Ethics & Conflicts of Interest

Version 1.0 — 28 May 2026.

Universal Asset Owners covers the largest, most political, most heavily-lawyered pools of capital in the world. Conflicts arise. This page sets out the rules that editorial staff and contributors are expected to follow, and the disclosures we make when those rules are tested.

Gifts and hospitality

Editorial staff do not accept gifts, hospitality, sponsored travel, or favours from a party covered by, or a prospective subject of, Universal Asset Owners — beyond ordinary courtesies of attending a conference, a press briefing, or a working meal. The rule of thumb is the test of the front page: if a reader saw the gift listed alongside the coverage, would they think it bought influence? If yes, it is declined.

Working limits. Items of nominal value (a branded notebook at a conference, a logoed pen) are not gifts. Anything above a notional US$100 is declined or returned, or, where the gift is impractical to return, donated to a charity that has no relationship with the giver. Sponsored travel and accommodation are declined unless they are the only practicable way to cover an event, in which case the arrangement is disclosed on the resulting piece.

Meals. Working meals paid for by a source are acceptable in the ordinary course of reporting. Repeated, lavish, or one-sided arrangements are not.

Securities ownership

Editorial staff do not own, trade, or hold derivatives in individual securities of issuers they cover directly. Holdings in broadly diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, target-date funds, and pension scheme defaults are acceptable; a written holdings disclosure is filed with the Standards Editor on joining and updated on material change.

A staff member who finds themselves with a holding that conflicts with a story divests, or recuses from the story and discloses the holding to the Standards Editor. Where divestment is impractical (a locked retirement vehicle, for instance), the holding is disclosed on the affected piece.

Where a piece discusses an issuer in which the author has a permitted indirect holding (a broad index fund, a target-date fund) and the author considers it material to mention, it is mentioned.

Outside work

Editorial staff do not write paid editorial work, do paid speaking, or take paid advisory positions with parties covered by Universal Asset Owners without the prior written approval of the Standards Editor. Approval is given where the engagement is consistent with these standards and is disclosed on the resulting piece.

Speaking. Editorial staff routinely speak at industry events as part of UAO's work; this is editorial, not outside work, and is unpaid (an honorarium offered is declined or, where declining is impractical, donated).

Books, columns, freelance. Editorial staff publishing books, columns, or freelance pieces with other outlets do so with the Standards Editor's approval and respect non-compete and confidentiality of UAO work in progress.

Political activity

Editorial staff do not run for elected office, hold a position on a campaign for elected office, donate to a campaign in a way that would compromise the appearance of impartial coverage of that race or its participants, or publicly endorse a candidate. Staff may vote, sign ballot petitions, and participate in civic activity that is not associated with active partisan campaigning.

Family and personal relationships

Where a staff member has a close family member, partner, or person with whom they share a household working in a senior role at a covered institution, or in a role that could be informed by UAO's work in progress, the relationship is disclosed to the Standards Editor on joining and on change.

Coverage that directly involves the relevant institution is recused; broader coverage that touches the sector continues with the disclosure on file.

Sources

We do not pay sources for information. We do not promise sources we will write a particular conclusion in exchange for access. We honour off-the-record and Chatham House Rule undertakings.

Where a source asks for anonymity, we describe them as precisely as is consistent with protecting them, and we share the source's identity with the Standards Editor. Where an anonymous source is later revealed to have misled us in a material way, we publish a correction and a note on the source — without identifying them — and the source loses access.

Plagiarism and attribution

Universal Asset Owners credits, links, and attributes the work of others scrupulously. Republishing more than a sentence or two of another outlet's prose without attribution is a firing offence. Drawing on another outlet's reporting without crediting them is a firing offence. Quoting AI output as if it were source material — at all — is a firing offence.

Use of confidential UAO information

Information that comes to staff in the course of work — pending stories, source identities, sponsorship discussions, internal data — is confidential to UAO. Trading on it, sharing it socially, or using it to advantage a third party is a firing offence. Use in the ordinary course of UAO's editorial work is, of course, the work.

Enforcement

A breach of these rules is reported to the Standards Editor. Material breaches can result in correction, retraction, removal of byline, suspension, or termination. We will not knowingly conceal a breach of these rules from readers; where a breach affects published work, the work is corrected and the substance of the breach is described in the correction note.

To raise an ethics concern about a piece or a person, write to info@universalassetowners.com.