Strategic direction

CFA Society Uruguay serves the investment profession in Uruguay by raising awareness about ethical issues in the industry and promoting professional competence.

The local society has disseminated the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Asset Manager Code and promoted the adoption of the CFA Standards of Practice locally. Through high profile educational events, the local society helps members and candidates to hone their skills, remain up-to-date, and network with industry participants. It also promotes career advancement through a local JobBank and hosts financial literacy workshops around the country.

Governance and leadership

In September 2021, CFA Society Uruguay held elections and was able to generate a new team of leaders, whilst maintaining participation of founding members and previous directors. The local society implemented a governance manual and policies and the business model was fully implemented with the local board and staff working together to achieve the strategic plan.

CFA Society Uruguay created six working committees, each one led by a Society Director that actively worked with the manager of the society, namely: Membership, Programming, Advocacy, Public Awareness, Career Services and Technology.

CFA Society Uruguay is formally helping a government-created commission that is working towards promoting the market, the “Comisión Nacional de Promoción del Mercado de Valores”, with its research work. It has relied on volunteer support to deliver this and also worked with volunteers to create content for its own Podcast, which has discussed: inflation, cryptoassets, pension funds and risks and returns.

Developing future professionals

From day one of the pandemic, CFA Society Uruguay focused its efforts on supporting candidates. Candidates had to travel to take the CFA exam so the local society personally spoke to customs and travel agencies to ensure it understood the latest travel protocols and cancellations. The local society opened clear lines of communication and updated candidates regularly with the latest information available.

To help candidates prepare for the CFA exam, CFA Society Uruguay has partnered with Kaplan Schweser to provide discounted access to Schweser CFA Program Study Packages and Prep. Courses and offers mock exams.

In FY22, the local society hosted its first successful Ethics Challenge, with three participating universities. The winning team went on to be awarded second place at the regional Ethics Challenge hosted by CFA Society Peru. The local society also had four teams participate in the CFA Institute Research Challenge hosted by CFA Society Argentina.

Delivering member value

CFA Society Uruguay measures member value by engagement at events and member retention rate. Over the last year, CFA Society Uruguay hosted 15 high quality virtual events that raised the profile of the local society by attracting more than 900 attendees, consisting not only of members but also other influential professionals in the industry. The local society had a member retention rate of 89% in FY22.

To broaden its offering to members and the financial community, the local society held high quality events with other societies in the region about topics including Woman in Finance, ESG, Cryptoassets, Market promotion and Regulation and partnered with “Academia Nacional de Economia” (which has the most influential economists in the country). Many of these events secured media coverage and attracted prominent speakers and industry participants.

Building market integrity

In FY22, the local society held a meeting with the President of Banco Central regarding recognition of the CFA Program and secured a Licensing Exam Waiver. By passing Level I of the CFA exam, professionals are now eligible to prove they have demonstrated competency and have the knowledge necessary to practice as an Intermediary Securities and Investment Advisor.

A recently enacted Law (Law #19924 of the National Budget) establishes that State Owned Enterprises included in Article 221 of the Constitution should offer to its shareholder (Uruguayan Government) a market rate of return. This return is specific for each company and depends on its industry and size. The Director of the Office of Planning and Budgeting of the Uruguayan Government had a discussion with Barbara Mainzer, CFA, former President of CFA Society Uruguay, about how CFA Institute and the local society could offer support with the calculation of the referred rate of return. After discussion with CFA Institute, CFA Society Uruguay committed KPMG with providing a framework for the calculation of those rates, as well as the calculation of the required rates of return. Calculating a rate of return following a transparent and proven methodology taught in the CFA curricula and supporting Uruguay in its path to improve governance and professionalize the management state-owned companies proved how the CFA curricula and advocacy efforts can be combined to add value.

Due to the advocacy efforts of the local society, together with the Future of Finance division at CFA Institute, Uruguay was, for the first time, included in the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index. This inclusion came at a very timely and pivotal moment for Uruguay, as it is discussing an in-depth reform of its Pension System.

Advancing Professionalism

CFA Society Uruguay is active on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and until June 2021 had a media agency that promoted its events in local newspapers, online magazines and social media.

The local society also had a Financial Literacy Column in a local TV network, hosted by its former President, Barbara Mainzer, CFA. The content of the column was shared across its social media channels.

Professionalizing Operations

CFA Society Uruguay has created a sustainable business model, which helped to provide a smooth transition to the new Board of Directors in September 2021. The local society board meeting was open for volunteers to participate and this has helped to create a new team of young leaders for this term. The local society has also changed its financial cycle so it coincides with that of CFA Institute.

Strategic direction

CFA Society Cyprus effectively responded to the digital hybrid model that has challenged all industries. Through virtual and in-person events, the local society has delivered thought-leadership and advocacy initiatives that focus on strengthening financial markets and ethics in the investment industry. The result of such efforts is evident in the significant increase in brand visibility and influence, with 31% membership growth and 20% candidate growth in the last three years.

CFA Society Cyprus views success as more than publications and events; it now actively seeks out opportunities and contributes to policies and boards that will positively change financial markets.

This year, the local society has also driven the Collaborative WIM initiative, with the aim of becoming a stakeholder in contributing to diversity and inclusion policies. As a first step, CFA Society Cyprus is introducing a mentorship program to promote diversity and regular events to allow finance professionals to share their experiences on this topic.

Governance and leadership

CFA Society Cyprus is governed by a diverse board of directors (four men and three women) and is led by the first female president of the local society. Directors represent different sectors of the local financial community allowing the board to maintain a robust operational framework, underpinned by a strong level of collaboration.

Each pillar is led by a board member who in turn oversees a committee. These board members not only drive the delivery of their own committee objectives but there is significant overlap and collaboration between committees, thus enabling the local society to deliver quality outcomes. High engagement from board members and committees has enabled the local society to retain a consistently high pace of delivery on all fronts throughout the year.

The local society also boasts a high percentage of member engagement compared to the number of total active members. Of the 200 total members at the end of 2021, 35 actively participated in various initiatives.

Developing future professionals

CFA Society Cyprus is renowned for its strong partnership with the Ministry of Education in Cyprus. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, local society volunteers delivered presentations to over 25 public and private schools in FY22. The local society also partnered with the University of Cyprus to develop the first 40-week Financial Literacy course to be offered locally. This was also adopted by a private high school and resulted in 14 additional schools agreeing to offer the course next year. In addition, the local society has undertaken an advisory role to the Government’s Committee on Financial Literacy, which is drafting the National Financial Literacy Strategy.

CFA Society Cyprus broadened its CFA Institute Research Challenge value proposition and engaged with the wider industry to focus on delivering high-quality relevant training to students. The on-demand training is delivered in partnership with professional service firms (Big 4, Grant Thornton, BNP Academy and JPM) and enables students complete flexibility in their learning journey. The local society also recognised the need to pivot away from traditional prizes and focused on offering routes into the market. Eurobank Cyprus was its official internship sponsor this year, with soft offers from all the top professional service firms.

Delivering member value

CFA Society Cyprus strives to deliver value at each point of a member’s career journey to drive greater member acquisition, engagement, and retention. The local society offers its members free CPD seminars (<15 hours) through accredited external providers, which also count towards regulatory CPD requirements. In 2021, 58 members participated in these seminars (29% of its members), representing a total of 838 educational hours.

The local society has supported local events, conferences, training and webinars - many of which CFA Society Cyprus has managed to secure free or discounted access for its members. Virtual events have also been well attended, with its 2021 AGM resulting in a strong turnout of regular members and it had a record number of board seat candidates (with seven nominations for three available seats).

The local society maintains regular communication with its members through emails and social media posts informing them about developments in the local financial industry and news relating to CFA Institute. COVID restrictions had prohibited the local society from organising frequent networking events but it held an in-person award ceremony for new CFA Charterholders, which was addressed by Randi Tolber, MD, Global Society Relations at CFA Institute. This was significant and ensured the local society stayed relevant to not only incumbent members, but also new members.

Building market integrity

The local society has been appointed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission to create a Governance Code for its regulated entities, encompassing the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards. The board believes the project will contribute to the wider integrity of European markets and it is looking to involve the CFA Society® community to create an EU-wide code.

CFA Society Cyprus assisted local authorities with implementing the Pan-European Pension Product (PEPP) and following a meeting with the Minister of Finance, successfully managed to push for the creation of a technical expert working group composed of local regulators. The Ministry has requested input from the local society, as expert practitioners for pension market insights. To further strengthen its involvement with the PEPP, the local society has set up a joint Committee with Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) where seven of the eight members are CFA Charterholders.

To promote professionalism and high ethical standards in the fund industry, CFA Society Cyprus entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with CIFA. The local society also organised educational seminars for industry practitioners on ethics and collaborated on nationwide initiatives promoting diversity and inclusion.

Advancing professionalism

Financial Literacy presentations delivered at schools gained attention, spotlighting CFA Society Cyprus and attracting interest from the media and public. A local media platform requested its participation in an education series, covering four literacy themes, with the videos on important topics addressing all age groups.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge delivered nine high quality training modules to students and increased awareness of the program via a strong social media campaign. In addition to a live final, the local society contributed to a live challenge in Dubai, sponsoring its finalists to attend.

Professionalizing Operations

With Cyprus being amongst the lowest-scoring tech-enabled countries in Europe, the challenges brought about by the pandemic were made even greater. The local society enhanced the use of its social media platforms to maximize engagement with key stakeholders, promoted the CFA Program and increased local penetration. This has been particularly successful as measured by the increase in followers and post interactions. CFA Society Cyprus also ran a strong social media campaign for the CFA Institute Research Challenge, as university, trainer and student participants had a strong online presence, which allowed the local society to grow its reach by extension.

The local society has designed and launched a new website aimed at building stronger communication with candidates and members including useful material, job postings and updates on initiatives.

To grow and modernise, CFA Society Cyprus also hired a part-time administration staff member and a media consultant to build the local society profile in the media. In FY22 the local society distributed 23 press releases and secured 229 press/online clippings and nine TV/radio clippings.

Strategic direction

CFA Society Hong Kong keeps members abreast of market developments through high quality continuing education events for members and investor education events for the public. Indeed, in FY22, the local society organized 74 events with 11,856 registrations.

In addition, the local society proactively engages members through conventional and digital marketing channels. As a result of its efforts, the local society has seen a slow-down of the member attrition rate and increase in number of LinkedIn followers.

Governance and leadership

The CFA Society Hong Kong board is led by the President and Vice-President, along with seven directors elected by members via an open, transparent and robust electoral system. An advisory board provides meaningful advice to the board. In March 2022, three non-executive directors were added to the board to improve both gender and ethical diversity.

The local society has 14 committees and one special interest group overseeing three key service areas: services to members and candidates, services to industry and public, and society governance. The local society hosted a volunteer recruitment webinar in 2021 and has seen a high degree of engagement from volunteers.

Developing future professionals

To support candidates and engage potential members early on in their careers, CFA Society Hong Kong regularly organizes information sessions on the CFA exams, study groups, post-exam gatherings and career talks. The local society also partners with Wiley and secured a discount for study materials and revision courses.

In FY22, 18 university teams joined the local round of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. One mentor was assigned to each team and this mentoring arrangement was extended after the competition through the Student Mentorship Program.

Delivering member value

Due to technological advancement, CFA Society Hong Kong was able to organize a record-high number of events with a historically high number of registrations amid the COVID pandemic. Indeed, the local society found that joint webinars with overseas speakers were made easy in the virtual world and the ability to share subject-matter experts from overseas broadened the horizon of members.

In FY22 CFA Society Hong Kong collaborated with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, a leading local university, on its MBA and EMBA offerings. This has allowed its members to enjoy a discount on the tuition fee if they enroll in the university programs.

CFA Society Hong Kong has been organizing career events for experienced professionals to share their knowledge and experience in their fields of expertise with younger generations. Employers of the speakers have used the opportunity to identify potential candidates for positions at their firms.

To enhance member benefits, the local society negotiated discounts with various vendors for its members. Wiley offers 40% discount on e-books on selected finance titles. Fitch Learning provides discounted rate for revision courses on the ESG Certificate. A local bank also offered preferential rates to members on financial products.

Building market integrity

CFA Society Hong Kong helps build market integrity through outreach to key stakeholders, including government, professional bodies, and regulators. The local society shares its views on behalf of its members and is regularly invited to respond to consultation papers. It also hosts events on ethics and compliance, with speakers from CFA Institute, regulators and service providers and co-hosts investor education webinars with the Investor and Financial Education Council (a subsidiary of the Securities and Futures Commission) to share essential investment knowledge with the public.

Together with its media partners, the local society produced 10 episodes of its flagship media outreach initiative, the “CFA Control Room” radio program. Themes are chosen annually and for 2021 the focus of the series was “alternative investments”. Summaries of the episodes, including discussions on crypto-linked investments and development trends of family offices in China, were published in a local newspaper after these had aired.

Advancing professionalism

Through a diligent advocacy and promotional campaign in 2021, CFA Society Hong Kong has positioned the Certificate in ESG investing as an esteemed qualification and brand for ESG training among financial market participants. Together with the CFA Institute Industry Relations team, the local society has built relationships and discussed the certificate with prestigious employers, including Fitch, EY, PwC, KPMG and Mercer. This has resulted in a high number of registrations for the certificate and wider media coverage.

The local society has used traditional and digital channels to promote the brand, placing adverts in leading local newspapers and using LinkedIn to keep both members and the public aware of its activities. It also launched a WeChat platform to better engage with Mandarin speaking communities.

Professionalizing operations

CFA Society Hong Kong has hired a chartered accountant with substantial experience in operational management and policy advocacy as its managing director. He has spearheaded efficient management of the office and good practices have been adopted.

The local society has used technology to enable the office to work as a team efficiently while working from home during the COVID pandemic. The local society has also improved staff leave entitlements after a comprehensive review and increased its collaboration efforts with CFA Institute.