For immediate release: Friday 1 October 2004
 

FINANCIAL EXPRESS AND IMA LAUNCH ONLINE FUND PRICE LISTINGS

Financial Express, the leading data collector and solutions provider to the UK financial services sector, has launched a completely free fund price listings service for UK investors in conjunction with the Investment Management Association (IMA).

The Financial Express online fund price listings service is available at www.fundlistings.com and The service provides the latest daily fund price information for more than 35,000 UK unit trusts and OEICs, life insurance funds (open and closed issues), pension funds (open and closed issues), FSA recognised offshore funds and other offshore funds.

The data available includes:                                                          

• Buy and sell/NAV prices
• Yield
• Percentage change from previous day
• 1 year total return performance charts
• 1, 3 and 5 years, and since launch, total return performance data

Investors can explore the service by:

• scrolling through the listings or searching by fund manager
• using the ‘toggle’ format option to extend the listings on each page and reduce the number of pages to scroll through
• loading multiple charts on one page by clicking on the individual fund names
• move and reposition the charts around the page for easy, side-by-side viewing, by clicking, holding and dragging the chart with the ‘move’ button.

Michael Holland, Financial Express Managing Director commented:

“Our main concern is that fund management groups are able to fulfil their obligation to present their fund prices to their investors via the most appropriate means. We do not envisage this service as competition with the newspapers as there are needs and preferences for both. However, we, the industry, must be pragmatic and acknowledge that some investors will prefer the timeliness, accessibility and interactivity that online delivery of prices will offer. The big question is distribution, and Financial Express, through www.trustnet.com and web technology for fund management groups, can demonstrate vast expertise and market penetration.”

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the IMA commented:

“Fund pricing and performance data are important for both people looking to invest and those wishing to monitor the progress of their existing investments. Financial Express’ online fund listings provide a comprehensive and accessible way for investors to search and compare fund price and performance and IMA is delighted to offer the service on"

 -Ends-

 
For further information, please contact:
Paul Wynne, Head of Marketing & Communication, Financial Express, 020 7534 3355/07887 765 458
Helen Stephenson, Communications Officer, IMA, 020 7831 0898

Notes to Editors:
Following the FSA policy statement to CP185, the COLL sourcebook implemented in April 2004 outlines that funds operating under the new rules could publish prices in an “appropriate manner” rather than there being a prescriptive requirement to publish prices in a national newspaper. Acceptable means of publishing includes publication on the Internet.

Financial Express was formed in 1996 and is the main provider of fund data and technology solutions to the financial sector. Financial Express collects 100 percent of daily fund prices in the UK, and is relied upon as the sole or main source of this data by data vendors, fund supermarkets, financial websites and IFAs.

The Investment Management Association is the trade body representing the UK asset management industry, representing £2 trillion funds under management and over 99% of the UK investment funds industry (unit trusts and OEICs).