Finance directors vote for online delivery

Finance directors prefer to receive broker research online, according to the Reuters UK Smaller Companies survey out today.

Stephen Parker, MD of Tempest Consultants, which carried out the research on behalf of Reuters said: "Fifty eight per cent of finance directors want the information to be electronically accessible rather than having a pile of papers land on their desk."

In addition, the survey showed that 46 per cent of fund managers would like to receive brokers' research over the Internet, whilst 47 per cent like to use existing online providers such as Reuters and Bloomberg.

This is the first year the question of delivery has been included in the survey, but Parker added: "We believe this method will become increasingly popular." Over half the fund managers questioned want to have full online research delivery within a year.

The troubled new electronic dealing system Sets also featured in the survey and the results the fund management groups are firmly in favour of not introducing the electronic trading system into the small capitalisation market. Seventy five per cent (up from 50 per cent last year) believe it should remain a traditional market making or quote driven trading system, otherwise liquidity in that sector, which is already quite bad, would be worsened.