Investment professional member body the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute believes its member base located in emerging economies will play an integral part in improving corporate governance and ethical standards in these regions.
“One of the things that all of those markets share is the desire to attract foreign investors and to do that there has to be some level of perceived safety. So I think CFA charterholders are playing a role in helping capital feel safe in those markets both in terms of technical standards of competence, the knowledge, skills and abilities, but maybe more importantly in terms of ethical dimensions,” CFA Institute managing director Asia Pacific Jan Squires said.
According to Squires, the impact and importance of his organisation’s influence has been highlighted by the rapid growth in membership numbers currently occurring in these parts of the world.
“We’re seeing in China, for example, CFA charterholders establishing enough of a critical mass now where they are starting to be in positions of pretty high responsibility within firm. We’re also seeing them on staff in regulatory agencies,” he said.
“It seems the needs of the market are fuelling the growth, and the growth is meeting the needs of the market,” Squires added.
The CFA Institute has just celebrated its 60th anniversary and has a total membership of just under 92,000 drawn from 134 countries around the world. In Australia it has societies in both Sydney and Melbourne with 760 and 236 members respectively.
Incoming CFA Institute Board of Governors chair Emilio Gonzalez said: “There is no doubt the CFA designation is making a significant impact worldwide.
“CFA charterholders bring exacting educational standards, professional expertise and an ethical framework to the table wherever they work,” he concluded.