12 - 18 April 2001

College of Stockbrokers strongly refutes Dalli’s comments

by a staff reporter

The College of Stockbrokers yesterday refuted comments made by the Finance Minister John Dalli during a recent seminar on media analysis of the Stock Exchange.
In a statement yesterday, the College said that during the seminar – “A Cultural Void – Media Analysis of the Stock Exchange”, Mr Dalli was reported in a weekly business newspaper, which hosted the seminar, to have said, among other things, that “...in reality stockbrokers have a vested interest in the market. Logically, this means that they can lose some of their objectivity.” Variations on this content also appeared in other media.
“The College of Stockbrokers would like to note that stockbrokers indeed have a vested (and declared) interest in the market in the sense that it is in their interest for the market to develop properly. They however refute in the strongest possible terms, this slur on their professionalism,” the College said in the statement.
The College of Stockbrokers added that “other persons may have different objectives and may also have vested interests, declared or otherwise. It is therefore essential that stockbrokers analyse and comment on the market as they see it in order to help form investors’ opinions. It is then up to investors, if necessary after seeking further advice, to decide whether to invest or otherwise.”
“Stockbrokers’ research assists not only investors but also journalists and issuers of new securities who can be guided as to the market’s expectations,” the College added. The College of Stockbrokers was established by statute when Minister Dalli pushed through a legal notice which was strongly opposed by the opposition. Although the College was founded more than two months ago, the Council has not yet found time to meet with the College of Stockbroking Firms.