fabric patterns can pre-process content, then CitedResearch formats the output:

# Extract insights, then format with citations
fabric -p extract_article_wisdom < article.txt | \
  bun run CitedResearch/tools/FormatCited.ts --template sector

With ObsidianSync

Research notes are automatically routed:

Sector analyses → 03-Resources/Sectors/
Company research → 03-Resources/Companies/
Market reports → 03-Resources/Research/

Source Collection Guidelines

During Research

Track all sources - save URL + key data point
Verify reliability - cross-reference claims
Prefer primary - government > advisory > news
Note access date - markets change

Source Types by Priority

| Priority | Type | Examples | |----------|------|----------| | 1 | Government | KfW, Destatis, EU Commission | | 2 | Financial data | PitchBook, S&P Capital IQ | | 3 | Industry reports | IMAP, McKinsey, Bain | | 4 | Advisory | Rödl, EY, Deloitte | | 5 | Trade associations | VDMA, ZVEI, BDI | | 6 | News | FT, Handelsblatt, Reuters |

Quick Reference

Inline cite:

Numbers, percentages, counts
Market sizes, growth rates
Geographic concentrations
Survey results

Don't inline cite:

Your analysis
Logical conclusions
General knowledge
Internal assessments

Sources table always includes:

Clickable link
Source type
Reliability rating
What data it provides

Source Freshness Requirements

All cited statistics must meet freshness thresholds:

| Data Type | Max Age | DACH Primary Sources | |-----------|---------|----------------------| | Market sizing | 12 months | Statista DE, Roland Berger, ZVEI | | Succession stats | 6 months | KfW Nachfolge-Monitor, IfM Bonn | | PE deal activity | 3 months | PitchBook, IMAP DACH, Finance Magazin | | Company financials | Current FY | Bundesanzeiger, Unternehmensregister | | Industry trends | 6 months | VDMA, ZVEI, BDI sector reports | | Credit ratings | 1 month | Creditreform, Bürgel, CRIF | | Insolvency data | Real-time | Bundesanzeiger, Creditreform |

Reject sources that exceed max age for data type.

DACH-First Source Priority

When researching DACH markets, always check German sources first before international alternatives.

Tier 1 - German Government & Official (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

| Source | Data Type | URL | |--------|-----------|-----| | KfW Research | Succession, SME financing | kfw.de/forschung | | Destatis | Federal statistics | destatis.de | | Bundesanzeiger | Company filings | bundesanzeiger.de | | IfM Bonn | Mittelstand research | ifm-bonn.org | | Unternehmensregister | Company registry | unternehmensregister.de |

Tier 2 - DACH M&A Intelligence (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

| Source | Data Type | Access | |--------|-----------|--------| | PitchBook | PE deals, valuations | IESE login | | S&P Capital IQ | Financials, comps | IESE login | | IMAP DACH | M&A market reports | imap.com/de | | Finance Magazin | German PE news | finance-magazin.de | | Mergermarket | Deal intelligence | mergermarket.com |

Tier 2 - Credit & Risk Intelligence (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

| Source | Data Type | Access | |--------|-----------|--------| | Creditreform | Credit ratings, insolvency, payment behavior | creditreform.de (paid) | | Bürgel | Credit risk, company data | buergel.de (paid) | | CRIF | B2B credit data | crif.de (paid) | | Bundesanzeiger | Insolvency filings | bundesanzeiger.de (free) |

Creditreform Data Available

Company Intelligence:

Credit rating (1-600 scale, 600 = best)
Payment behavior index
Insolvency probability
Management/ownership changes
Company financials (when filed)

Due Diligence Use Cases:

Pre-acquisition credit check
Supplier/customer risk assessment
Management background verification
Financial health monitoring

API Integration: Creditreform offers API access for programmatic queries. Contact sales for enterprise pricing.

Tier 3 - Industry Associations (⭐⭐⭐⭐)

| Source | Sector Coverage | URL | |--------|-----------------|-----| | VDMA | Machinery, automation | vdma.org | | ZVEI | Electronics, electrical | zvei.org | | BDI | General industry | bdi.eu | | BITKOM | Digital, IT | bitkom.org | | VDA | Automotive | vda.de |

Tier 4 - Business Media (⭐⭐⭐)

| Source | Focus | URL | |--------|-------|-----| | Handelsblatt | German business daily | handelsblatt.com | | Manager Magazin | Executive/strategy | manager-magazin.de | | WirtschaftsWoche | Economic analysis | wiwo.de | | Private Equity Magazin | German PE specific | private-equity-magazin.de | | Finance Magazin | M&A news | finance-magazin.de |

Research Verification Protocol

Before citing ANY statistic:

Date Check - Verify publication date is within max age for data type
Source Tier - Prefer Tier 1-2 over Tier 3-4
DACH Priority - Use German source if available before international
Cross-Reference - Major claims need 2+ independent sources
Access Date - Always note when source was accessed

Sources Table Enhanced Format

## Sources

| Source | Type | Reliability | Published | Accessed | Key Data |
|--------|------|-------------|-----------|----------|----------|
| [KfW Nachfolge-Monitor](url) | Government | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 2025-09 | 2026-01-06 | Succession stats |
| [PitchBook PE Report](url) | Financial | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 2025-Q4 | 2026-01-06 | Deal activity |

Freshness Indicators in Notes

Add freshness status to sources:

✅ Fresh (within max age)
⚠️ Aging (within 2x max age)
❌ Stale (exceeds 2x max age - do not use)

Available Tools

ValidateSources.ts

Validate source freshness against data type rules.

bun run ValidateSources.ts https://kfw.de/report --type succession_stats

PENewsFeed.ts

Aggregate DACH PE/M&A news from 5 RSS sources with relevance scoring.

# Fetch latest high-relevance PE news
bun run PENewsFeed.ts --since 24h --min-relevance 5

# Filter for succession-related news
bun run PENewsFeed.ts --filter nachfolge

# Output JSON for programmatic use
bun run PENewsFeed.ts --json

Sources: Finance Magazin, Private Equity Magazin, Handelsblatt, Manager Magazin, WirtschaftsWoche

Relevance Scoring:

🔥 10+ points: PE-specific terms (buyout, nachfolge, beteiligung)
📊 5+ points: M&A terms (deal, transaktion, investor)

HandelsregisterLookup.ts

German company registry lookup helper - generates URLs and data templates.

# Search by company name
bun run HandelsregisterLookup.ts "Bosch GmbH"

# Filter by city
bun run HandelsregisterLookup.ts "Siemens" --city München

# Get blank data template
bun run HandelsregisterLookup.ts --template

Data Sources:

unternehmensregister.de - Official portal
handelsregister.de - Direct registry
bundesanzeiger.de - Public filings

Available Data:

HRB number, registry court, legal form
Registered capital, company purpose
Management, shareholders (when filed)
Annual financial statements