| | An index of professional
services firms listed on
the London Stock
Exchange, the first of
its kind, has been
launched by the Managing
Partners’ Forum (MPF), a
members association
dedicated to enhancing
the status of management
in professional firms.
The MPF Professional
Services Index (‘the
Index’), compiled by
investment bank Noble,
seeks to build the
profile of the
professional services
industry as an
investment opportunity.
In total, the Index has
a valuation of £3.9bn,
as calculated at the
beginning of March of
this year.
According to the
Professional Services
Global Competitiveness
Group (PSGC), supported | |
|
| | by a joint secretariat
provided by HM Treasury
and the City of London
Corporation, in 2007
professional services
accounted for 11.5% of
employment and 8% of UK
output, which was the
largest share of all the
sectors.
The launch of the
Index introduces a new
dimension to an ongoing
MPF campaign to
highlight barriers to
professional firms
engaging with external
investors. MPF believes
that an inefficient
aftermarket has resulted
from listed professional
firms being allocated
across multiple sectors.
MPF is therefore
encouraging the
investment community to
recognise the
professions as a
standalone industry | |
|
| | group; allocate analysts
to cover the professions
to tackle the current
lack of dialogue; and
create funds to invest
in this highly
attractive sector, using
the new Index as a
benchmark.
Currently spread
across multiple Industry
Classification Benchmark
(ICB) categories in the
FTSE indices (such as
support services, real
estate and media), it
has hitherto been
impossible for
appropriate comparisons
to be made by the
investment community.
There are 70
professional services
organisations listed on
the London Stock
Exchange Full List and
AIM, according to
criteria devised by the
MPF as to what | |
|
| | constitutes a
professional services
organisation. For the
purposes of the Index,
firms that operate in
financial services or
with a market
capitalisation of below
£20m or above £1bn have
been excluded, resulting
in a final list of 35
constituent firms. The
Index will be published
monthly, with company
additions/deletions
being made quarterly.
Using historic data,
the Index has
outperformed the FTSE
AIM 100, but shows more
volatility than the FTSE
350 Support Services and
FTSE 350 (excluding
investment companies)
indices. Over the
period, the Index has
seen strong performance
from Tenon and Redhall
Group. Giving greater | |
|
| | visibility for the
professions, it is hoped
that the new Index could
consistently outperform
superficially comparable
indices.
Sir Nigel Knowles,
chair of the MPF and
joint CEO of
international law firm
DLA Piper, commented:
“[The] Index will help
remedy the barrier to
investment brought by a
lack of visibility. The
Index helps these
companies to be analysed
as a coherent group. ...
it is the first step
towards a more robust
and dedicated approach
by investors and
analysts to this
sector.” | |
|
Previous Page 
