The worsening of the sovereign debt makes it necessary for EU leaders to take bolder steps to tame it. Agnes Le Thiec, CFA, examines possible options from an investor’s perspective. Read more
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- Agnès Le Thiec, CFA
- Alexander Flatscher, CFA
- Angela Pica, CFA
- Beth Kaiser, CFA, CIPM
- Bob Dannhauser, CFA
- Bob Luck CFA, CPA
- Cindy Kent
- Claire Fargeot
- Crystal Detamore
- Glenn Doggett, CFA
- Graziella Marras
- Jamie Underwood
- Jim Allen, CFA
- John Rogers, CFA
- Jon Stokes, JD
- Jonathan Boersma, CFA
Agnès is a former director of capital markets policy for CFA Institute in Brussels.
Alexander is director of CFA Institute codes and standards for the Asia-Pacific region. He is responsible for promoting the ethical standards, policies, and positions of CFA Institute.
Retail investors may have been victims of another Madoff-style scam—this time with a Las Vegas-based company MRI International. There are signs that suggest the Japanese subsidiary of MRI International had sold around US $1.3 billion worth of investment products that were meant to provide income on U.S. medical fee receivables to Japanese retail investors. Read more
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Angela Pica is a former policy analyst for CFA Institute, who was responsible for conducting research on corporate governance and other areas affecting the capital markets in the Asia Pacific region.
News out of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA) confirms that 2010 was a very good year indeed for real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Asian markets, with market capitalizations rebounding to over $US156 billion at the end of … Read more
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Beth is a director of investment performance standards for CFA Institute. She maintains the GIPS standards through management of the interpretations process, develops standards and guidance for new technical areas such as alternative strategies and risk, and works extensively with volunteer committees.
With the end-of-year deadline for OTC derivatives reform fast approaching, many global regulators are struggling to assess the situation and to comply with the G-20 commitments. Read more
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Bob is head of standards of practice and outreach at CFA Institute. He is responsible for developing, maintaining, and promoting the Code of Ethics and Standard of Professional Conduct as well as other CFA Institute standards of practice. He also oversees external relations and communications functions for our advocacy and standards of professional conduct activities.
Bob is director of society advocacy engagement at CFA Institute. He serves as the primary liaison on ethics, standards, and financial market integrity issues between CFA Institute and its member societies.
The financial crisis and collapsing asset values have led to a substantial loss of trust by investors in both their investment managers and massive regulatory reform efforts. Whether the magnitude of these responses is warranted has been the subject of … Read more
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Cindy Kent is a director of investment performance standards for CFA Institute. She is responsible for developing, promulgating, and maintaining the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). Her primary roles include managing the global adoption and alignment of country-specific investment performance standards to the GIPS standards; developing educational and training products to promote the GIPS standards; and serving as staff liaison to the various committees addressing specific issues of the GIPS standards.
The basic principle and fundamental motivation in creating the GIPS standards — now officially adopted in 35 countries around the globe — is investor protection, and empowering those who advise investors with the key elements to analyze investment performance results in a comparative method. Read more
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Claire Fargeot is head of the Standards and Financial Market Integrity division of CFA Institute for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. She is responsible for leading CFA Institute efforts in advocacy, policy development, and regulatory outreach in EMEA.
Since 2006 the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has limited investment manager’s use of dealing commissions to the purchase of trade execution and research services. Read more
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Crystal Detamore is a communications director for CFA Institute and a former columnist for Entrepreneur magazine.
Glenn is a director of standards of practice for CFA Institute. His responsibilities include providing member guidance in applying the ethical and professional conduct standards of CFA Institute. In addition, he is a specialist in XBRL.
During a speech at the RCA’s 2013 program on regulation, operations, and compliance, SEC commissioner Luis Aguilar highlighted the importance of compliance practices being developed and maintained in the interest of investors. Read more
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Graziella Marras is a director of capital markets policy for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region of CFA Institute. She is responsible for representing and promoting the interests of CFA Institute on capital markets issues before EU institutions and other stakeholders.
There are a number of regulatory proposals under discussion at the EU and national levels. Some proposals are specific to Europe, and some originated in the U.S. but were eagerly imported into Europe. Will they accomplish the goal of preventing another financial meltdown? Read more
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Jamie Underwood is a communications specialist at CFA Institute and former assistant editor of CFA Magazine.
Jalil Tarif, secretary general at the Union for Arab Securities Authority, explains the challenges and opportunities facing securities regulators in Arab countries. Read more
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Jim is head of capital markets policy for CFA Institute. The capital markets group develops and promotes capital markets positions, policies, and standards.
Cyprus is ponderously pondering how to fill a gaping financial hole, including whether and how much to appropriate from its depositors, domestic or otherwise. Ohio, having solved its budget crisis, is considering a regular tax on savers and investors to broaden its tax base and prevent a recurrence of the $8.8 billion budget deficit it had eliminated over the past two years. Read more
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John Rogers, CFA, is president and chief executive officer of CFA Institute.
The taint of insider trading threatens to derail investor trust in hedge funds and other alternative strategies. Is it time for a new level of self-examination by hedge fund bosses around compensation systems, ethical codes, and the culture of the firm itself? Read more
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Jon is the director of standards of practice development and education at CFA Institute. He is responsible for development and maintenance of the CFA Institute Code and Standards, as well as design and management of the CFA Institute Ethical Decision Making training programs.
The results of the 2013 Edelman Trust Barometer are out and the findings, for the financial services industry at least, are not encouraging. Read more
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Jonathan Boersma, CFA is executive director of the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS standards) at CFA Institute. The GIPS standards is a set of standardized, industry-wide ethical principles that provide investment firms with guidance on how to calculate and report their investment results to prospective clients.
The GIPS Executive Committee has developed guidance to assist asset owners in the application of the standards. An exposure draft of this proposed guidance is available for public comment until 3 June. Read more
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Ken is a director of investment performance standards at CFA Institute. He helps maintain the GIPS standards by managing the interpretations process and developing guidance for new technical areas.
The GIPS standards were created and sponsored by CFA Institute in collaboration with the global investment community. They are broadly accepted, voluntary global ethical standards for calculating and presenting investment performance. The standards promote fair representation and full disclosure of investment … Read more
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Mr. Schacht is managing director of the Standards and Financial Market Integrity division of CFA Institute, where he oversees all advocacy efforts and development, maintenance, and promotion of the highest ethical standards of practice for the global investment management industry.
Between British economist Sir John Vickers and former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, few people are more synonymous with the current debate over structural reforms of banks and reining in systemic risk. How do their approaches to reform differ? Read more
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Kha Loon is senior director of policy research for CFA Institute in the Asia-Pacific region, helping to promote high standards of professional conduct and financial market integrity in the region.
One of the challenges investors in retail funds and mandatory pension schemes face is tracking whether the funds have been managed according to an investment style or true to label. In a recent CFA Institute study, the disclosure of fund holdings was examined in six countries. Read more
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Linda is a director of capital markets policy for CFA Institute. She focuses primarily on issues related to investment products and investment regulation.
Based on a recent CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief reader survey, investors appear to be fairly split on whether self-regulation serves a useful purpose in today’s securities and financial services marketplace.
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Matt is a director of capital markets policy for CFA Institute, where he focuses on corporate governance issues. He was named one of the 2008 “Rising Stars of Corporate Governance” by the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the Yale School of Management.
The inclusion of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in the investment process is gaining more and more traction in global markets. Read more
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Matt is a director of financial reporting policy for CFA Institute. He drafts position papers and comment letters, representing membership interests regarding financial reporting and disclosure proposals issued by the FASB, the IASB, and others.
Will the alleged insider trading scandal involving ex-KPMG partner Scott London compel the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to finally require disclosure of the lead partner on public company audits? Read more
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Mohini Singh is director of financial reporting policy for CFA Institute. She represents membership interests regarding financial reporting and disclosure proposals issued by the FASB, the IASB, and others.
Currently there are initiatives underway to create an overarching framework to improve financial statement disclosures. The “disclosure framework” is intended to help enable companies communicate more effectively with investors, eliminate redundancy, and move away from what some assert has become a compliance exercise. Read more
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Nitin Mehta, CFA, is managing director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa operations at CFA Institute. He is based in London.
The draft law recently backed by members of the European Parliament to cap bonuses for UCITS fund managers in Europe sets up another tussle between those who favour free markets and those who believe that greater regulation is required to protect investors. Read more
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Padma Venkat, CFA, is director of capital markets policy for CFA Institute. She is responsible for promoting CFA Institute standards, policies, and positions in the Asia Pacific region.
I was at the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on 30 April to witness the SFC win over Tiger Asia Management LLC in a landmark ruling. In dismissing Tiger Asia’s appeal, the court upheld the SFC’s right to seek remedial orders and injunctions in relation to the insider dealing case. Read more
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Paul Smith, CFA, is managing director of Asia Pacific at CFA Institute. He has more than 25 years of relevant financial services leadership experience in many aspects of the investment management industry.
If you can’t make it in China, try Southeast Asia. This seems to be the mantra among international banks and financial firms that want a foothold in Asia’s most coveted market but are turned off by regulatory requirements or stiff competition. Read more
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Rhodri is a director of capital markets policy for CFA Institute, where he focuses on issues related to primary and secondary market structures. He was named one of the “40 Under 40 Rising Stars of Trading and Technology” by Financial News.
Since the publication of the U.K.’s Wheatley Review in late September, which heralded the beginning of the reform process to fix the scandal-plagued LIBOR benchmark, a swath of regulatory initiatives has been launched. Read more
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Robin Willis is a program coordinator for the Global Investment Performance Standards.
At the GIPS Annual Conference in Boston in September 2012, Mr. Carlo di Florio, director of the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, called on CFA Institute to look into GIPS verifier oversight. Read more
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Sandy is head of financial reporting policy and serves as spokesperson for CFA Institute to key financial reporting standard setters including the IASB, FASB, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
After my first meeting as a member of the International Financial Reporting Standards Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) in July, it was apparent to me that the activities and decisions of the IFRS IC are more relevant to investors than they might anticipate. Read more
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Tony Tan, CFA, is head of the Standards and Financial Market Integrity division for CFA Institute in the Asia-Pacific region. He is responsible for leading CFA Institute efforts in advocacy, policy development, and regulatory outreach in the APAC region.
In recent times, there has been increased scrutiny of the role of financial advisers. In Singapore, this has taken the form of the Financial Advisory Industry Review recommendations. In Australia, such matters are under the purview of the Future of Financial Advice reforms while in India it falls to the Investment Advisors Regulation. Read more
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Vincent Papa is a director of financial reporting policy for CFA Institute. He is responsible for representing the interests of CFA Institute on financial reporting proposals before the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).
As the economic crisis play out in Europe, an important question for investors is how sovereign debt exposure may have affected the recently reported performance of systemically important banks.
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