Mixed Results as Sell Siders Gamble On Freedom

When Sean J. Ryan started his own independent research firm in January, the phone in his tiny office in White Plains, N.Y., began to ring almost immediately.

Mr. Ryan's company, Byrne, Ryan & Co., which he launched with veteran trader Dan Byrne, had created a buzz among institutional investors because it offered what Mr. Ryan trumpeted as "unbiased" bank research.