Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will now require its analysts to disclose any holdings in companies they cover, but will not ban them from the stocks, according to a report from Reuters.

So far, both Credit Suisse First Boston and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. have decided to ban analysts from trading in the companies they cover, in an effort to preserve their objectivity. But the practice is controversial, with some pundits insisting that analysts should have their own money on the line along with their recommendations.

Goldman is apparently opting for disclosure. “We now have a disclosure statement on our research notes if an analyst owns shares in a company in the report,” said Goldman spokesman Ed Canaday. Canaday could not immediately say how many analysts would be affected by the new rule, or what spurred the move.

“It’s kind of half a loaf, but half a loaf is better than none,” Chuck Hill, director of research at First Call/Thomson Financial, told Reuters. He said he expects more firms to adopt similar measures in the near future.

“As long as investment banking, directly or indirectly, has a say in a significant part of an analyst’s bonus, the problem still exists,” Hill said.