Copy Merrill - Or No Business

10 years ago

The New York Times reports that officials from three of America's largest pension funds have confirmed that they intend to stop doing business with Wall Street houses unless the firms initiate the stock research changes already in place at Merrill Lynch.

Officials who run the New York, California and North Carolina pension funds, who together oversee over $400bn in assets, insist that investment banks must meet what is now being described as the 'Merrill standard' if they wish to continue to undertake business with them. It is believed that it won't be long before most of the other US states apply the same criteria.

Although the stance by the pension funds won't unduly worry many firms as the majority have already confirmed that they have or will adopt the 'Merrill standard', Goldman Sachs could suffer unless its revisits the issue. Goldman has announced that it will continue to permit investment bankers to be involved in the performance reviews of its analysts and, by default, their compensation review.

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