CFA Institute Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct: Growing Global Awareness

We’re close to welcoming the 900th asset management firm to the list of those who claim compliance with the Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct. Although the Code has been available since 2005, the last few years have seen an acceleration in uptake by investment firms, perhaps as clients react to the ethical lapses laid bare by the global financial crisis. Trust has always been an essential component of the asset management business, but increasingly, it seems that asset owners are looking for tangible signals of commitment to the kinds of operating principles that affirm the interests of the client.

And as the sheer number of firms claiming compliance has grown, so has representation from all quarters of the globe. With the addition of Brook Asset Management based in New Zealand, firms in 32 countries now claim compliance. High standards of conduct know no geographic boundaries!

For firms still considering whether to claim compliance with the Code, there’s no better source of motivation than hearing from investors as to why the underlying principles of the Code are so highly valued. We’re delighted that Michael Trotsky, CFA, executive director and chief investment officer of the US$54 billion Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management fund, has agreed to lend his time and expertise to share the investor’s perspective coincident with the upcoming CFA Institute Annual Conference in Singapore. Michael, who also serves as chair of the Asset Manager Code Advisory Council, will be conducting a workshop on 19 May, along with Lim Liying, CFA, chief information officer at the Singapore Labour Foundation, and Mohammad Shoaib, CFA, chief executive at Al Meezan Investment Management (who also serves on the Asset Manager Code Advisory Council), to discuss the Code’s place in manager search and assessment, as well as discussing how investment firms can claim compliance. Michael will also be conducting meetings with asset owners and investment managers in Singapore and Tokyo to share his experiences with using the Code as an additional source of insight as to how managers protect and affirm his fund’s interests. He’ll wrap up a whirlwind visit as the featured speaker at a seminar sponsored by the CFA Society of Japan where he will speak directly to asset managers about why the Code is so vital in the current environment.

 With so much focus on Asian financial markets and the emergence of a robust asset management industry in the region, our hope is that meetings such as these (to exchange information among practitioners) will spark further growth in the number of asset managers in the region who claim compliance with the Code and squarely address the rising demand among investors for commitments to ethical conduct.

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