CSE and CFA ring opening bell in support of Putting Investors First Month

From left: CFA Sri Lanka Treasurer Dinesh Warasuvitharana, CSE COO Renuke Wijayawardhane, CFASL Advocacy Chair Murtaza Jafferjee, CFASL President Sanjay Kulatunga, CSE Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka, CFASL Vice President Chanakya Dissanayake and CFASL Secretary/GIP Chair Vindhya Jayasekera

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the CFA Society Sri Lanka jointly held a special market opening ceremony yesterday in support of the ‘Putting Investors First Month’ campaign, as a to call attention to the needs and rights of investors. The Putting Investors First Month is a month-long global initiative focused on promoting the needs and rights of investors.

A central focus of the campaign is the Statement of Investor Rights, which investment management professionals are encouraged to share with their clients and communities. The list applies to financial products and services such as investment management, research and advice, personal banking, even insurance and real estate, and is intended to help investors demand that financial professionals abide by these rights. The document includes rights that investors are entitled to expect such as objective advice, disclosure of conflicts of interest, and fair and reasonable fees.

Commenting on the initiative, CSE Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka stated: “We are pleased to unite with financial professionals and exchanges around the world to protect our investors and their interests. As the Chairman of the CSE, I would like to pledge our continued commitment to putting investor interests above all others – as is the objective of this important campaign. We will continue to play a critical role in advancing the interests of investors around the country, especially through our investor education and advocacy efforts.”

He added: “In the midst of the various growth initiatives we are pursuing at CSE, what remains unchanged is our focus on maintaining our market’s integrity and quality, which is in the best interest of our investors. We are fully aware that only operating an open, secure, fair, orderly and transparent marketplace will truly protect the rights and needs of our investors. I am also glad to see the bell ringing ceremony initiative extending its scope, to serve as a platform which also brings attention to issues and causes that are important to society.”  

The CFA Society Sri Lanka is hosting a number of events supporting the campaign, including a retail investor seminar with local speakers and webinars to mark Sri Lanka’s participation in this global initiative. Throughout the month of May, many of CFA’s 147 member societies worldwide will host local events as part of the campaign. In addition, the organisation will spotlight A Difference That Matters, a global advertising campaign, which features CFA charterholders from around the world and aims to build a better investment management profession by raising investors’ awareness of what makes CFA charterholders different.

“Putting Investors First Month is an exciting global initiative of which we are proud to be a part,” said Murtaza Jafferjee, advocacy chair for CFA Society Sri Lanka. “We hope to raise awareness of the need for firms and investment management professionals to protect the interests of investors above all else. We want our members to support and participate in the effort using the #CFAdifference hashtag and to share the Statement of Investor Rights with their clients, colleagues and firms. The end goal for us is to build a stronger, more trustworthy investment management profession.” 

For more information about Putting Investors First Month, the Statement of Investor Rights, and From Trust to Loyalty: What Investors Want, visit www.cfainstitute.org.