Press Release
For immediate release: Tuesday 26 November 2002
Investment Research - IMA response to FSA Discussion Paper 15
The IMA released today its response to the FSA's Discussion Paper 15, "Investment Research: Conflicts and other Issues".
While welcoming the FSA's initiative to examine the issue, the IMA argues that new regulatory provisions are not necessary to protect institutional investors from potential conflicts of interest. In particular, while analyst research may make a useful contribution, it will rarely be the deciding factor in fund managers' investment decisions.
As regards the retail market, the IMA believes that the potential problems in the UK are less than in the US, since there has been much less tendency for a culture of the "star analyst" to emerge here. However, there may be a need for enhanced disclosure provisions for research intended for the retail market, where investors' knowledge of the potential conflicts of interest is not so deep. In the UK, the main audience for analyst research is institutional clients, who are in general better placed to judge the nature and extent of any potential conflicts of interest.
For further information, please contact:
Richard Saunders, Chief Executive, IMA, 020 7831 0898
Clare Arber, Head of Communications, IMA, 020 7831 0898
Notes to Editors: