Thomson Reuters Columnist Resigns After Breaking Trading Code
October 18 2010 - 11:12AM
Dow Jones News
Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI) said Monday that columnist Neil
Collins, one of the London's best-known financial journalists, had
resigned after he breached the media and data information group's
code of conduct on share dealing, and that other journalists are
under investigation for similar dealings.
Collins, who was a columnist at Reuters Breakingviews, had
written about several companies, including BP PLC (BP), Rio Tinto
PLC (RIO.LN) and Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN) in which he
had a financial interest and made trades shortly after writing,
David Schlesinger, editor-in-chief of Reuters, said in a note to
staff.
Thomson Reuters, Dow Jones & Co., and some other financial
media organizations have codes of conduct that restrict employees'
investment and trading activities to avoid accusations of conflict
of interest.
"While we have no evidence the journalist was abusing his
position for financial gain, we take such breaches extremely
seriously and that journalist resigned with immediate effect during
our investigation," Schlesinger said.
Collins, who resigned last week, couldn't be reached for
comment.
"Subsequent questioning of Reuters Breakingviews staff revealed
several other cases where disclosures to readers or managers could
or should have been made; we are updating the archive where
appropriate and will continue to investigate these instances,"
Schlesinger said.
A Thomson Reuters spokeswoman declined to identify the other
journalists, noting it was "too early" and the company is "bound by
employee confidentiality."
A Reuters terminal Monday showed a list of republished columns
with disclaimers that disclosed when a columnist had a significant
interest or where the columnist dealt in the shares of the column's
subject one month either side of when the article was written. The
republished columns include articles not only by Collins but also
columnists Neil Unmack and Margaret Doyle.
Unmack and Doyle weren't available for comment. The Thomson
Reuters spokeswoman confirmed they still both work for the
company.
Thomson Reuters bought Breakingviews in December 2009 with the
aim of adding opinion to the company's traditional offering of
news. The Wall Street Journal quoted people familiar with the
matter saying the deal was valued ay between $15 million and $20
million.
The Thomson Reuters code of conduct says journalists shouldn't
write about shares they own unless they notify their interest to
their manager. Journalists also shouldn't trade in shares they've
recently written about or intend to write about in the near
future.
Schlesinger said the company would review its training to
minimise the risk of breaches of the code of conduct happening
again.
In his memo Schlesinger urged staff to look at their own market
participation "to be sure you comply with the spirit and the letter
of our rules."
"This is about our compact with our readers; it is about our
individual reputations; and it is about ensuring that Reuters and
Thomson Reuters live up to the standards set both by our long,
proud history and our Trust Principles," he said in the note.
Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this newswire and The Wall
Street Journal, competes with Thomson Reuters in supplying
financial news.
According to his profile on Breakingviews, Collins has been a
financial journalist in the U.K. since the 1970s, having been
business editor of the London Evening Standard, The Sunday Times
and then the The Daily Telegraph until 2005. He joined Reuters in
March 2009. The profile says he is also a director of Templeton
Emerging Markets Investment Trust PLC and Finsbury Growth &
Income Trust PLC.
-By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-0-207 842 9290;
lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com