Korea and Taiwan remain 'emerging'
The MSCI Korea Index and the MSCI Taiwan Index will be maintained in ‘emerging market’ status – at least until the MSCI’s next Annual Market Classification Review in 2012.
Qatar and the United Arab emirates will also have an extension until December for a potential reclassification from ‘frontier’ to ‘emerging’ status to enable participants to assess the impacts of recent changes in those markets, MSCI announced.
Listed reasons for maintaining the ‘emerging’ status of both Korea and Taiwan included accessibility issues, in particular the lack of full currency convertibility.
This included the absence of active offshore currency markets, and issues linked to the rigidity of the ID systems, MSCI stated.
Korea has put some measures in place to alleviate the resulting frictions and inefficiencies including revisions to its Banking Act, but investor feedback suggests limited improvement, MSCI stated.
Anti-competitive practices have also not been eliminated, with the provision of stock market data still subject to contractual anti-competitive clauses, according to MSCI.
Recommended for you
As the industry navigates the fallout from recent product failures, two major AFSLs have detailed their APL selection process and relationship with research houses, warning a selection error could “destroy” a licensee.
The impending retirement of financial advisers in their 50s could see the profession face significant succession challenges over the coming decade and younger advisers may not be the answer.
With a third of AFSLs being solo advisers, how can they navigate key person risk and ensure they are still attractive propositions for buyers when it comes to their succession planning?
A quarter of advisers who commenced on the FAR within the last two years have already switched licensees or practices, adding validity to practice owners’ professional year (PY) concerns.
