For
immediate release: Monday 15 July 2002
IMA INTRODUCES SECTOR
MONITORING SCHEME
The IMA has launched a scheme to monitor the
portfolios of all funds classified within the IMA sectors.
Investment funds that consistently fail to meet the
terms of the sector definitions will be reclassified into
appropriate sectors, and may lose their ability to make
relative performance comparisons against their peers.
Funds that refuse
to supply full holdings data for the project will be
reclassified within the ‘Unmonitored’ sector, which will
be added to the classification system on 1 October.
Funds that choose not to participate because they are
not marketed to retail investors will also automatically be
allocated to the new Unmonitored sector.
The project will
begin by looking at funds within the UK All Companies sector. However, monitoring will commence on the remaining equity
sectors in October and the mixed/bond sectors in March 2003. Although there are currently no plans to monitor the
Guaranteed/Protected, Index Bear, Pension or Property sectors,
this could change as the project matures.
The first phase of
the IMA Sector Monitoring Project has been completed and
Lipper, who are carrying out the monitoring on the
Association’s behalf, have now reported initial findings to
the IMA’s Performance Category Review Committee (PCRC).
Funds that have breached their sector definitions will
be notified immediately in confidence.
Dorian Carrell,
Head of Statistics at the IMA, commented:
“
The IMA has pioneered this sector monitoring project as a
further step towards increased transparency in the UK
industry. Portfolios are monitored on a monthly basis, and
with the addition of bond and mixed funds sectors in March
2002, the system will extend to cover a broad range of asset
classes and the vast majority of funds available to the UK
retail investor.
The monitoring project will not only increase
the robustness of peer group comparison figures but will also
reassure investors that the funds are consistently invested in
accordance with the parameters of the IMA sector
definitions.”
The
IMA has commitment from 100% of its retail fund universe to
participate in the project.
So far data has been collected from over 65% of funds,
which account for more than 85% of funds under management.
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ends -
For further information please
contact:
Dorian
Carrell, Head of Statistics, IMA
020 7831 0898
Clare
Arber, Head of Communications, IMA
020 7831 0898
Notes to Editors:
-
As there are almost 2000 unit trusts and OEICs to
choose from, the sector classification system was introduced
to help investors make initial fund comparisons.
The PCRC reviews the system to take account of industry
trends and will introduce or abolish sectors if necessary.
-
The purpose of the Performance Category Review
Committee (PCRC) is to provide
guidance to IMA members and data measurers on the
appropriate classification of funds by type and the method of
calculation and disclosure of performance and other related
data, including yields, charges and prices.
As far as possible, the Committee seeks to ensure
uniformity in the preparation and presentation of data and
that measurement comparisons should be independent of
commercial considerations.
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Sector definitions can be found on the IMA website,
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In order to undertake the IMA Sector Monitoring, Lipper
has collected full portfolio holdings from fund groups for the
purposes of monitoring their funds in the IMA fund
classifications. This
is collected on a monthly basis.
-
Readers should note that funds can also move sectors
for other reasons, such as fund mergers or an approved change
in investment objectives.
65
Kingsway London WC2B 6TD
Tel:
+44 (0) 20 7831 0898 Fax:+44 (0) 20 7831 9975
www.investmentuk.org
Investment
Management Association is a company limited by guarantee
registered in England and Wales Registered number 4343737.
Registered office as above.
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