Cyprus Society hosts regional meeting
The CFA Institute, the global association for investment professionals with nearly 100,000 members, is spearheading a campaign to restore investor confidence in capital markets, with emphasis on the professional conduct of its members based on high ethics as well as better reporting for the investment industry.
This was the main theme of the annual regional meeting for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) of CFA Society leaders from 37 countries that took place in Limassol, hosted by the CFA Society of Cyprus together with the CFA Institute.
Nitin Mehta, Managing Director, CFA Institute for EMEA, told the Financial Mirror in an exclusive interview that the main objective of the conference was to bring Society leaders together, to listen and discuss some of the many issues and opportunities facing the financial sector.
“We informed our members on a joint report prepared with the European Investors’ Working Group, in which we provide our recommendations for the EU regulatory and supervisory agenda from the investors’ perspective,” said Mehta.
The six main objectives are: investor protection, better transparency, market integrity, market efficiency, quality of supervision and competitiveness of EU markets, made through 46 recommendations.
RECORD NUMBER
Referring to the prospects of the CFA Institute, Mehta said as was to be expected, the fastest growth is being experienced in the Far East.
“We had a record 200,000 candidates sitting for the CFA exams at various levels, most of whom come from China,” he said.
Constantinos Papanastasiou, president of the CFA Society of Cyprus, told the Financial Mirror that the number of candidates from Cyprus reached a record 130.
REGIONAL CONFERENCE
Papanastasiou was pleased at the huge success of the regional meeting bringing attendees from as far afield as Bermuda, South Africa, Russia, the Middle East, USA and Western Europe.
Discussions were also held on the implications of the worldwide financial crisis and changes that are likely to emerge as a result.
“Cyprus is fast becoming a financial hub for the eastern Mediterranean, attracting and managing investments from many parts of the world. This, in turn, fuels the demand for quality investment professionals, particularly those who commit to standards of ethics, education and professional excellence demanded of all members of the CFA Institute. We are therefore pleased to be the host Society for this regional meeting, and we will use it as an opportunity to showcase the special talent we have here,” said Papanastasiou.
He also thanked the sponsors, FxPro Financial Services, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Russian Commercial Bank, the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency and Eurofast.
CFA Cyprus is part of a network of 137 CFA Institute affiliated societies from around the world. The Cyprus Society has 79 members and 130 candidates enrolled in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme, the gold standard qualification for investment professionals worldwide.
