The Australian financial services industry is placing greater emphasis on ethical standards, as seen by a 71 per cent increase in the number of candidates registered for the current round of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams.
"Ethical behaviour is definitely a critical issue in today's investment environment and we hear employers talking about it a lot," CFA Society of Sydney president Olivia Engel said.
Throughout June 2215 new candidates will sit the exams, covering topics such as ethics, economics, quantitative analysis, portfolio management, and equities analysis.
Engel believes the market downturn has highlighted the importance of ethical standards to industry participants.
"....and not just about compliance and about ticking boxes with regards to the law, but really in having staff understand ethical behaviour and ethical principles from the real basics," she said
China too is concentrating on ethics; with a 68 per cent jump in candidates resulting in 7778 individuals who will be attempting to gain the accreditation.
"......for the CFA Institute to get in early and make sure that the investments industry in developing countries are starting with good ethical principles is a benefit for the global investment market." Engel said.
