6/17/08

Kenya: More Avenues Open for CFA Programme in Region


 

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The number of Kenyans who qualified as Chartered Financial Analysts increased this year as the East African Association Society of Investment Professionals (EASIP) and the international CFA Institute moved to open up greater access through expanded scholarships.

Last weekend, 325 Kenyans sat CFA exams in Nairobi compared to 208 candidates last year.

Currently, Kenya has more CFA charter holders than any other country in the East African region, with 25 registered Chartered Financial Analysts, compared with just one in Uganda.

But with Nairobi now emerging as a new frontier in the African investment industry, EASIP and the CFA Institute are keen to promote greater local access to the qualification.

Dr Charles Appeadu, CFA, Director of Candidate Products for the Institute, this week held talks in Nairobi with Kenya's leading universities, investment service employers, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) with the aim of expanding avenues to the CFA programme, and the role of the professional qualification in assuring industry standards.

The lack of a professional accreditation in the industry has been singled out as a crucial reason behind the industry's perceived lack of professionalism and integrity in the stock brokerage sector, leading to the winding up of two firms in a period of two years.

Without a set of stringent guidelines and rigorous qualifications that allow a professional to be a broker, investors have had to contend with all sorts of individuals seated at front office desks of brokerage firms.

Market players say that this lack of integrity, professionalism and duty to clients, compounded by inadequate understanding of financial concepts continue to hold back the progress of the financial services sector as a whole.

This is especially so, despite the advancement of both the local and global capital markets scene.

Major investment industry employers such as AIG Investments and Dyer & Blair encourage all investment professionals to enrol.

AIG Investments currently has eight candidates and two CFA charter holders, while Dyer & Blair has 25 candidates and three CFA charter holders.

Following talks this week, Strathmore University, which currently provides tutoring for the CFA Level 1 and 2 exams, is now looking at incorporating elements of the CFA curriculum into its MBA programme.

The University of Nairobi Business School and Oshwal College may also follow suit.

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In partnership with the CFA Institute, EASIP, which offers five local scholarships for CFA programme candidates, is also planning to offer scholarships for Business School professors and instructors. Professors who secure their own charters will be authorised to award five further scholarships to their own students.

CFA charter holders earn an estimated 40 per cent more than equivalent unqualified investment professionals. Some countries, such as Singapore, will not allow any investment decision to be made on public funds by anyone who is not a CFA charter holder.

"The CFA Charter is a rigorous qualification, rooted in ethics, and offering a profound understanding of the capital markets. It is vital that the professionals serving this market get every support necessary in performing to international standards," said Dr Appeadu.






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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
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