CFA Institute welcomes IOSCO’s sustainability-related recommendations on asset management

CFA Society Sri Lanka has announced that the CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals, has welcomed the recommendations put forth by IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) in its recently published ‘Recommendations on Sustainability-Related Practices, Policies, Procedures and Disclosure in Asset Management,’ Final Report. 

CFA Society Sri Lanka President Dinesh Warusavitharana CFA said that the recently launched CFA Institute Global ESG Disclosure Standards for Investment Products and the Certificate in ESG Investing, offer financial regulators market-neutral tools to aid in implementing the IOSCO recommendations relating to product disclosures and investor education, and would help the Securities Exchange Commission to closely review and implement them in Sri Lanka.

CFA Institute Managing Director for Research, Advocacy, and Standards Paul Andrews commented: “The IOSCO recommendations go a long way in assisting global regulatory efforts to improve product-level disclosures and in recognising the need in all markets for more and continuing investor education on ESG and sustainability investing. Regulatory bodies that wish to progress the IOSCO recommendations will find that the CFA Institute Global ESG Disclosure Standards for Investment Products align well with the IOSCO recommendations, providing a ready-made template for best-practice disclosure standards in their market.”

The CFA Institute Global ESG Disclosure Standards for Investment Products have a number of features that align with the IOSCO recommendations, which make them an ideal tool for regulators. They:

• Protect investors by establishing ethical standards for the fair representation and full disclosure of how an investment product considers ESG issues in its objectives, investment process, and stewardship activities;
• Are policy-neutral and do not attempt to influence end-investors’ investment product selection decisions or capital flows in aggregate;
• Accommodate the full range of investment vehicles, asset classes, and ESG approaches offered in markets around the world;
• Contribute to capital market integrity and efficiency by establishing disclosure requirements that are relevant and useful to investors and that allow investment products to fairly compete on equal terms; and,
• Have been developed through a transparent, collaborative process guided by volunteer investment professionals and informed by two rounds of public consultation.

Further, IOSCO calls for more investor education on ESG investing; more than 11,500 global candidates have already registered for the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing. The certificate provides the essential ESG investing language, practical application, and technical knowledge that industry professionals increasingly need. It is particularly suitable for professionals working in portfolio management, performance and risk, sales and distribution, wealth management, product development, financial advice, and consulting.

CFA Institute will continue to offer the Certificate in ESG Investing in markets around the world and looks forward to working with regulators and industry participants globally to advance ESG education and investment product disclosures. The final report on recommendation can be downloaded from - https://www.iosco.org/library/pubdocs/pdf/IOSCOPD688.pdf