Corporate Governance

The benefits of good corporate governance continue to be recognised by Charles Stanley. The Directors remain committed to maintaining corporate governance standards and achieve this by compliance, wherever possible, with the best practice provisions of the Financial Reporting Council's Combined Code on Corporate Governance (the "Combined Code") published in June 2006.

The Combined Code governs the relationship between the constituent parts of the Company, namely the Board and its Committees; Relations with Shareholders; and, Accountability and Audit. The current position of the Group in each of these areas is explained in our Annual Report and Accounts.

The Directors are aware of their responsibilities as a listed company under the Combined Code and where the principles of the Code have been applied, will either confirm that the provisions of the Code have been complied with or, where it is felt that departure from the provisions is appropriate, and explanation will be provided. The Company will continue to consider and, where necessary, respond to corporate governance developments.

The Directors believe that the most important factor for a company is the protection of the members' interests and they maintain that the current management structure does provide the best approach for running Charles Stanley Group PLC.