The Achilles Heel of Banking
After last decade’s financial crisis, regulators introduced several new measures to reduce systemic risk in the financial system. How are the new safeguards working? What are the implications for future balance sheet structure? The CFA Society Toronto convened a panel of three experts on November 25, 2020, to discuss the new regulatory capital and liquidity frameworks and how they are reshaping the way Canadian banks approach the market. The webinar, including a Q&A session, was moderated by Nigel D’Souza, Investment Analyst, Veritas Investment Research. “There’s no doubt the financial crisis changed balance sheets,” said Bruce Choy, Managing Director (Former Risk […]
Transforming Healthcare
Great strides have been made in medical treatments, pharmaceuticals and drug therapies, and patient recordkeeping – many of them by for-profit companies. How has the recent advent of Covid-19 shaped these developments? Last week, Pfizer was the first to announce a Covid-19 vaccine candidate. What new financial opportunities await? Three panellists convened on November 17, 2020, to discuss the transformation of healthcare, in a webinar sponsored by the Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies & Assets (CAASA). CAASA is a trade association representing alternative investment managers, service providers, and investors. The panel was moderated by Dr. Ted Witek, Health Care Advisor […]
Ethical Decision Making
Why do well-meaning people engage in unethical behavior? Given that a healthy financial market depends on trust, and that trust is earned through ethical behaviour, ethics are fundamental to ensuring the integrity of finance professionals. A panel of two experts in ethical decision making from the CFA Institute—Jon Stokes, Director, and Paul Johnson, Manager and Special Investigator—spoke live to an audience of about 700 on October 21, 2020 in celebration of Global Ethics Day 2020. A survey of 3500 retail investors showed which industry sectors they ranked as “highly trustworthy.” Medicine was at the top of the list, with 68 […]
Climate Risk Survey
Investors continue to ask for more investment strategies that target environment and sustainability. When it comes to capability to manage financial risks due to climate change, how far along are firms in addressing the issues? The second annual global survey of climate risk management at financial firms, sponsored by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), was presented in a webinar on September 22, 2020. The report is co-authored by Jo Paisley, Co-President, and Maxine Nelson, Senior Vice President at GARP. Paisley began by taking a quick poll of the audience, chiefly GARP members. “Why are you interested in the […]
ESG disclosures: apples vs oranges
When it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds, do you feel like we are still comparing apples with oranges? Isn’t it time for a global voluntary standard? “There’s been an explosion of interest in ESG investing, but the inconsistency in ESG-related disclosures could lead to an erosion of trust in the industry,” said Deborah Kidd, who is a director with the Global Industry Standards (GIPS). She was the first of two panelists who presented a consultation paper on “ESG Disclosure Standards for Investment Products” at a webinar titled “Improving Transparency and Comparability of Investment Products with ESG-related Features” […]
Psychology of Money
In 2009, award-winning journalist Morgan Housel was awash in information about the 2008 financial collapse. Yet, try as he might, he could not find the answer to the question: “Why did people behave the way they did?” This is what led him to start formulating notes for what became a blog, and eventually a book titled The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness (Harriman House, 2020). The book was launched on September 8. “What is a person’s relationship with greed and fear? The psychological side of investing is the most important side,” Housel said, “because if you […]
Investing in the greater good
Every day, more investors are converting their portfolios to socially responsible investing (SRI). But does being a socially responsible investor mean you will take a hit on performance? “Over the last five years, responsible investments have done at least as well as the traditional portfolio,” said Tim Nash, a fee-for-service financial planner who spoke at the webinar “Investing in the Greater Good” on August 18, 2020, sponsored by Questrade. Nash is the founder of Good Investing and blogs as The Sustainable Economist. He is also the lead researcher for Ethical Markets Green Transition Scoreboard research report, which details more than […]
Healthy skepticism
Selecting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds is a way that ordinary citizens can invest in an ethical way. But what does the increased interest in ESG investing shown by institutional and private wealth clients really mean? Is it paying off? Are we at a watershed moment for structural change in the way investors allocate resources? The move to consider ESG investing came some years ago with scandals such as Enron, and continues with more scandals such as Volkswagen’s Dieselgate and Facebook’s meddlings, said Pedro Matos, a professor of finance at University of Virginia and the author of the CFA […]
Impact of Covid-19: Economics
How is the world grappling with the Covid-19 Pandemic, especially in the realm of economics? The magazine the Economist presented a webinar on July 30, 2020, titled “The Inside Story: The Impact of Covid-19.” Helen Joyce, executive editor for events at the Economist, interviewed a science writer and an economics editor. This is part two of a two-part summary of that webinar. The second panellist was Henry Cur, an economics editor. He said the economic crisis precipitated by the pandemic is markedly different from “garden variety recessions.” “The scale of unemployment is greater than the 2008 downturn,” he said, “and […]
Impact of Covid-19: Science
How is the world grappling with the Covid-19 Pandemic, especially in the realm of science? Much is happening and the world is hungry for information on these fronts, was the consensus of the panel convened by the magazine the Economist, which presented a webinar on July 30, 2020, titled “The Inside Story: The Impact of Covid-19.” Helen Joyce, executive editor for events at the Economist, interviewed two staffpersons, working on different aspects of the pandemic. She also ran a Q & A session with an audience of thousands via the Zoom platform. This is part one of a two-part summary. […]