CFA Institute Study Suggests Investment Leaders Must Change to Succeed

For more than 15 years, Darrach Bourke has been working in the financial industry in California. He serves as a financial advisor for Emerson Equity – a registered investment advisor and broker-dealer –and is familiar with a wide range of financial planning services, including retirement planning and education funding. Darrach Bourke also belongs to the CFA Institute, an organization dedicated to supporting the investment profession.

In April 2017, the CFA Institute released the results of the Future State of the Investment Profession study. This study coincides with the organization’s Putting Investors First campaign, an annual initiative that encourages that industry to address the needs of investors internationally, and serves as a guide for professionals who wish to adapt as time goes on. According to the data gathered in the study, investment industry leaders who do not alter their business model could put the future of their firms at risk.

The CFA Institute’s Future State of the Investment Profession study looked that which skills investment leaders must have to succeed in the future. Based on responses from Europe and North America, the ability to create and communicate a vision for a firm was the most important skill for asset manager CEOs. Meanwhile, relationship building skills, crisis management, and ethical decision-making were essential skills in Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East.

Based on the study, the CFA Institute also found that investment industry leaders must focus on such areas as professional transformation, stronger standards, and fiduciary implementation if they want to be successful in the future. Most respondents expect changes in investment trends over the next five to 10 years that will affect existing investment firms. Some of these changes include redefined client preferences and technological advances.