Editorial standards and disclosure policy

The First Share publishes research and opinion on listed companies. Because our ratings and fair values are investment recommendations, we hold ourselves to clear rules on how we produce them and what we disclose. This page sets out those rules, and every analysis links back to it.

Who is responsible

Every analysis names the analyst who wrote it and their role. The First Share is published by [legal entity name]. We are an independent publisher, not an investment firm: we do not give personal investment advice or manage money, and we are not authorised to do so.

How we present our research

• We keep facts separate from interpretation, estimates and opinion.
• We name the material sources we rely on, such as company reports and filings, results presentations, our own financial models and third-party market data, and we say so when we have doubts about a source.
• Forecasts, estimates and fair values are always labelled as such, together with the key assumptions behind them.
• Each analysis shows the date and time it was completed and first published, and the date and time of every share price it mentions.

Ratings

We use three ratings. They reflect a holding period of [three to five] years.

• Buy: the share trades at least [20]% below our fair value, and we consider the risks acceptable.
• Hold: the share trades within [20]% of our fair value, or the potential return does not compensate for the risks.
• Sell: the share trades more than [20]% above our fair value, or we see risks that the price does not reflect.

A rating remains valid until we publish a new one. We aim to review every rating at least [twice a year and after each annual and half-year result]. When a rating or fair value changes, the analysis shows the previous rating, fair value and date. Our ratings page lists every rating and fair value we have published in the past 12 months, with the analyst, the date and the share price at the time.

Fair values and methodology

Fair value is our estimate of what one share is worth today, based on the cash the business can generate for its owners over its life. It is not a forecast of the share price on a particular date.

We build a bear, base and bull scenario for every company we rate, usually with discounted cash flow models. Holding companies and conglomerates are valued as the sum of their parts. We treat stock-based compensation as a real cost. Each analysis summarises the method and key assumptions, shows how sensitive the fair value is to the most important of them, sets out the main risks to our view, and explains any change in method or assumptions since our previous analysis. Material information about our models is set out in each analysis and on this page.

Contact with companies

We may contact a company to check facts. We never share our rating, fair value or conclusions with a company before publication. If an analysis is changed after a company has seen part of it, we say so in the article.

Conflicts of interest

We disclose anything that could reasonably be expected to affect our objectivity.

• Positions: every analysis states whether the author, or anyone closely associated with them (such as a partner, dependent children, relatives in the same household and companies they control), holds a long or short position in the company. If an author or The First Share ever holds a net long or short position above 0.5% of a company's issued share capital, we state this explicitly.
• No paid research: we never accept payment from the companies we cover, and we do not publish sponsored research or advertorials.
• Other relationships: if The First Share or an author has any other relationship with a company we write about, such as a business relationship, an advisory role or a board seat, we disclose it in the article. The First Share is not a market maker or liquidity provider, does not arrange share offerings, and has no agreements with the companies we cover for investment services or for producing research.
• Advertising: advertising is clearly labelled, sold separately from our research, and advertisers have no say in what we write.

Trading rules for our authors

• Once we have decided on a new or changed rating, no author trades in that company until [three] trading days after the analysis is published.
• Authors do not trade against a current published rating: they do not sell a share we rate Buy, or buy a share we rate Sell. If an author's view changes, we publish the new rating first.
• In exceptional personal circumstances an author may need to make a trade these rules would otherwise prevent; any such trade is disclosed on our ratings page within [two] business days.
• These rules also apply to people closely associated with the author.

The HALO Portfolio

The HALO Portfolio is a model portfolio that shows how we would act on our research. It is not a managed portfolio, and we do not invest money on anyone's behalf. Every change is published to Owner Yield members with its rationale, and our trading rules apply: no author trades in a company affected by a portfolio change until [three] trading days after the change is published.

Software and AI

We use software, including AI tools, for research and editing. Every analysis, rating and fair value is checked and signed off by a named analyst who takes responsibility for it.

Corrections

We correct factual errors promptly. A corrected article carries a dated note explaining what changed. We never quietly edit a rating or fair value: a change is always published as a new, dated rating.

Questions

Questions about this policy, or think we have made an error? Email [email address].