S&P unveils fee model for fund manager ratings
ResearchhouseStandard and Poor’s(S&P) will not charge upfront fees to local funds management groups to be rated, marking a departure from its global pricing system.
Instead, S&P will introduce a licensing system where managers will pay to use ratings in advertising and marketing campaigns, as well as the introduction of a subscription model for those dealer groups which want to purchase research information.
S&P fund services director David Collins says all ratings will still be published on the group’s web site and S&P will differentiate its offering by leveraging off the group’s research capabilities in other markets.
He says the group will also offer the subscription service in modules, with users able to purchase reports and data feeds on specific sectors and investment vehicles.
According to Collins this approach is in recognition of the research rich market operating in Australia, as well as the group’s standing as the new player in the retail space.
“In most markets we charge upfront, as it is the model used across the whole business, but the Australian market is different and we have to be commercially realistic, especially in the current market conditions,” Collins says.
“In those businesses where we have scale and strength, such as credit ratings, we charge upfront but as the new player we will adopt this new route.”
The research group has also put a timeframe on the release of its first ratings, with Collins saying the first raft of ratings would be released at the end of this month.
According to Collins, S&P has started meeting with funds management groups and expects to release 10 ratings at the same time, instead of doing them in a piecemeal fashion.
The ratings will have a heavy leaning to qualitative research, with Collins saying ratings would cover at least a three-year track record if available with a full qualitative overlay.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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