A new survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals progress toward a standardized approach to reporting investment performance.

According to the survey, 95% of respondents indicating that they are either compliant with at least one AIMR performance presentation standard, or were looking to become so in the near future.

“2001 Global Trends in Performance Measurement” is the first global study conducted by PwC in response to the growing demand for global industry practices surrounding compliance with the performance standards. Responses were gathered from more than 60 global asset management companies around the world each with assets under management ranging from US $3 billion to well over US $200 billion.

The majority of survey respondents revealed that they underwent an independent verification — 75% of firms compliant with the standards indicated that they were verified in some way; 13% on a firm-wide basis and 62% receiving an examination of one or more individual composites. However, of those not currently verified, 67% plan to become verified within the next two years.

Firms are using their Web sites to disseminate performance information — 50% of respondents include performance results on their Web sites, 60% of which claim compliance with a chosen standard on their Web sites.

“As more countries move to adopt performance standards, and as the investment management industry becomes more global, we believe there will be a sharp rise in demand for reliable independent data regarding trends in performance measurement,” said Peter McNamara, partner at PwC and Leader of US Investment Performance Measurement Services. “The issues for firms adopting performance standards are likely to be similar wherever they are located around the globe.”

“The stunning achievement of this new “level playing field” in performance measurement by the global investment community will in turn foster a more rapid trend towards industry globalization,” says the survey.