CitedResearch - Source-Cited Research Output

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

Citation Format

Hybrid approach:

1. Inline citations on key statistics and claims:

   [value](url)

2. 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:

1. Collect sources during web searches
2. Apply inline citations to key statistics
3. Generate sources table with reliability ratings
4. 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

1. Track all sources - save URL + key data point
2. Verify reliability - cross-reference claims
3. Prefer primary - government > advisory > news
4. 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:

1. Date Check - Verify publication date is within max age for data type
2. Source Tier - Prefer Tier 1-2 over Tier 3-4
3. DACH Priority - Use German source if available before international
4. Cross-Reference - Major claims need 2+ independent sources
5. 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