CFA Society Cyprus was formed in 2003 by a handful of CFA charterholders at a time when the economies, and the investment profession, were still suffering from the crisis in 1999 and the Cyprus Stock Exchange boom and bust.
Over the years, the society has grown to 147 members, and in 2018 had a record year of 29 new CFA charterholders. In November 2018, CFA Society Cyprus sponsored a high profile funds summit and marked its 15 year anniversary with a large-scale event.
4th International Funds Summit
Over the last few years, key industry stakeholders in Cyprus have been actively taking steps to grow the local fund industry by applying regulation reform and fine tuning the tax advantages and ease of doing business in Cyprus. These efforts aim to enhance the attractiveness of the jurisdiction for asset managers and to encourage the setup of funds such as AIFs and UCITS.
To promote the funds industry in Cyprus, the 4th International Funds Summit was hosted in Nicosia, Cyprus on 11-13 November 2018. CFA Society Cyprus was a gold sponsor of the event, as it was an ideal gathering to promote the CFA charter and values of the society.
The event attracted more than 450 delegates, many of whom were investment professionals directly involved in the creation and promotion of funds and asset management firms; those shaping the future of the local fund management industry.
Over the two days, our board members and member volunteers had the opportunity to meet and engage with local and foreign investment professionals, lawyers, administrators and accounting firms. At our exhibition stand, we talked to delegates about why the CFA charter should be considered when setting up a team of professionals to form a Fund Management company.
We were allocated 20 complimentary passes for the event, which we offered to local members and we also reached out to regional CFA societies for their interest. Our support of the event was communicated via local business magazines.
Celebrating 15 Years
Following the Summit, on 20 November 2018, we marked our 15-year anniversary by hosting our own event in Nicosia, Cyprus. We invited our members, industry guests from the broader local financial industry and our new charterholders to celebrate, not only our 15-year anniversary but also to join us in presenting the charter awards to new members.
Around 200 people attended the celebration, including professionals from the regulator, the central bank, big four accounting firms, employers of investment professionals, and society friends and supporters. Guests of honour included George Spentzos, CFA, member of the CFA Institute Board of Governors, as well as Marios Mavrides, a member of the Cyprus House of Representatives and Member of the House Standing Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs. It is noteworthy that their speeches had in common the issue of trust in the industry and putting clients first, and in terms of Cyprus, not to repeat mistakes of the past due to lack of corporate governance.
There have been numerous achievements in our 15-year history, including our annual forecasting event, where local professionals gather to hear from investment professionals on economy matters and the year’s forecast in financial markets. In 2010, we organised the EMEA regional conference and in 2015 we initiated our first Research Challenge competition, which received praise from the local universities and has become an annual event. Lastly, this year we are undertaking an initiative to tackle financial illiteracy among young people. We plan to target local high schools and, through our members, engage local students in financial planning and financial choices, through presentations.
Here’s to the next 15 years!
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