January 3, 1992
TO: INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS NO. 1-92
RE: SIB REVIEW OF POLARISATION AND REGULATORY ORGANIZATIONS
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Attached is a letter from Norton Rose regarding the
Securities and Investment Board's review of a number of issues
concerning retail regulation. The letter discusses two of the
issues under review, polarisation and the scope and boundaries of
regulatory organizations. The letter states that polarisation is
a concept applied to the marketing of certain products in the
U.K., including collective investment schemes such as UCITS,
authorized unit trusts and life insurance policies. According to
Norton Rose, an intermediary marketing these products either must
be 1) completely independent of any product manufacturer, in
which case the intermediary may market the products of any
organization, or 2) tied to a particular organization, and market
only the products of that organization. Norton Rose reports,
among other things, that SIB has suggested that authorized unit
trusts and investment trust savings schemes should not be subject
to the polarisation requirements. With regard to regulatory
organizations, the letter reports on the merger and possible
restructuring of certain U.K. self-regulatory organizations.
Also attached is a news article forwarded by Norton Rose
concerning polarisation.
Angela C. Goelzer
Assistant Counsel - International
Attachments