The global CFA Institute‘s Singapore chapter, in a concerted decision to give back to society, has included important social elements to its mission, according to Singapore’s Business Times.
The society’s president Tan Chin Hwee, also the founder of global private equity firm Apollo Global Management’s Asian operations, said that the members of the Singapore charter’s new executive committee believe that financial players have a responsibility to make a contribution to society. “The skills set that the community has can be used for better results, not just making money for ourselves,” the paper quoted him as saying.
The institute is setting up three committees, one each for social enterprise investment, asset management and research.
The social enterprise investment community is headed by Lutfey Siddiqui, a managing director of the Asian fixed income, currencies and commodities division at UBS. “There is a social role for finance: the role finance plays in the allocation of resources, the fact that we have a pension industry and an insurance industry. That social role needs to be reiterated and re-established,” Siddiqui was quoted as saying.
Lim Liying, chief investment officer of the Singapore Labour Foundation heads the asset management committee, which aims to spread awareness and knowledge of asset management to mainly non-profit organisations.
The research committee is spearheaded by Paul Bernard, formerly a partner at Goldman Sachs. This committee will aim to increase knowledge in finance and to raise the standards of research and transparency for Asian markets.
The global CFA Institute‘s Singapore chapter’s mission statement now reads: To lead the investment profession by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society.