Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Independent Research Settlement Failure

The need for independent, rather than broker or investment banker securities research, arose because of both real and imagined problems about the work of in-house securities analysts.

A 2003 settlement imposed by then New York State Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, provided for so-called independent securities evaluation. It was supposed to be a buffer to what was being offered by those also underwriting securities. It thus forced them to spend $460 million to finance “independent” research, on behalf of non-institutional clients.

Such securities research was little used. Yes, some independence was achieved, but few investors used that source of information.

However, it was a political success at the time the settlement was made. ( See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments.)

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