A jam-packed audience had many questions during the first public demo of Duff & Phelps’ new Cost of Capital Navigator, an online application that will replace the print versions of the Valuation Handbook series. A question many in the audience had was: Can you use the Navigator for very small companies, such as a market cap of less than $5 million or companies that would fall into CRSP Decile breakdown 10Z?

Absolutely, yes, said Jim Harrington, part of the team at Duff & Phelps that developed the tool that can be used to value all size companies. There is risk premia based upon sizes across the size spectrum including the smallest breakout (10Z) of CRSP Decile 10, which is broken out as a 10W, 10X, 10Y, and 10Z, he said. It is completely appropriate to use the Navigator to value very small companies, he added, and you can also use the Risk Premium Report, which has 25 portfolios from the largest companies, Portfolio 1, down to the smallest, Portfolio 25. The Navigator will be available in February 2018.

The application will initially embody the Duff & Phelps Valuation Handbook – U.S. Guide to Cost of Capital, which will no longer be published in hardcover form. The other handbooks in the series will later be incorporated into the new tool. To access a recording of the demo as well as see more details, go to www.bvresources.com/Navigator.

Extra: Duff & Phelps will give a presentation on its new data format at the 2018 Southeast Chapter of Business Appraisers (SECBA) conference February 9-10 in Atlanta. For more information and to register, click here.