New Industry Guidelines for IOIs
Buy & Sell-side Co-operation Results in New Industry Guidelines for IOIs
Regional Charter Provides Transparency and Consistency for Market Participants
Hong Kong, 6 November 2020 – A collective of industry associations including Quorum 15,
ASIFMA, Asia TraderForum and the FIX Trading Community have together launched
The Asia Pacific IOI Charter (“the Charter”). The Charter provides guidance for all market participants
who issue Indications of Interest (IOIs) and the recipients that react to them on a bilateral basis.
An IOI is a conditional, non-binding interest in buying a security that is currently in registration.
This initiative is the result of extensive cross-industry cooperation between buy-side and sell-side
participants via their respective industry associations.
The Charter has been created to provide transparency and consistency of approach across participants
for trading throughout the APAC region, building on internationally recognised standards. [1]
This Charter is open to all market participants and is designed as a working document to address practical
challenges faced by them in the Asia Pacific markets. The industry organisations involved above may periodically
engage with stakeholders to determine whether further clarifications are required.
The Charter is supported by a due diligence questionnaire, designed to support dialogue between buy and sell side firms
and bring clarity to IOI definitions and practices. These documents can be found on the ASIFMA website, along with the list
of firms who agree in principle with the content of the Charter and are working to implement and align their procedures,
behaviours, and internal policies with the Charter by the end of 2020.
Mike Burton, CEO & Founder, Quorum 15, said: “The APAC IOI Charter is a perfect example of how the industry proactively came
together in a collegial and collaborative manner. I am extremely grateful for the hard work and spirit of cooperation by the many
individuals whose contributions made this Charter possible.”
For more information please click here.
To read the Charter please click here.
[1] The 2017 AFME/IA Framework for IOIs, the 2016 Asia Trader Forum IOI Code of Conduct and Best Practice Memorandum and the 2018 and 2019 Circulars released by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission around the implementation of IOIs.
POSITIONING
Quorum 15 is independent and self-financed. Neither a lobbying body nor industry association, we bring leaders together in frank discussion to identify areas of consensus that can be fed back into their respective associations. Frankness is encouraged through our policy of operating under the Chatham House Rule. Fairness is ensured by our Competition Law policy which prohibits any discussion that could be considered in any way to be anti-competitive.ADVISORY BOARD
To ensure the agendas at each of our quorum’s only focus on what is most important to our members, an advisory board comprised of both buy and sell-side members has been established in each quorum location. In the run-up to every event that we run, three or four key topics are identified, put to the vote and from there the primary and secondary topics are determined – along with any guest speakers.Latest News
If you are looking for the latest news about Quorum 15 or for more information about our quorums, take a look out our ‘Latest News’ page. With videos, photos and information from speakers at our international events, it’s a great place to start it you’d like to learn more about who we are and what we do. Our events calendar is also a useful tool – why not take a look at it today to find out more about our upcoming events?