The Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) Executive Committee voted to acknowledge the CFA Association of Pakistan as an official sponsor of the Global Investment Performance Standards, or GIPS Standards, for the Pakistan market in a recent meeting in Hong Kong.
The GIPS standards are well recognised with high compliance levels among key financial centres in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Administrated by CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity, the success of the GIPS standards is the result of an alliance of sponsors with experts from the variety of fields within the global investment industry across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa.
These key industry groups contribute significantly to promoting and developing the GIPS standards. The CFAAP is the 28th group to join this alliance. "We are very proud to embark on this important role of promoting the GIPS standards in Pakistan.
By becoming a sponsor, we have effectively created a channel to jointly cooperate with the CFA Institute Centre in setting best practices in investment performance in Pakistan. With a growing mutual fund industry in the country, the GIPS standards will improve disclosures and help investors better evaluate and select investment products", said Mohammad Shoaib, CFA, CFAAP President.
He added that among the GIPS sponsoring countries, Pakistan is the only country practising Shariah-compliant asset management products. Implementation of the GIPS standards in the country will pave the way for other Islamic countries to adopt them.
"Welcoming the Pakistan GIPS country sponsor is a big moment for the GIPS Executive Committee since Pakistan is the first Islamic country joining the GIPS initiatives", said Stefan Illmer, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the GIPS standards.
Based on the principles of fair representation and full disclosure, the GIPS standards provide an ethical framework for the calculation and presentation of investment performance for investment management firms.
The GIPS standards benefit two main groups including investment management firms and their current and potential investing clients (including the investment consultants whose job is to evaluate, supervise, hire and dismiss investment management firms on behalf of those clients).
"The contribution of the CFA Association of Pakistan to the GIPS initiative is already tremendous in Pakistan and, no doubt, the extensive links you have with Islamic investments will also help us in the broader global GIPS family increase the awareness and relevant of the GIPS standards to the Muslim world of investments and in particular in the Middle East and Asia", said Louis Boulanger. -PR