A rule passed by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) to handle some of the conflicts of interest between research analysts and investment banking. As a result of Rule 27‑11, research reports must say whether the analyst or any member of his or her family owns the stock being discussed, and whether the analystÂ’s firm has or intends to obtain an investment banking relationship with the company.

Also, according to Rule 27‑11, banks must divide all their research recommendations into three categories (buy, neutral, and sell), and disclose what percentage of companies fall into each category. The percentage of companies in each category also must be broken out for investment banking clients. In addition, research analysts are prohibited from letting a research report be previewed by investment bankers or by the company.