Personal investments by Reuters journalists

The section in the Code of Conduct that deals with information reporting and personal investments by members of Editorial states:

• Before you report on a company in which you or your family has any kind of shareholding or other financial interest you must notify the interest to your manager or bureau chief.
• You must not deal in securities of any company, or in any other investment, about which you have reported in the previous month.
• If you are regarded as a specialist in a particular area of business or industry you must notify your manager or bureau chief of any financial interest you may have in that area or industry.

This reflects a minimum standard that was current when the Code was written. The changing industry and regulatory environments require us to uphold even higher standards to protect, defend and enhance Reuters reputation for accurate, unbiased journalism. The following rules supplement the Code and the two documents must be read in conjunction. Should there be an inconsistency between this Supplementary Guidance and the Code, this Supplementary Guidance will prevail.

Supplementary Guidance

Reuters will deal with any breaches of these rules through the normal disciplinary procedures in place in the various countries and regions. You should note that certain breaches could attract civil and criminal liability.

The Code and this Supplementary Guidance must be observed in spirit, not just to the letter. The purpose is to avoid any conflict of interests, any compromise of Reuters reputation and any bias (whether real or perceived) on the part of Reuters journalists, whether they be reporters, sub-editors, editors, cameramen, photographers or other employees of Editorial.

No inside dealing

Reuters journalists must not engage in or facilitate inside dealing.

Avoid conflict of interest

Reuters journalists must not buy or sell, either directly or through nominees or agents, securities about which they have written recently or about which they intend to write in the near future. To avoid loopholes, no time period is specified. The test is whether the editorial activity might continue to have an impact on the securities.

No short term trading

Reuters journalists must not take part in short-term trading of any kind. To this end, Reuters journalists must hold investments for a minimum period of thirty days (except that investments in Reuters shares acquired or disposed of through the various company schemes in place shall be governed by the rules of those schemes). Should a journalist wish to repurchase an investment he or she has just sold, a minimum period of thirty days must pass first. Any exceptions should be for family hardship reasons only and must be notified to and approved by the regional corporate counsel and regional managing editor.

Disclosure of interests

In addition to the specific disclosure requirements under the Code (i.e. informing your manager or bureau chief before you report on a company in which you or your family has any kind of holdings or financial interest), Reuters journalists must be prepared to make a general disclosure of their securities holdings where required.

Senior Management

Senior editorial managers shall make an open disclosure of their investment holdings (names but not value) on the editorial I-Web network once per year. “Editorial senior managers” means the Editor-in-Chief and all editorial members of the News Leadership Team.

Specialists

Correspondents and editors who regularly cover or direct coverage of specific securities or sectors must not own those securities, including sector-specific mutual funds. This does not include funds that track a broad market index. Reuters will bear the one–off transaction costs (substantiated by a broker’s receipt) of journalists who need to sell holdings to comply with this rule.

Additional Notes

The term “securities”, for the purposes of the Code and this Supplementary Guidance, comprises the full range of financial instruments (including shares, derivatives, contracts for differences and financial spread bets). The term will be interpreted at its widest to include any transaction where the publication of the writing by a journalist/editor may have a potential impact on its financial performance.

• Where any disclosure of financial interest is required under the Code (e.g. before reporting on a company in which they or a member of their immediate family has any kind of shareholdings or other financial interest), full and frank disclosure of any financial interest is expected, regardless of whether it is direct or indirect interest if there is any potential the editorial activity may affect its performance.
• Where there is a concern about a potential or existing conflict of interest, a senior editor should instruct a journalist to unwind a transaction or take other appropriate action, such as reassigning the writing or editing to another journalist. Reuters will bear the properly substantiated transaction costs of a mandated unwinding of a position but is not responsible for any trading loss that occurs as a result.
• Reuters reserves the right to require an affirmative declaration of understanding of and compliance with the Code of Conduct and this Supplementary Guidance at any time, including on employment, assignment, promotion or daily log-on to Reuters system.

Category: Specialised Guidance