A growing number of retail investment facilitators (IFs) are failing to deliver the “full share ownership experience” (FSOE) to their clients, the AIRA has claimed.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the AIRA called for greater transparency of retail shareholder rights when using IFs, noting that new IFs are withholding crucial information from first time and millennial investors.
"New retail IFs are targeting first time and millennial investors with low costs and ease of use services but not all provide the flow of information and opportunities to their clients as most investors and listed companies expect," the AIRA said.
The association warned that by sidestepping the FSOE, IFs are negatively impacting listed companies, limiting their ability to communicate and affecting long-term relationships.
“There have been instances of criticism towards companies where shareholders believed that they held direct share ownership and were not aware their IF was not providing the FSOE”, said Ian Matheson, CEO of AIRA.
“They assumed that the information, access and opportunities were selectively coming from the companies, but in fact, it was the IF and its structure that stopped the flow.”
As such, AIRA has called for IFs to be upfront and clearly provide investors with a statement confirming what they're set to receive.
Maja Garaca Djurdjevic
Maja's career in journalism spans well over a decade across finance, business and politics. Now an experienced editor and reporter across all elements of the financial services sector, prior to joining Momentum Media, Maja reported for several established news outlets in Southeast Europe, scrutinising key processes in post-conflict societies.
