07/21/03
"The Independent Research MeritocracyTM"
NEW YORK, N.Y., July 21, 2003 -- The Bank of New York announced today that BNY Jaywalk, the Bank's independent equity research consultancy and wholly owned subsidiary, is offering a new plan called The Independent Research MeritocracyTM. The plan will be made available to sell-side brokerage firms now required to procure and distribute independent equity research as part of the Global Research Analyst Settlement.
The BNY Jaywalk plan offers each settling firm the opportunity to create, on behalf of its individual investors, a process for the ongoing selection of independent research reports from a comprehensive pool of independent providers. The Independent Research MeritocracyTM adheres to the settling firms' compliance requirements under the Global Settlement, which calls for settling firms to offer independent research to their customers for every company that their in-house research divisions cover. The Independent Research MeritocracyTM also provides multiple reports for companies, including IPOs, where additional coverage may be desired.
The Global Settlement requires that each settling firm appoint an Independent Consultant who is responsible for the selection of independent research providers. Independent Consultants can use The Independent Research MeritocracyTM to customize their selection of research providers according to parameters that may include research quality and accuracy, customer usability and recommendation performance.
The new plan for the settling firms builds upon BNY Jaywalk's success in working with independent equity research firms to identify and implement objective, high-quality research solutions for institutional investors. This growing network is the largest of its kind and currently includes more than 65 independent research providers. Historically, top independent equity research firms have sold their research to institutional investors willing to pay for it and have been precluded from offering assistance to individual investors due to the high costs associated with their analysis. With the introduction of the BNY Jaywalk solution, participating independent research firms will be able to offer sell-side brokerage customers cost-effective, quality research without conflicting with the independent research firms' own institutional businesses.
The Independent Research MeritocracyTM is also designed so that existing BNY Jaywalk providers, as well as firms not associated with BNY Jaywalk's existing network and future independent entrants to the marketplace, may be eligible to participate in the plan based on the merit of their research. This flexible meritocracy will result in ample coverage, a broad spectrum of research methodology and the continuous opportunity for independent research firms to provide investors with the best research on each company.
"Our plan ensures that the individual customers of the sell-side firms win," said John D. Meserve, president of BNY Jaywalk. "By utilizing The Independent Research MeritocracyTM, an independent research provider does not receive an outright contract that might cause or create the perception of complacency or conflicts of interest that may arise from significant payments for research product without a dynamic mechanism for quality control. Instead, all eligible independent research providers have the continuous opportunity to earn revenue for distribution of their qualified analysis on a merit basis. In turn, the individual investor customers of the firms are always offered the best available selection of independent research from a growing, changing and diverse pool of independent analysis."
Also, as part of the technology already in place to deliver reports to the sell-side brokerages, BNY Jaywalk will provide a customized BNY Jaywalk Consensus report detailing the independent research community's overall sentiment on every given company. This report, which shows the number of independent research providers covering a company and summarizes their recommendations over time, provides individual investors with a frame of reference to evaluate the differences between independent research and sell-side research found through other sources.
"The goal of the BNY Jaywalk Independent Research MeritocracyTM is to address both the letter and the spirit of the Global Settlement and the new regulations," said Joseph M. Velli, senior executive vice president of The Bank of New York and head of BNY Securities Group. "Research firms should be selected and rewarded upon the merits of their analysis and their recommendations. Our proposal accomplishes those objectives."
For more information, please call BNY Jaywalk at (212) 457-3036. Additional information on BNY Jaywalk is available at www.bnyjaywalk.com.
The Bank of New York Company, Inc. (NYSE: BK) is a global leader in securities servicing for issuers, investors and financial intermediaries. The Company plays an integral role in the infrastructure of the capital markets, servicing securities in more than 100 markets worldwide. The Company provides quality solutions through leading technology for global corporations, financial institutions, asset managers, governments, non-profit organizations, and individuals. Its principal subsidiary, The Bank of New York, founded in 1784, is the oldest bank in the United States and has a distinguished history of serving clients around the world through its five primary businesses: Securities Servicing and Global Payment Services, Private Client Services and Asset Management, Corporate Banking, Global Market Services, and Retail Banking. Additional information on the Company is available at www.bankofny.com.
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