Advocating for clear and transparent disclosures

Providing clear and transparent disclosures is key for investors’ education and trust in financial markets.

Topic: Benchmarks and Indices:

• Conference: ‘What’s new on indices, "smarts betas", active versus passive?’ - 24th April 2013
• Benchmark and Indices - CFA Institute Issue Brief
• Regulation: AMF Letter, with an overview of regulation on benchmarks and indices (page 6-9)
• Regulation: ESMA “Guidelines on ETFs and Other UCITS issues” Section XIII (Financial Indices)

Topic: Best practice for ETFs 

• Conference: ‘Beyond physicals/synthetics. Where do we stand on Best Practice for ETFs?’ - 22d November 2012
• Regulation: Latest ESMA Guidelines on ETFs and Other UCITS 
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The Code of Ethics & Standards of Professional Conduct is the foundation of CFA institute’s work on ethics, standards and best practice guidelines.

The Standards of Practice Handbook provides guidance to the people who deal with real ethical dilemmas in the investment profession on a daily basis; it is the fundamental element of ethics education effort of CFA institute and the primary resource for guidance in interpreting and implementing the Code. 

• Code of Ethics(2 pages)
• Standards of Practice Handbook, 10th edition (220 pages)

Although most developed markets have established their codes for asset management, the CFA Institute Asset Manager Code sets forth a comprehensive set of ethical and professional standards for asset management firms of all types, sizes, and locations. It has been adopted by more than 500 firms worldwide. See list

• Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct – English Version

Advocating for transparent disclosures in financial reporting

Enhancing Disclosures:

Promoting better transparency for investors with the objective of efficient capital allocation is key.

• CFA Institute recently produced 2 innovative studies on how some disclosures are perceived by users. Each study concludes with a list of recommendations to enhance disclosures:
• User  Perspectives on Financial Instruments Risk Disclosures - Volume 1 (credit, liquidity, and market risk)
• User Perspectives on  Financial Instruments Risk Disclosures - Volume 2 (derivatives and hedging policies)


• The EDTF (Enhanced Disclosure Task Force) was also set up by the Financial Stability Board to enhance the quality and transparency of risks disclosures. The EDTF report (“Enhancing the Risk Disclosures for Banks” - 29 October 2012 addressed several shortcomings highlighted in the CFA Institute studies on risks disclosures. Please visit Vincent Papa’s blog on CFA Institute’s Website.

Conferences:

• ‘Banks: What does Enhanced Transparency look like?’ – Project Sept - Oct 2013
• Credit Rating Agencies: where do we stand on regulation…desintoxocation – Project Dec 2013
• ‘What strategy for the financial sector?’ - January 2013
• ‘Banking Financial Report: are they adequately transparent for users’? - July 2012: participation to CFA Institute‘s Panel at Paris-Europlace.