Five years ago, CFA Society Netherlands merged with VBA Investment Professionals (VBA). The local society doubled its membership, increased its voice and outreach, and strengthened its prominence in the local investment industry.

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, CFA Society Netherlands is launching a member survey and hosting a round table event focussing on the importance of inclusiveness. Indeed, the local society wants to take this opportunity to emphasise its openness to everyone in the investment industry–no matter what role or designation an individual has.

Here we reflect on key milestones and upcoming anniversary plans!

HOW IT BEGAN

CFA Society Netherlands and VBA had spoken of a potential merger for many years, but it was the boards of 2015 that kick-started the process. The presidents at the time, Alfred Slager RBA, president of VBA and Jacco Heemskerk, CFA, president of CFA Society Netherlands, agreed that they wanted to offer more to their members, combine outreach efforts, and make a greater impact locally. Joining forces was the best way forward for both organisations, and Alfred and Jacco’s leadership was critical to the success of the process.

CREATING ONE LOCAL SOCIETY

For the merger to be agreed, members had to vote in favour. Both organisations, therefore, gathered feedback from members, addressed any issues, and brought members along in the journey.  While concerns were raised about losing independence, the benefits of combining efforts and advancing the goals of both associations outweighed the negatives. Indeed, many agreed that the Dutch investment sector was too small for two professional associations to reach their separate, yet similar, goals.

Working in partnership with CFA Institute, CFA Society Netherlands and VBA agreed the terms of the merger over several years and signed the agreement on 1 January 2018.

Initially, the organisation named itself “CFA Society VBA Netherlands” but recently re-branded to “CFA Society Netherlands” to strengthen its connection with the CFA Society community around the globe. The strong “VBA” brand name will continue to live on in the VBA Academy, which offers education courses to investment professionals.

KEY SUCCESSES

Until the merger, both organisations were hosting comparable events and building relationships with the same speakers, regulators, and employers. The merger enabled both sides to combine their efforts and bring their expertise and experience to the partnership. This successfully helped the local society to increase its member value, strengthen its engagement with key local stakeholders, and increase efficiencies.

• Membership: The merger led to the membership of the local society doubling, which strengthened its voice in the Netherlands. Indeed, with over 2,100 members, CFA Society Netherlands became one of the larger societies in the EMEA region.
• Society Management: In 2018, CFA Society Netherlands was looking to make investment in its office and volunteer base. By using VBA’s expertise in this area, the local society successfully professionalised its office, adding four staff members on the payroll. Having staff on the payroll, as opposed to part-time staff on a contractor basis, was new for the CFA Society community and has worked well for CFA Society Netherlands. It also established a broad range of content committees, which have become the heartbeat of the volunteer base.
• Education: VBA was keen to use the merger to grow its education programs. CFA Society Netherlands now offers a wide portfolio of education programs and professional learning opportunities and events to its members and other investment professionals and is one of the few societies that runs its own education programs. One program, the MiFID II Stay Compliant Program, has been hugely successful and established the local society as the go-to organisation for education in the institutional sector. This built-for-purpose education material ensures that upon successful completion, staff in the institutional domain will meet the MiFID II requirements for professional competence. The program was initially set up for members but due to demand from employers was rolled out to non-members, too. Without the merger, this could not have been accomplished—not only because running the program requires a great deal of work and commitment but also because the two associations would have been offering competing products. The Certificate in ESG Investing has also seen good uptake by candidates, as ESG is a key part of the investment industry in the Netherlands.
• Events: With a larger combined volunteer base, CFA Society Netherlands regularly hosts a wide variety of events, both virtually and in-person.
• Employer outreach: CFA Society Netherlands had built strong relationships with some firms and VBA with others. By joining forces, the local society has connections with all relevant organisations in the institutional sector. This has been hugely beneficial and helped to grow demand in educational products and professional learning.
• Advocacy: Combining regulatory outreach efforts has meant CFA Society Netherlands has made a bigger impact on regulations and strengthened its thought leadership in the investment industry. The MiFID II Stay Compliant Program has played an important role in advocacy efforts too.

2023 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

“Inclusiveness” is core to the fifth anniversary celebrations, as CFA Society Netherlands wants to ensure it is open to everyone in the investment industry.  In line with this, the local society will be conducting research with its members to gather feedback on how CFA Society Netherlands can be more inclusive. The results of this survey will be published to coincide with the launch of the European Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Code later this year. CFA Society Netherlands will also host a roundtable with the local investment community on the topic of diversity and inclusion.

Additionally, the local society will organise a fun party with music and dancing to ensure its members can come together and celebrate this anniversary.

Marg Franklin, CFA, CEO and president, CFA Institute, visited CFA Society Netherlands in February 2023 to congratulate the local society on this anniversary, and meet and greet the membership and key stakeholders. Marg discussed CFA Institute priorities and important themes in the investment industry, including the path forward to genuine inclusion.

Commenting on the anniversary, Marg said: “Congratulations to CFA Society Netherlands for its huge achievements since merging with VBA Investment Professionals five years ago. It is an honour to be marking this milestone and spending time with the local society and membership in the Netherlands to learn more about initiatives and outreach. I look forward to seeing continued development and growth over the coming years.”