CFA Institute Calls for Reform in Six Areas of Financial Industry at Annual Conference in Singapore

Calls for reinvention of the system to shape a more trustworthy future of finance that better serves society

Singapore, 20 May 2013

“The past five years have been troubled times for financial services and for the investment profession. We at CFA Institute believe that we can help restore the public trust, which is so essential to put finance back in its real role as an enabler of social and economic progress,” said Rogers. “The six topics I describe today are critical building blocks toward a financial system that can receive the trust and confidence of people everywhere. But these solutions come to life only when you put them into motion. I’m asking you to drive change specifically in these critical areas. Go back to your firms, and your communities, and tackle these issues. The future of finance starts with you.”

Forty-eight eminent speakers joined Rogers at the conference to discuss and share insights on the future of finance, including Ng Kok Song, adviser and chair of global investments, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation; George Friedman, CEO and founder, Stratfor; Dambisa Moyo, international economist, author, and investment strategist; Michael Woodford, former president and CEO, Olympus Corporation; and Andrew Sheng, president at Fung Global Institute. This marks the first time CFA Institute held the conference, which is regarded as one of the investment industry’s largest and longest-running events, in Asia.

As a catalyst to Rogers’ calls for reform, CFA Institute recently launched its Future of Finance project, a long-term global effort to shape a trustworthy, forward-thinking financial industry that better serves society by providing the tools to motivate and empower the world of finance to commit to fairness, improved understanding, and personal integrity. In addition to the Statement of Investor Rights, the first tool of the Future of Finance project, Rogers today announced the Principles for Investment Reporting, which was created to enable clear, trustworthy investment reporting.

“CFA Institute has strong credibility in the area of transparency and fairness,” continued Rogers. “We are known as a standard setter, with the Global Investment Performance Standards, our programs’ curricula, and our members’ code of conduct and standards of professional practice, among others. Capital markets thrive in sunlight, and serve their role in society when participants are treated fairly.”

To guide the project, CFA Institute established the Future of Finance Advisory Council. Chaired by leading British economist Professor John Kay, the council comprises a distinguished list of global leaders from academia, industry and the public sector, including Paul Chow, retired finance industry executive who served most recently as chief executive and executive director at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited; Andrew W. Lo, Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management and director of MIT’s Laboratory for Financial Engineering; and Andrew Sheng is president at Fung Global Institute, and ex-chairman of the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong.

The 66^th CFA Institute Annual Conference runs 19-22 May in Singapore, where more than 1,200  delegates, award-winning academics, economists, and business leaders will share ideas, expand their professional competence, and join CFA Institute in its efforts to restore trust in finance and raise standards in ethics, education and professional excellence. Full conference agenda can be found at annual.cfainstitute.org.