March 04, 2003
Cooperative Research Centres Association Inc
Media Release

Australia's international business competitiveness is being whetted by a host of smart new information and communication technologies emerging from the nation's Co-operative Research Centres (CRCs).

Investors large and small will be able to select the best broker anywhere in the world based on performance, using a revolutionary rating service developed by the Capital Markets CRC (CMCRC).

Combining the capacity to analyse vast amounts of market data from round the world with advanced mathematical modelling, the CRC is poised to release a new broker rating service that tells investors just how well their chosen broker is performing compared with others in research, sales and trading. Brokers are assessed stock-by-stock, and the ratings can be updated monthly.

"It's a quantum leap in sophistication over the present annual, labour-intensive survey system. It offers institutional investors a real opportunity to make sounder decisions and reduce their transaction costs," says CMCRC chief executive Professor Mike Aitken.

"At the same time it is cheap enough to help the mums-and-dads investors, and will help reduce the cost of capital to Australia overall."

The broker rating service is one of a series of advances in financial tools and technologies, ranging from investment advice to market surveillance and scam detection, that are positioning Australia to be a leader in they supply of intelligent technology to world capital markets within 3-5 years, he says.