CFA Institute to open India centre next year

US-based Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute plans to open an India centre in Mumbai by the second quarter of the next calendar year.

Currently, the US is the biggest market for the institute, followed by China and India. The institute operates in India through its member societies such as the Indian Association of Investment Professionals.

Paul Smith, managing director (Asia-Pacific) of CFA Institute, said the India centre will make the Institute a better known name in the country. “We felt it is high time we built a presence in India, since we had 25,000 candidates a year in India. So, we are looking to set up an office in Mumbai in the first or second quarter of 2014. The sooner the better."

Smith said the Mumbai office will establish the CFA Institute to be better known in India as a professional designation for investment managers and security analysts. That entails working closely towards industry, employers, universities and regulators to build the brand of CFA within the financial services world.

The Mumbai office is expected to be a fully functional office where the CFA Institute will have people engaged with regulators, industry and educational activities.

CFA Institute and the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) had been involved in a trademark-related litigation for 15 years, before reaching an agreement in mid-2012.

The agreement was reached after the uncertainty around the CFA examination in India was removed with the litigation between the CFA Institute and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) being resolved. This enabled CFA Institute, the global association for investment professionals, to administer the CFA programme in India.

At a hearing on April 17, 2012, the AICTE declared its executive committee had concluded the existing AICTE regulations do not apply to the CFA programme.

CFA Institute works with partner institutes in each country to extend its professional qualifications. In India, too, the institute is looking to partner with local institutions after the AICTE decision and resolution with ICFAI.

“Now that the earlier problems are behind us, we are working towards developing programme partners in India, too. It can be any institute that teaches 70 per cent of our curriculum, including the ethics portion. Also, we want the school to have a good reputation in India,” said Smith.

CFA Institute does several joint educational programmes and seminars with its partner schools. Smith said the institute also looks to the academics of the schools to actively participate in curriculum development and research projects.

A new programme introduced in 2013, Claritas Investment Certificate, has been popular among Indians, Smith said. “We expect India to be the largest market for Claritas globally in the next 3-5 years.”

The programme includes 100 hours of self-study and would be completed in a period of four months. Unlike the other programmes offered by the CFA Institute, Claritas can be taken by students without prior work experience.

Based on the feedback from CFA Institute members, top financial leaders, regulators and academics from around the world, the new programme is made up of seven self-study modules covering the industry, ethics, tools, instruments, structure, controls and client needs.

Apart from developing the brand in India, the institute would also focus on its ‘Future of Finance’ project. Initiatives under the project are divided into six areas — financial knowledge, putting investors first, regulation and enforcement, retirement security, safeguarding the system, transparency and fairness.

As a first step, the Future of Finance project has unveiled the “Statement of Investor Rights” - a list of principles to help financial service products buyers. The list applies to financial products and services such as investment management, research and advice, personal banking, insurance and real estate. It aims at helping investors demand financial professionals abide by these rights.