Terribly important things, these fund manager polls. Conducted by magazines such as Institutional Investor, they give large investors the chance to rate investment banks on everything from research analysis to deal-making acumen.
A good indication of how seriously the banks treat them is the uniformity with which their rankings are splashed across their marketing materials. A more telling one is the burst of hospitality and generosity that the banks show the editors of the magazines during the survey season.
But first place clearly is not always the best, as Goldman Sachs found yesterday when the firm topped the list of the least independent research houses in Asia in Asiamoney's annual poll of fund managers.
Independence of research is a timely issue, what with the chorus of accusations ringing around Wall Street about investment bankers pressuring research departments to tailor their product to please the corporate client, rather than the investor.
Goldman is, perhaps understandably, less than pleased at its winning place and points to the fact that its own Mike Warren won top place in Asiamoney's rankings of capital goods and financials analysts.
'Our research is of the highest quality and integrity. I cannot speak for the Asiamoney poll,' sniffed a Goldman spokesman.
Up in arms: Accountants should mark this one in their electronic diaries. In case you have not yet heard, the World Congress of Accountants, held once every five years, is about to arrive in Hong Kong. The amazingly influential Hong Kong Society of Accountants has somehow not only secured the congress, but Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji will officiate at the opening ceremony.
