Portfolio Investment: Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS): Survey Guide, First Edition

[Note that the CPIS Survey Guide, First Edition, has now been superseded by the CPIS Survey Guide, Second Edition]

The Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey Guide, first edition, was provided to assist national compilers in preparing for the 1997 CPIS. The Survey Guide, first edition was prepared by the IMF's Task Force on the Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey, which was established by the IMF Committee on Balance of Payments Statistics to prepare for the Coordinated Survey, and is composed of experts on the collection of portfolio investment data. The Survey Guide, first edition has proved to be a valuable source of information for compilers of any country embarking upon the Coordinated Survey.

The Survey Guide, first edition has two main purposes:

(a) To set out the objectives of the Coordinated Survey.

(b) To provide practical advice on how to prepare, organize, and conduct the national survey.

The Survey Guide, first edition consists of four chapters and eight appendices:

The first chapter presents the purpose, scope, and modalities of the CPIS.

The second chapter covers collection methods, the potential units to be surveyed, and the degree of detail required. Practical experience clearly indicates that there is no one best method of compiling portfolio investment data; each country must take account of its own financial structure and particular circumstances.

The third chapter covers a variety of technical issues that a country must address when conducting a survey. These include the treatment of different types of securities, the method of geographic attribution, the valuation of securities, the difference between direct and portfolio investment, and the treatment of particular types of transactions that could cause double counting. The Survey Guide, first edition strongly emphasizes the practical approach to these issues.

The fourth chapter covers the practical issues associated with preparing for a national survey. These include setting a timetable, taking account of the legal and confidentiality issues raised, developing a mailing list, choosing from types of software packages that can be used, and maintaining quality control checks.

Finally, the appendices provide three model survey forms:

• A form for a survey of custodians and end-investors on a security-by-security basis.

• A form for an aggregate survey of custodians and end-investors.

• A form for an aggregate survey of end-investors.

The appendices also include a short summary of the Coordinated Survey's objectives that can be presented to potential respondents, a glossary of security terms, flowcharts on client/custodial relationships, a listing of the major security databases that national compilers may find useful in their work, and a method for reconciling portfolio investment position and transactions data.

To assist national compilers in preparing for the 2001 CPIS, a revised version of the Survey Guide has been prepared and is available in final draft form. The revised Survey Guide focuses on major issues encountered by national compilers in conducting the 1997 CPIS.

Copies of the Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey Guide, first edition are available from IMF Publications in English, for a fee.

A limited number of copies are also available in French and Spanish, free of charge, from the Statistics Department of the IMF. (E-mail: STABPM5@IMF.ORG. Fax: 1 202 623-6033.)

See also the side-bars to this page for additional information on the 1997 CPIS survey.