CFA Society South Africa hosted its second Ethics Challenge for investment professionals to raise the knowledge and awareness of ethics among practitioners in the Southern African investment industry.

Driven by CFA Institute, the Ethics Challenge is an annual competition for CFA charterholders and other investment industry professionals in which participants analyse a case study containing a variety of ethical dilemmas. The challenge was designed to increase the knowledge and awareness of ethics and ethical principles amongst industry professionals.

The CFA Society South Africa Ethics Challenge took place in July 2022 and had four main objectives:

1. To promote the highest standards of ethics, education and professional excellence.
2. To help participants gain ethical decision-making experience.
3. To provide participants with exposure to real-world ethical dilemmas.
4. To enhance participants' professional networks.

The local society was successful in increasing awareness, participation and viewership of the Ethics Challenge.  Indeed, CFA Society South Africa received a total of 53 applications to participate from individuals in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Senegal and Zambia.

Raazia Ganie, CFA, Board Member at CFA Society South Africa said: “The 2022 Ethics Challenge helped to position CFA Society South Africa as a leader in the field of ethics in the investment industry and raised the profile of the local society among industry employers and professionals. We were delighted to see a higher level of engagement in this year’s challenge versus last year and look forward to building the program further next year.”

The local society received positive feedback from participants, including:

“Participating in the Ethics Challenge was exciting and re-educational. I found revisiting the Code and Standards and applying them to a case study rewarding; especially so now that I had some real life experience for context. I would recommend this challenge to anyone working in financial services - it serves a great reminder of our ethical responsibilities to our clients, employers, and financial markets.”     
- JD van Wyk, CFA

“The experience enlightened me on how pivotal ethics are in the investments space, it boosted my confidence when it comes to public speaking as we had to present our findings and it also made me realize the importance of working as a team when trying to achieve a common goal.”
- Nyasha Mahowa

“It was a real-life example of ethics in practice. Working in a team with members from across the globe also brought in different perspectives and a lot of learning was able to place. A lot of skills were also developed and strengthened along the way including leadership, listening and being present. In as much as it was an ethics challenge, there was a lot to be gained outside of identifying the ethical issues and providing practical solutions.”
- Veryl Mulder, CFA

Congratulations to Team Credo, who won the 2022 Ethics Challenge in South Africa.