Practical Portfolio Performance Measurement and Attribution, Second Edition

Appendix N

Guidance Statement on Recordkeeping Requirements of the GIPS Standards²⁰

Adoption Date: July 2007 Effective Date: 31 October 2007 Retroactive Application: Not Required Public Comment Period: Oct-Dec 2004

GUIDANCE STATEMENT ON RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS OF THE GIPS STANDARDS

Introduction

GIPS^® standards Provision 1.A.1 states: “All data and information necessary to support a firm’s performance presentation and to perform the required calculations must be captured and maintained.”

The following guidance relates only to records necessary to satisfy the recordkeeping requirements of the GIPS standards. In all instances, either paper (hard-copy) records or electronically stored records will suffice. If records are stored electronically, the records must be easily accessible and printable if needed. Although most firms are looking for a very precise list of the minimum supporting documents that must be maintained to support all parts of the GIPS-compliant performance presentation, including the ability to recreate the firm’s performance history, there is not a single list of records that will suffice in all situations.

Guiding principles

1. Above all else, a firm must meet any and all applicable regulatory requirements addressing records that must be maintained.

2. For each performance period presented in the GIPS-compliant presentation, a firm must maintain sufficient records that allow for the recalculation of portfolio-level returns. Depending on the system and ...