Title: Principles of Investment Business - an Anglo-Australian Perspective
Abstract: Principles of investment business laid down by statutes, cases and industry rules build on the fiduciary relationship and the economic loyalty owed by broker to client.
The United Kingdom has attempted to reduce the principles to ten ‘plain English’ commandments called the Principles for Investment Business to set out the basic duties owed to clients by both stockbrokers and by those in the investment business more generally. These commandments build on best current practice, and are intended to be sufficiently general to apply to new situations arising in the rapidly changing financial sector.
The Principles for Investment Business issued by the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in the UK in 1990 include the following:
(1) High standards of integrity and fair dealing, including the absence of conflicting personal interests
(2) Skill, care and diligence including industriousness and attentiveness to duties
(3) High standards of market practice and market conduct
(4) Obtaining information about customers, including their investment objectives, so that those in the investment business can fulfil their responsibilities to customers
(5) Information should be provided for customers in a comprehensible and timely way so that customers can make a balanced and informed decision
(6) Conflicts of interest in the investment business should be avoided, and priority should be given to the interests of customers
(7) Customers’ assets should be kept segregated from those of the firm, and should be protected at all times
(8) Firms should ensure that they maintain adequate financial resources to meet their investment business commitments
(9) Firms should organise and control their internal organisation, including keeping records, supervision and well-defined compliance procedures
(10) Relations with regulators should be open and conducted in a cooperative manner.
This article examines the Principles for Investment Business from an Anglo-Australian perspective.
Postscript: The SIB was a self-regulatory organisation set up in the UK in 1985 and was funded by the securities industry. It became the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 2001. The FSA was replaced with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2013 with statutory powers under the Financial Services Act 2012 (UK).
The Principles for Investment Business have evolved over the years and are now contained in the APER Statements of Principle and Code of Practice for Approved Persons (APER).
The regulation of investment business in Australia is now in the hands of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) (asic.gov.au) which administers inter alia the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Part 7.7A, added in 2012, sets out statutory obligations of those providing financial advice regarding their obligations to act in the best interests of the client (s 961B). In addition,
ASIC issues legally-enforceable Market Integrity Rules which have now replaced the former stock exchange business rules. It also issues Regulatory Guides to explain how ASIC interprets the law and to provide practical guidance on how those in investment business can best meet their legal obligations.
Publication Year: 1991
Publication Date: 1991-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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