Practical analysis for investment professionals
21 March 2013

Poll: What Part of the Financial Ecosystem Is Most in Need of Attention?

Because CFA Institute launched its major, new multi-year effort “to help change finance for the greater good,” the Future of Finance, on Monday, we thought it was particularly timely to ask readers of the CFA Institute Financial NewsBrief which portions of the financial ecosystem need the most improvement.


Poll: What part of the financial ecosystem is most in need of attention?
Poll: What part of the financial ecosystem is most in need of attention?


In both NewsBrief regions, respondents believe that the top two issues facing the future of finance are “regulators need smarter — not more — regulation” and “financial intermediaries need to be more transparent about their conflicts of interest and other agency costs.”

In the global edition, greater emphasis (more than 44%) was placed on smarter regulation than on better intermediary transparency (more than 25%). About 36% of Asia-Pacific readers think conflicts of interest and agency costs at intermediaries is an important issue, and approximately 34% think regulators need less regulation.

CFA Institute holds the position that for the financial ecosystem to work, each major participant needs to accept responsibility for the ecosystem’s health. Therefore, it is interesting that in both regions, respondents think the investing public needs to be more involved and better educated regarding its investment decisions. Rankings were also the same for the two remaining categories: “public companies needing to implement better governance practices” trumped “analysts needing to practice more independent judgment.”


Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFA Institute.

Tags: ,

About the Author(s)
Jason Voss, CFA

Jason Voss, CFA, tirelessly focuses on improving the ability of investors to better serve end clients. He is the author of the Foreword Reviews Business Book of the Year Finalist, The Intuitive Investor and the CEO of Active Investment Management (AIM) Consulting. Voss also sub-contracts for the well known firm, Focus Consulting Group. Previously, he was a portfolio manager at Davis Selected Advisers, L.P., where he co-managed the Davis Appreciation and Income Fund to noteworthy returns. Voss holds a BA in economics and an MBA in finance and accounting from the University of Colorado.

Ethics Statement

My statement of ethics is very simple, really: I treat others as I would like to be treated. In my opinion, all systems of ethics distill to this simple statement. If you believe I have deviated from this standard, I would love to hear from you: [email protected]

2 thoughts on “Poll: What Part of the Financial Ecosystem Is Most in Need of Attention?”

  1. Hello Biharilal,

    Yes, I agree. I was surprised a bit by the results. I would have thought agency costs would have been the clear #1…but then that is why an actual poll helps to answer such questions.

    Thank you for all of your loyal re-Tweets, Tweets, and other participation with CFA Institute!

    With a big smile,

    Jason

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *



By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close