Publicly traded companies and investment management firms would be barred from "retaliating against research analysts who issue undesirable recommendations or ratings on corporate issuers,” according to a draft of standards issued by AIMR to promote objective securities research. The proposal would require public companies and investment management firms to "establish formal written policies supporting independent and objective analyst research and to have a senior corporate officer publicly attest at least annually that the company or firm is adhering to the policy.”
The Association for Investment Management and Research will seek public comments through Oct. 17 before finalizing and promulgating the standards. AIMR has no regulatory authority to compel firms to adopt its standards, said Thomas A. Bowman, AIMR president and CEO.
