La rilevanza negoziale del benchmark nelle gestioni di portafogli

Recent decisions of the Italian Supreme Court have raised the issue of the role of benchmark in the evaluation of the conduct of investment firms providing the service of portfolio management. According to an opinion, the deviation from the contractually established benchmark for financial investments constitutes a breach of contract and entitles the investor to claim for damages. This paper analyses the issue, underlining the link that exists between the discretionary authority of the manager to make investment decisions, which distin- guishes the portfolio management service, and the benchmark, as a standard in the assessment of the manager's conduct and in the representation of the level of risk (accepted by the client) within which the manager may exercise its discretion.