‘ASIC’s priority is to ensure fair and efficient financial markets. All investors – large and small- should have access to equal information from listed entities when making their investment decisions,’ ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour said.

This reporting season is the first since ASX issued its revised Guidance Note 8 which assists listed entities understand their continuous disclosure obligations and particularly the requirement to disclose market sensitive information to the ASX.

Over the coming weeks ASIC will be working to raise awareness of the risks of selective disclosure when listed companies brief analysts. ASIC will be reminding key gatekeepers, company officers, individual analysts and their firms, of their obligations.

In addition, ASIC will look to conduct spot checks with selected companies so we can hear how companies brief analysts and understand their procedures. We anticipate that companies and securities houses will be pleased to assist us in this exercise to promote market integrity.

If standards can be improved ASIC will issue consider providing additional guidance on this topic. ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 62 Better disclosure for investors (RG 62) suggests a number of practical steps that a listed company should take to ensure the widest audience of investors have access to material information about the company.

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Gareth Simmons joins from Morgan Stanley where he was a European Credit Desk Analyst covering high yield telecoms and media. Gareth joined Morgan Stanley in 2006.

Jenny Wong joins from Putnam Investments where she was a Credit Analyst in the European High Yield Fixed Income team, covering a number of industry sectors.  Jenny joined Putnam in 2006.

Headed by Barrie Whitman, Threadneedle’s High Yield Bond team now comprises three fund managers – Barrie, Michael Poole and David Backhouse – and four investment analysts providing full support and coverage. The team has extensive market experience: Barrie has been at Threadneedle for 12 years and has 23 years’ experience in the high yield sector, both in the US and Europe; Michael Poole joined the team in 2005 bringing 12 years’ experience; and David Backhouse joined Threadneedle in 2003 with 13 years’ experience. The core of the team has worked together for more than five years.

The High Yield Bond team draws on the skills and expertise of the broader Fixed Income team, headed by Jim Cielinski, who joined Threadneedle from Goldman Sachs in October 2010. Jim has more than 20 years’ experience in the corporate credit markets. The team further benefits from Threadneedle’s well-established investment process, which is based on a collaborative approach of active debate and sharing of ideas across asset classes.

Jim Cielinski, Head of Fixed Income at Threadneedle, commented: “These two new hires complete the expansion of our High Yield team and add to the strength of our high yield investment research capabilities. The team’s style and approach was instituted by Barrie over 12 years ago and has proven highly successful over this time. Barrie’s team draws on the expertise of our Investment Grade, Government Bond and Emerging Market Debt teams, as well as other investment teams such as our dedicated Commodities team. We believe that this collaborative approach is fundamental to achieving sustained out-performance.”

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