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A broker dealer who includes investment company rankings in its retail communication may only provide ranking information created by a ranking entity, investment company or investment company affiliate. A ranking entity is any entity that is independent from the investment company and who in the normal course of business, provides general information about investment companies to the public. The member using the ranking must include a headline or prominent disclosure stating:
• The fund category (i.e. growth, income etc)
• The number of funds or fund families in the category
• The name of the ranking entity
• If the investment company or affiliate created the category or subcategory of funds included in the ranking
• The length of time measured from the starting date through the ending date
• The ranking criteria (i.e. total return, risk adjusted return)
All communications must include a statement that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Additionally, the communication must disclose whether or not the ranking includes the impact of front end sales loads. If rankings are provided for multiple share classes (A, B or C shares) representing ownership in the same portfolio, a prominent disclosure must be included detailing the different expense structures. All retail communication must be based on the rankings for the most recent quarter’s end. If these rankings are not available, the member may use the most recent rankings available providing that doing so would not be misleading. If the rankings are based on a symbol system such as “star rankings” a detailed explanation as to the meaning of such rankings must be disclosed. Rankings that are based on total return must be based on a time period of at least 1 year.
Rankings for funds that have been in existence for a substantial period of time must be based on total return for the fund for 1, 5 and 10 years. If the fund has been in existence for at least 5 years, the total return must be based on 1 and 5 years. If rankings for 5 and 10 years are not or were not published by the ranking entity, the entity must publish rankings for “short, medium and long” term. Retail communication may not include ranking information that is based on a time frame of less than 1 year unless the ranking is based on the fund’s yield.