CIFA seeks high competence level in local fund sector

Emilios Tannousis, chairman of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association’s training and HR committee, as well as manager of wealth management at the Bank of Cyprus, this week released a statement detailing the aspects of the committee’s role and key objectives.

“The Training and Human Resource Committee aims to provide training and relevant seminars to Cyprus Investment Fund Association (CIFA) members,” he said.

“It engages in the preparation of the Association’s Code of Practice and Ethical Standards for Fund Managers and Risk Management Principles, which are founded on ethics, knowledge and competency to its members, and ensures members maintain adherence to these values,” he added.

Tannousis explained that the committee’s aim is to maintain a high level of competence within the local fund industry locally while benchmarking competency to its peers internationally.

In addition, the committee will monitor and evaluate modern approaches by fellow international fund associations, in terms of training practices, and will send proposals to the CIFA board of directors for implementation.

Furthermore, the committee will continue to support the efforts of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) in the upkeep of ethics and integrity within the industry while collaborating in promoting Cyprus as a reputable funds jurisdiction.

On top of this, Tannousis said that the committee will also pursue cooperation with Cypriot universities, research centres and professional associations through the signing of various Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the aim of assisting CIFA in enhancing, building and growing expertise based on scientific approaches.

According to CIFA, the 2023 action plan of the training and HR committee includes the following initiatives and objectives:

1. One training session per quarter for CIFA members on subject matters that will be suggested by the Committee Members, CIFA Committees and the Board of CIFA on current trends (ESG, AML, EU Taxonomy, Cross border Distribution) and through accredited speakers.

2. The committee will work on drafting the CIFA Code of Practice & Ethical Standards in accordance with European and International Standards. The Committee will work closely with the Board of CIFA for the drafting of the Code.

3. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA Institute), the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI)), and a local University and program providers are valuable partners of CIFA in demonstrating a high level of competence within the fund industry locally while benchmarking competency to its peers internationally. The Committee is keen to proceed with additional MoUs with accredited Academic and Professional bodies to co-organise joint events on common areas of interest and collaborate with these institutions on research and data collection of the market participants in the funds industry.

4. The committee will work with the CIFA Board for the Financial Literacy initiative with a focus on Financial Literacy in Collective Investment Schemes and the Investment Funds area.

“The Committee will pursue in collaboration with the other CIFA committees the design of a survey, analysing the human capital of the funds services industry in Cyprus, beginning with CIFA members’ job role/capacity,” Tannousis said.

“Data collected will then be articulated into a database where results will be filtered, outcomes will be analysed and presented to the members and stakeholders,” he added.

The CIFA HR and Training Committee consists of chairman Emilios Tannousis, members Marios Siathas, Xenia Neofytou, Evgeni Tarakanov, and Anna Philiotis, as well as CIFA advisor Magdalena Drakos.