• Investment Research

    • BC-2.10.8

      Where an investment firm licensee issues investment research, its conflicts policy must specify the types of investment research issued by it. An investment firm licensee that prepares and publishes investment research must have adequate procedures and controls to ensure:

      (a) The effective supervision of investment analysts by following at the very least the items listed in Paragraph BC-2.12.11;
      (b) That any actual or potential conflicts of interest are managed in accordance with Rule BC-2.10.1; and
      (c) That the investment research issued to clients is not biased.
      Amended: January 2007

    • BC-2.10.9

      Investment firm licensees that publish investment research must take reasonable steps to ensure that the investment research:

      (a) Identifies the types of clients for which it is principally intended;
      (b) Distinguishes fact from opinion or estimates, and includes references to sources of data used;
      (c) Specifies the date when it was first published;
      (d) Specifies the period the ratings or recommendations are intended to cover;
      (e) Contains a clear and unambiguous explanation of the rating or recommendation system used;
      (f) Includes a price chart or line graph depicting the performance of the financial instrument for the period that the investment firm licensee has assigned a rating or recommendation for that financial instrument, which must also show the dates on which the ratings were revised; and
      (g) Includes a distribution of the different ratings or recommendations, in percentage terms for all financial instruments in respect of which the investment business licensee publishes investment research.
      Amended: July 2015
      Amended: January 2007

    • BC-2.10.10

      Investment firm licensees must take reasonable steps to ensure that when it publishes investment research, disclosure is made of the following matters:

      (a) Any financial interest or material interest that the investment analyst or a close relative has, which relates to the financial instrument;
      (b) Any shareholding by the investment firm licensee or its associate of 1% or more of the total issued share capital of the issuer;
      (c) Whether the investment firm licensee or its associate acts as corporate broker for the issuer;
      (d) Any material shareholding by the issuer in the investment firm licensee;
      (e) [This Subparagraph was deleted in July 2015]; and
      (f) Whether the investment firm licensee is a market maker in the financial instrument.
      Amended: July 2015
      Amended: January 2007

    • BC-2.10.11

      If an investment firm licensee acts as a manager or co-manager of an initial public offering or a secondary offering it must take reasonable steps to ensure that it does not publish investment research relating to the financial instrument during the period beginning on the day of publication of the listing particulars or a prospectus relating to the offering of that financial instrument and ending on the 30th calendar day after the day on which the financial instrument is admitted to trading.

    • BC-2.10.12

      Investment firm licensees and their associates must not knowingly execute an own account transaction in a financial instrument, which is the subject of investment research, prepared either by the investment firm licensee or its associate, until the clients for whom the investment research was principally intended have had a reasonable opportunity to act upon it.

    • BC-2.10.13

      The restriction in Rule BC-2.10.11 does not apply if:

      (a) The investment firm licensee or its associate is a market maker in the relevant financial instrument;
      (b) The investment firm licensee or its associate executes an unsolicited transaction for a client; or
      (c) It is not expected to materially affect the price of the financial instrument.
      Amended: January 2007