Annual distribution to clients

One proposed change to the GIPS(r) standards that garnered a great deal of attention was to recommend that compliant firms annually send the appropriate composite presentation(s) to their existing clients. While this was merely a recommendation, many folks opposed it. In fact, by my count roughly one-third took the trouble to say "no," while no one said "yes" to this item.

The GIPS EC decided to move forward with this change. There appears to have been a belief that some of the opposition stemmed from the prior practice or suggestion that "recommendations" often become "requirements." This is no longer the case.

Because recommendations mean "best practice," only time will tell whether firms are virtually forced into delivering these reports. It will be interesting to see what costs result from this move.