The first focus area for the GFXC is getting greater adherence and commitment to the Code from the buy-side. Certainly, a lot of progress has been made over the past three years. For example, of the top 30 asset managers globally, more than half have now signed Statements of Commitment to the Code, including Blackrock, Fidelity, SSGA. There is, however, scope for further progress.
In our liaison with the industry, several possible reasons have been suggested for the slower rate of take up from buy-side. Firstly, the Code has 55 principles and there is a perception that many of them are only relevant to the sell-side. Secondly, the buy-side hasn’t had the same incentive to sign up to the Code as the sell-side.