PS24/9: Payment optionality for investment research

Read PS24/9 (PDF)[1]

Why we are consulting

We want to give UK buyside firms – asset managers and others – greater flexibility on how they can purchase investment research. 

The option we are introducing facilitates joint payments for third-party research and execution services, provided that the firm meets the requirements.

Who this is for

• Investment firms and market operators in the UK
• Asset managers
• Institutional investors such as pension schemes
• Insurance firms
• Banks providing investment services
• Persons providing research that we do not authorise

Next steps

From 1 August 2024 onwards, if you want to take up the new payment option, you must make sure that you comply with our requirements and that you have updated your internal procedures.

You should make sure that you are familiar with our new requirements, as summarised in this Policy Statement.

Background

In April 2024, we published Consultation Paper 24/7 (CP24/7), ‘Payment optionality for investment research[2]’. CP24/7 proposed changes to the existing rules governing how payments for investment research are made.

The CP was a response to the Investment Research Review (IRR)[3], set up in March 2023 by the Treasury, to assess the levels of investment research in the UK, and its contribution to UK capital markets competitiveness.

This new option is our response to recommendation 2 in the IRR report, published in July 2023, on creating an option for paying for research using a bundled payment for trade execution and research.