CLARITAS INVESTMENT CERTIFICATE

CLARITAS
™

INVESTMENT
CERTIFICATE


ASEC PARTNERS MEETING

OCTOBER 19, 2012

Michael G. McMillan, Ph.D., CPA, CFA

Director, Ethics and Professional Standards

Twitter: @M_G_McMillan

http://blogs.cfainstitute.org/investor/author/michaelmcmillan/

ABOUT US


CFA Institute is a global community of more than
100,000 investment professionals working to build
an investment industry where investors’ interests
come first, financial markets function at their best,
and economies grow.






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MISSION STATEMENT:



Ethical Decision Making







To lead the investment profession globally by
promoting the highest standards of ethics,
education, and professional excellence for the
ultimate benefit of society.

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•
Championing ethical behavior in investment
markets.

Ethical
Champion

•
Creating a strong community of investment
professionals.

Global
Community

•
Being a respected source of knowledge in
investment markets.

Industry
Knowledge

•
Raising standards of professional excellence
in the industry.

Professional
Excellence

•
Building an investment industry that serves
the interests of investors and society.

The Greater
Good

OUR FIVE ORGANIZATIONAL PILLARS


REBUILDING TRUST IN THE INDUSTRY

The Integrity List

•
A
collection of 50 tangible steps that investment professionals can take to
restore trust in the
industry

•
Inspired
by “real
-
world” ideas from CFA

charterholders
and
members.


Some examples include:

1. Commit to a gold standard code of ethics & professional conduct.

2. Require
training on ethical decision
-
making for yourself and your
firm
.

3. Place
the client’s interests before your own.

4. Name
and shame unethical behavior.

5. Recommend
products with transparent payoffs, costs, and risks.

A complete list is available online at www.cfa.is/50WaysRestoreTrust


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THOUGHT LEADER IN THE FINANCE AND
INVESTMENT INDUSTRY

A commitment to professional ethics is the core of what we do.

•
Set and maintain

code, global
standards, and best practice guidelines;

•
Collaborate

with global professional
organizations and financial industry
leaders;

•
Contribute analysis and comment
on
issues related to ethics, professional
standards integrity of capital markets,
and financial reporting policy;

•
And conduct
ethics training
for
corporations to train their
staff.


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CLARITAS
™
INVESTMENT
CERTIFICATE

MEETING AN INDUSTRY NEED

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Crisis of trust:

•
Industry in reputational crisis and need to restore public confidence

Lack of knowledge:

Inconsistent levels of knowledge and acumen across
corporate functions that result in poor communication and lack of understanding
of importance of each role

•
Lack of accessible industry wide programs for those who work along side of
investment professionals

•
Developing markets eager to design entry
-
level licensing exams and
qualifications



Need for universal and accessible global standard of education across the
investment industry for non
-
investment professionals


WHY CLARITAS
?





Bringing Clarity



Claritas
is a global and comprehensive
program
that gives a clear understanding of the investment
industry and the professional responsibilities for
everyone working with investment decision
makers
.

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WHY CLARITAS
?

Raises workforce competence by helping
employees understand industry functions,
relationships and their role and professional
responsibilities within it, helping them see where
they fit in the big
picture and ethical and
professional standards

A common global standard across all functions
that
will
help
your employees, your company,
and
ultimately the industry, perform better
together








Shared understanding








Improving performance

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WHY CLARITAS
?








Standing out







Building confidence



Helps
your organisation
stand out from the crowd by
signalling an institutional commitment to
ethics and
helps your employees gain
knowledge over and
above their
peers


Gives your organisation and the general public
greater
confidence and trust in the decisions your
people make on behalf of the
business, contributing
to stronger
morale, motivation
and
loyalty

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WHO IS IT FOR?

The Claritas Investment Certificate is designed
for those professionals who are
not directly
involved in analyzing or making investment
decisions including, but
not limited to, the following:


•
Administration
and
Operations

•
Client
S
ervices

•
Compliance and
Legal

•
Human Resources

•
Information Technology

•
Marketing
and
Sales





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WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE?

The Claritas Investment Certificate is
an easy
-
to
-
use, online,
self
-
study program
including reading materials and the exam.


It
will
involve:

•
Up
to 100 hours of
self
-
study from an interactive
e
-
book (
print
-
on
-
demand
also
available, for an additional charge)

•
Access to
supplemental study tools including
end
-
of
-
chapter questions, an
online mock exam, and additional practice
assessments

•
Two
-
hour, multiple
-
choice examination under high
-
stakes test conditions

•
Computer
-
based testing
within global network of
centers
managed by

Pearson VUE

•

Award
of a certificate of
knowledge for
those
who pass
the exam


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WHAT DOES THE CURRICULUM COVER?

Module 1:
Overview

Chpt. 1.
The Investment Industry: A Top
-
Down View

Module 5:
Industry Structure

Chpt. 13.
Structure of the Investment Industry

Chpt. 14.
Investment Vehicles and Structures

Chpt. 15.
Investment Market Characteristics

Module 2:
Ethics and Regulation

Chpt. 2. Ethics and
Investment
P
rofessionalism

Chpt. 3. Regulation and
Supervision

Module 6:
Industry
C
ontrols

Chpt. 16.
Investment Industry Documentation

Chpt. 17. Risk
Management

Chpt. 18. Performance
Evaluation

Module 3:
Tools
and
Inputs

Chpt. 4. Financial
Statements

Chpt. 5. Statistical and
Quantitative
C
oncepts

Chpt. 6. Microeconomics

Chpt. 7. Macroeconomics

Chpt. 8. International trade and
Foreign
E
xchange

Module 7:
Serving Clients
N
eeds

Chpt. 19.
Investor Needs and Investment Policy

Chpt. 20.
Asset Allocation

Chpt. 21.
Active

and P
assive Investment
M
anagement



Module 4:
Investment
I
nstruments

Chpt. 9.
Equities

Securities

Chpt. 10.
Debt

Securities

Chpt. 11.
Derivatives

Chpt. 12.
Alternate Investments



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WHY IS THIS BETTER THAN OTHER OPTIONS?

•
Designed
as corporate solution for
firm
-
wide
adoption

•
Global standard
of measurement

•
Grounded
in
the heritage of CFA Institute:
promoting and
leading in ethical standards and professional practice

•
Engaging
and accessible curriculum that offers a definitive
guide to the industry

•
On
demand testing with instant
results

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THANK YOU!