The 27th Annual GIPS® Standards Conference was held October 17-18 in Chicago.  TSG was there and found the conference enjoyable (it was great seeing everyone) and educational.

Over the next few weeks, we will share some key takeaways from the conference, starting today with the GIPS Standards Update from Day 1.

As always, TSG is here to help. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions.

GIPS Standards Update

Adoption of the GIPS Standards continues to increase, being translated into additional languages and expanding into new markets in 2023 (Israel and Sweden). According to P&I, 24 of the top 25 and 90 of the top 100 global firms claim compliance for all or a portion of their assets.

There was a plethora of new and updated guidance issued in 2023, including: 

• Guidance Statement on Benchmarks for Asset Owners, which specifically addresses concepts such as policy versus target benchmarks and private market lagged benchmarks
• Revised Guidance Statement on Benchmarks for Firms (see new language indicated in blue text including clarified components of a benchmark description)
• Guidance Statement on Firms Managing Only BDPFs (Exposure Draft) addressing how firms managing only broad distribution pooled funds (BDPF) / public funds can claim compliance if they elect not to prepare GIPS reports or GIPS advertisements; public comment period ended 8/2023
• Guidance Statement for OCIO Strategies (Exposure Draft) was drafted to address the unique nature of this segment; public comment period closes November 20, 2023
• Guidance Statement on Composites for Fiduciary Management Providers to UK Pension Schemes (Exposure Draft); public comment period ended 9/2023

Tools offered by the CFA Institute were expanded to include additional assistance to asset owners and firms and guidance for firms claiming compliance that must also adhere to the SEC Marketing Rule. 

Asset Owners

• Guide for Creating a GIPS Standards Policies and Procedures Manual for Asset Owners
• Requirements Outside the Provisions for Asset Owners

Firms

• Assistance to Firms Considering Compliance with the GIPS Standards
• Guide for Creating a GIPS Standards Policies and Procedures Manual for Firms
• GIPS® Standards for Marketing Teams introductory presentation

SEC Marketing Rule

• New webpage devoted to SEC Marketing Rule Tools
• Reconciling the GIPS Standards and the SEC Marketing Rule Whitepaper (updated 9/2023)
• Sector and Contribution Model Net Performance spreadsheet template
• Investment level Net TWR Calculations spreadsheet template
• Webinar series with K&L Gates SEC Marketing Rule Developments & Implementation Updates
• 2 March 2023 webinar | Deal-level performance and advertising attribution
• 29 June 2023 webinar | Defining performance that must be net of fees
• 13 September 2023 webinar | Treatment of hypothetical performance

A survey was published addressing the error correction policies of firms.

Takeaways included that more than half of respondents applied an error correction policy to errors identified outside GIPS reports, and 70% of respondents have a (formal or informal) GIPS Standards Oversight Committee. Projects underway at CFA Institute include after-tax standards for US firms, detailed guidance for verifiers, and best practices for attribution and trade errors. 

Clearly, a lot is going on in the world of GIPS.  Whether you are already compliant and verified or just starting to think about compliance with the GIPS standards, TSG can help. To learn more about our GIPS compliance and verification services, please click here.