The so-called “Statement of Investor Rights” is “a list of principles intended to help buyers of financial service products demand the conduct they are entitled to expect from financial service providers”, the CFAI said today, in a statement unveiling its new Future of Finance Project.
The Statement of Investor Rights comprises a key element of the project, the CFAI statment said.
It added that the list of principles would apply to such financial products and services as investment management, research and advice, personal banking “and even insurance and real estate”.
“The document includes rights that investors are entitled to expect, such as objective advice, disclosure of conflicts of interest, and fair and reasonable fees”, the CFAI said. It did not provide the text of the new Statement of Investor Rights.
The CFA Institute is a global association which administers the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) curriculum and exam programmes worldwide. It has more than 114,000 members in 137 countries and territories, including 106,756 CFA charterholders, as well as some 138 member societies.
Six main topics
Six main topics comprise the foundation on which the CFA said it is basing its Future of Finance project: putting investors first; safeguarding the system; retirement security; financial knowledge; regulation and enforcement; and transparency and fairness.
The project, it added, "aims to provide the tools to motivate and empower the world of finance to commit to fairness, improved understanding, and personal integrity and shape a global financial services industry that better serves society".
Led by Kay, the project’s advisory council is comprised of a group of experts from finance, education and the media.
The project plans research and recommendations to address each area, and will produce accessible tools to encourage "broad adoption and widespread change throughout the global financial system".
The CFA said the advisory council "will issue a call to action" at its annual conference in Singapore in May,where the objectives and plans for the Future of Finance project will be set out.
Kay said the project was designed to engage professionals and investors, both inside the world of financial services as well as outside of it, to help solve some of the problems currently afflicting the global financial system.
"We can affect positive change in finance, but change starts with all of us – industry leaders, financial professionals, government agencies, financial regulators and the public," he added.
"It’s an ambitious project that aims not just to gather the best ideas, but to make them a reality.”
John Rogers, chief executive and president of CFAI, said the project represented a "critical way to encourage thought leadership and engagement, and to seek to shape a more forward-thinking industry".
