Collaboration has been at the heart of the initiatives that CFA Society Pakistan has recently focused on. As Sarwat Ahson, Executive Director, CFA Society Pakistan, explained: “In this time of crisis, collaborations go a long way in building our brand and establishing us as compassionate thought leaders in the capital markets of Pakistan.”
Industry and Regulatory Outreach
As part of its industry and regulatory outreach, CFA Society Pakistan has collaborated with several local entities. These include the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank of Pakistan, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Financial Markets Association of Pakistan (FMAP), Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG), and Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan (MUFAP).
Board and staff members of CFA Society Pakistan are effortlessly working towards collaborating with more entities to bring insightful content and virtual events that could benefit the masses at a time when this is most needed.
Outlook for Pakistan Capital Markets in a COVID-19 World
CFA Society Pakistan collaborated with the ACCA and PSX (the regulator that plays a key role in the governance of the capital markets) to bring together a panel of distinguished speakers to impart their knowledge and insights on the “Outlook for Pakistan Capital Markets in a COVID-19 World.”
Given the uncertainty in capital markets, caused by the unprecedented crisis amid the coronavirus outbreak, there was a need to discuss the trends and impact of Government initiatives. Being thought leaders in the capital markets, there was a high expectation from CFA Society Pakistan to synthesize a sense of bearing.
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As a majority of CFA Charterholders in Pakistan are involved in the capital markets, it was important to have representation on the panel. The panellists included:
- Mr. Mohammad Shoaib, CFA, Director, CFA Society Pakistan & CEO, Al Meezan Investment Management Ltd.
- Mr. Arif Habib, CEO, Arif Habib Corporation Limited
- Mr. Farrukh Khan, Managing Director, Pakistan Stock Exchange
- Mr. Kamran Nasir, CEO, JS Global Capital Limited
- Moderator: Mr. Raza Jafri, CFA, Director, CFA Society Pakistan & Head of Broking, Intermarket Securities Ltd.
The live webinar began as a moderated panel discussion and then opened to the online audience, where questions were posted live on Facebook and YouTube.
The session lasted 90 minutes and proved to be a huge success with over 7,400 views on the Facebook page and over 300 views on the Youtube channel of CFA Society Pakistan. Overall, the webinar has achieved 17,000 views, as the event partners also promoted this on their social media channels.
The interactive panel discussion received an overwhelming response from the viewers in the form of considerable engagement on social media. Members and industry associates also highly appreciated the impressive line-up of thought leaders on the panel and the fruitful discussion.
Muhammad Asim, CFA, President, CFA Society Pakistan, said: “Engaging and creating value for members has always been rewarding for us as board members but being able to engage the masses and benefit the industry on a larger scale is highly gratifying.”
In addition to marketing the event flyer on social media pages, emails were sent to local society members, charterpendings, unaffiliated charterholders, CFA Program candidates and industry associates. The email included details of the webinar and call to action links to follow and subscribe to the Facebook and YouTube channel respectively, to watch the webinar live.
This led to the society receiving around 350 new followers on its Facebook page and over 200 new subscribers on its YouTube channel; indicating a positive correlation between live streaming events and increasing followers on social media pages. The local society is also active on LinkedIn and Twitter.
This virtual event helped to give CFA Society Pakistan the opportunity to engage with a wider, relevant, online audience and build a stronger brand.
Promoting the GIPS Standards and AMC in Pakistan
In February, Karyn Vincent, CFA, CIPM, Senior Head, Global Industry Standards, CFA Institute, and Eddie Chan, CFA, CIPM, Director, Global Industry Standards and Professional Conduct Enforcement, CFA Institute, APAC, visited Pakistan for a series of 23 meetings to promote and discuss the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and Asset Manager Code (AMC).
Hosted by Mohammad Shoaib, CFA, Advocacy Chair, CFA Society Pakistan, and Sarwat Ahson, Executive Director, CFA Society Pakistan, they visited Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
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Karyn was particularly impressed with the number of high-profile meetings that were organized and referred to Mohammad as a “rock star in Pakistan!”. The team was able to discuss the 2020 GIPS standards and AMC with the SECP Chairman, SECP Commissioners, SECP Policy Board, PSX Chairman, board of the MUFAP, insurance companies, large state pension funds, and many active society members. The CFA Institute team also hosted workshops on the GIPS standards and AMC.
Karyn and Eddie found a receptive audience in Pakistan – many of those they met were interested in either complying with the AMC or GIPS standards or were willing to support compliance with them. They were delighted to see that the Investor Bill of Rights was on the wall in a conference room at the SECP
Karyn said: “CFA Society Pakistan is doing an amazing job supporting AMC and the GIPS standards. The society is having a huge effect on its market and this visit showed the strength of its local relationships. Finally, if you get the chance to visit Pakistan, go, it is a fantastic and beautiful country, with excellent food and wonderful people!”
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