The CISI’s fourth Ireland Awards Ceremony was held at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin, on 4th April.

We were delighted to welcome our winners, invited guests, National Advisory Council members, CISI Ireland President and our keynote speaker for the evening, Professor Diarmuid Hegarty, President, Griffith College.

Professor Hegarty made the presentations to the individual award winners, with Jim Winter, CISI Regional Director. Professor Hegarty spoke of education as ‘the building of a bridge, a bridge to other worlds, a bridge to other people but most of all a bridge to a better life’. He reminded us that ‘a professional award is not an entitlement of rank or class. It is earned through many hours of mental toil and diligent application’ and told the award winners to ‘hold your qualification in the high esteem it deserves’.

A drinks reception followed the presentations, with a chance for the winners to celebrate with their partners, work colleagues and CISI guests. We were pleased to be joined by Senior Management from Citibank Europe, supporting their winners and achievers.

Awards were presented to seven individuals for results achieved during 2018, with one of the winners receiving two awards on the night.

Joint Winners - Investment Operations Certificate (IOC)
Martina Kresnik, Citibank Europe
Christine Mannix, Citibank Europe

Winner – UK Financial Regulation
Rachel Barden, Nat West Markets

Winner - Asset Servicing
Noel McMonagle, Citibank Europe

Winner - Introduction to Securities and Investment (International)

Marcus Duke, Citibank Europe

Winner - Global Securities Operations
Noel McMonagle, Citibank Europe

Winner - Risk in Financial Services
Neil O’Sullivan, First Derivatives

Winner – Client Assets & Money
Ciaran Cuddy, Citibank Europe

Click here to view the full photo gallery.

Click here to view the video.

Satish is an ambitious junior manager in the settlements team of a major international bank. The firm experienced a difficult period some years ago, when it struggled to keep up with a greatly increased flow of daily transactions, the consequences of which led to adverse comment by the regulator.

More staff were hired and a commitment was given to the regulator that appropriate processes would be put in place to monitor the firm’s performance in the affected area. This led to the introduction of an internal reporting system, which is seen as increasingly onerous and somewhat irrelevant by those not involved in the firm’s earlier problems. As a result, the requirement for signature by nominated position holders is not always followed to the letter.

Approaching year-end, Satish is asked by Eamonn, his manager, to ensure that the departmental management information (MI), which Satish co-ordinates and analyses, is up to date for discussion at the heads of division meeting. Bearing in mind the previous and well-documented difficulties of his team, Eamonn will be the focus of attention and, as the meeting is off-site, he has to depart the previous day.

Satish is feeling under some pressure, but is determined to meet all his deadlines, conscious that his chances of promotion will be influenced by how well he performs at times like this. Consequently, he comes in early and stays late to ensure that he can keep on top of the daily routine, as well as meet Eamonn’s needs.

The end of the reporting period approaches and Eamonn, anxious to get his figures as early as possible, begins to press Satish for them. Satish is also reminded by the firm’s regulatory reporting unit that his department’s report is due and that it needs to be signed off by Eamonn, as head of department. This requirement of the firm’s operating procedures, was introduced as a result of the commitment given to the regulator.

As his deadlines loom, Satish provides Eamonn with his MI and takes the opportunity to remind him that he will also need to sign off the regulatory report, which will be ready the next day. Sounding exasperated, Eamonn says that he is much too busy preparing for his meeting to be concerned about “that sort of stuff” and suggests to Satish that, if he is confident that it is correct, he should sign it on Eamonn’s behalf. Satish is aware of the firm’s procedures, but does not feel able to say anything to Eamonn at this particularly stressful time and is relieved simply to have completed the MI.

The Dilemma

The following day, the regulatory report is completed and is given to Satish for him to obtain Eamonn’s signature. Satish tells his colleague that he will see whether he can get Eamonn to sign it, but he is enormously busy and about to leave for the airport.

Satish waits until Eamonn appears to be free and goes into his office with the report, which he asks him to sign. “I told you yesterday that you could sign it” says Eamonn, heading for the door. “It’s only a report and you know what it is all about. You have my complete confidence”.

Options

Satish is torn between doing what his boss has told him to do and complying with the firm’s procedures. He considers various options.

 

• If he signs the report, he will keep Eamonn happy, but he will be breaching company rules.
• If he does not sign but waits for Eamonn to return, the report will be late and the department will look bad again, which may affect his chances of promotion.
• If Eamonn has told him to sign the report, surely he can safely do so?
• Perhaps he should explain to the regulatory reporting unit why Eamonn’s signature is missing and say that Eamonn authorised him to sign the report?

The verdict

Satish should explain to the regulatory reporting unit why he has been unable to obtain Eamonn’s signature and advise them that Eamonn has authorised him to sign the report.

Further reading

A red button issue for investors, investment managers, consultants and regulators as evidenced by a huge attendance at the session. Thoroughly engaging evening as performance was analysed and the future of the asset category considered. CISI Ireland assembled a top quality panel of managers, consultants and fund selectors, from Ireland and the UK, to discuss.

Panel members L-R Chris Nicholls, David Ryan - Chairman, CAIA, Rory Gillen Frank O’Riordan CISI President, Joe Mottley and Sara Morgan

Sara Morgan, Blackrock: Sara began by clearly outlining the differences between Absolute Return and Total Return investment objectives. Focussing on absolute return it was clear there was a performance issue. Sara singled out 2018 and 2015 as being particularly poor. What lessons could be learned? Expectations were set too high. Costs were underestimated. Sara also felt there had been capacity issues in some asset classes given the unprecedented growth. The liquid Alts category she feels is a very mixed bag.

For Sara there is still a role for Absolute Returns (AR) going forward, especially as in her view we should see more dispersion and lower correlation between asset classes, given we are seeing the end of the QE experiment. However there is a need for better communication and education in the future, and above all a need to manage expectations. Investors do need to have a longer time horizon and be aware of the risk of significant drawdowns along the way.

Rory Gillen, GillenMarkets. Rory very much drew on the facts. Rory looked at data from 1998 to 2018 and highlighted the period 2003 to 2018 as being especially disappointing for Absolute Return. He believes low interest rates, high costs and too much capital chasing specific strategies as key drivers of the underperformance. If we expect long term equity returns to be 5% over inflation, he cannot see AR with higher costs and targeting lower risk (volatility) being able to offer similar return profile. There is no evidence and he feels the case for inclusion of AR in multi-asset strategies is weak.

Chris Nicholls, Aberdeen Standard LIfe: Chris felt that there had been a definite change in market circumstances since the financial crisis and managers should have been more vigilant in communicating that to their clients. Market features didn’t help AR – in 2017, as risk assets performed and in 2018, as practically all asset classes were negative, diversification didn’t reduce risks. As managers they should also have been more aware of changes in the “financial plumbing” in the system, especially the degree to which Central Banks were including market sentiment in their decision making. Chris still sees a role for AR into the futures and cites broader investment freedom with use of asset classes such as Private Equity , Aircraft leasing etc as a possibility.

Joe Mottley, Clarus Investments: They have become disillusioned with the performance of AR. He cited the FT definition of AR as positive returns in all market conditions with lower risk as probably what most people thought they were buying into. This hasn’t happened. Joe produced some forensic data on an Irish AR peer group of funds, and his findings were

• Costs were higher but only about 35 basis points on a median basis.
• Correlation with equity markets was higher than expected.
• Volatility generally was well managed.

Poor decisions were made at different times – not enough hay was made when the going was good. In 2016 and 2017 many AR funds had a big structurally bearish view which they didn’t unwind. A lot of damage was also done in 2018 as many asset classes were negative and despite their ability to short this was a headwind for AR managers. Clarus view is that the declared objectives of AR funds is too high and that instead an AR fund delivering 1 or 2% over cash could work.

 

Its not often we get the chance to talk about a Hat-Trick for Scotland (unless we are talking about second half tries), but the week commencing 18th March has been a first with three CPD events and in three different cities.

Monday, we started in Glasgow with a talk about Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace which was delivered by Louise Ramsay of the Work Well Hub delivered to a packed house raising their awareness of some of the common mental health disorders and how to manage them.

Tuesday, we headed over to Edinburgh where Gbenga Ibikunle (known as GB to his friends) from Edinburgh University took us on a journey through some of his research on FinTech and the new Edinburgh Futures Institute, before finally looking at how FinTech and Financial Services will be impacted by the new Institute.

Wednesday, a first as we headed over the Fourth Road bridge and headed across the silvery Tay to Dundee. This was our first venture into the city which has seen a steady increase in membership over the last year. Blair Anderson (honest no relation) provided two talks; A Market Review & coping with Uncertainty and Are you Planning for Growth? It was great to see so many companies represented at the event and if these numbers continue then there is definite scope to bring more events to the City of Discovery.

We even had some members attend the breakfast Accidental Managers Programme on the Wednesday on delegation which are available to all members through our association with the Professional Bodies Forum for Scotland. Does that mean a hat-trick plus one!

So where next?

Over the coming months there will be more opportunities near you as in the next few months there will be events in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and hopefully Stirling as well. If you are interested in helping drive forward an event in your city, then please get in touch.

I look forward to seeing you at the next event in a town near you!

Colin Anderson
Client Relationship Manager Scotland

 

First of all, our thanks go to Nick Boe of Brewin Dolphin for helping to prepare and arrange the March CISI Southern Branch meeting in Reigate on the afternoon of 19 March 2019. 

With a packed room, the meeting started promptly with two diverse presentations planned for the audience to interest both Financial Planners and Wealth Managers alike. Both presentations were well received by the audience with a good few questions from the floor and much interaction with the presenters after the event. 

The first presentation was from Sam Jermy, Senior Business Development Manager at Time Investments, presenting on Inheritance Tax planning in 2019. With examples used throughout the presentation, Sam provided a review of the first Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) report on IHT, the outlook for estate planning in light of the OTS review and the residence nil rate band as a refresher. He also touched upon gifting, charitable legacies, business relief and Trust interaction.

With a short interval between presentations, the second session was given by Marte Borhaug of Aviva Investors who explored the main drivers of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing, what it means in practice to be a responsible investor, what plastic cups and antibiotics have got to do with it and where the industry is likely to go next. Reference to the info-tagging system for food was made (with some tasty examples) and the desire for this to occur with all funds into the future so that clients can make informed ESG decisions.

It was good to have such diverse topics and the venue lent itself well to helping the audience focus on the wide-ranging themes. 

Thank you again to Nick and also to Louis Coke from Charles Stanley in supporting our East Surrey venue, which is growing in attendees. 

Keith Churchouse, President of the Southern Branch, closed proceedings by drawing everyone’s attention to the joint branch Super-Event planned for 14 May at Portsmouth University. I hope you can all attend. 

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI
President, CISI Southern Committee

Hi everyone

There has been a lot going on in the CISI world and we wanted to share some updates with you.

We are proud to have launched the CISI Young Professional Network in Yorkshire in March.  The Network is aimed at professionals in the 18-35 age bracket and aims to help members enhance their professional skills.  We look forward to welcoming new and existing members to our events and would be grateful for your input as to what support you would like for your career development plans.

On the Financial Planning front, following the merger with the CII, the committee has been bolstered by some new faces from the financial planning arena and we work closely together to ensure CPD events are relevant to members from the financial planning world, as well as the rest of our membership base.

The CISI website has undergone quite a makeover over the last 12 months or so. It is worth having a look round the site, to ensure you are utilising all information and development opportunities available to you.  Whilst on the site, please take the time to review your communications preferences, which can be found in the 'My Account' section of 'My CISI'.

If you have any suggestions for CPD events, as well as feedback on preferences for venue, time of day etc these are most welcome.

We look forward to seeing you at future events.

Emma Spratley
Yorkshire Branch President

I was delighted to meet with the CISI Southern Branch Committee towards the end of January 2019 to look at the opportunities and agenda for the balance of 2019. Our meeting was the day after the CISI Presidents’ Day (pictured) in Fenchurch Street in London and many great ideas from the various regions were considered.

I am pleased to also report the success of the first CISI Southern Branch CPD event in mid-January 2019, which was well received and highly topical.

Your committee plans to continue to look at a dual-location format for 2019, with our CISI Branch meetings to be held in both central Guildford and just outside Reigate, with the Reigate events now kindly organised by Nick Boe of Brewin Dolphin. In addition, we are planning a ‘Super-Event’ between the Southern and South Coast Branches on the morning of Tuesday 14 May at Portsmouth University (geographically central between both regions). Please keep your diaries free and the final details will come through soon.

Looking at the diary for 2019, we plan the following (subject to variations):

Month 2019	Venue
March CPD event	Reigate Heath Golf Club (PM)
April CPD event	Guildford Central (G Live / AM)
14 May CPD event	Super Event- Portsmouth University (AM)
Late June AGM and Social	Guildford Central (PM)
September CPD event	Guildford (Lunchtime)
October CPD event	Reigate Heath Golf Club (PM)
November CPD event	Guildford Central

We plan to hold our AGM in the early summer, along with a social event in central Guildford and all dates will be confirmed from the central CISI office soon.

I hope this update is helpful and please do pass on the message to anyone who would be interested in joining in. These events are obviously great for CPD and the Committee has looked at topical events to meet this requirement accordingly. If there is anything you would like to see on the agenda, then please let me know.

The Southern Branch is also looking for suitable sponsors for this year and next and please do let me know if you have any suggestions.

We look forward to a great CISI Southern Branch event schedule for 2019 and beyond.

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI
President, CISI Southern Committee

This was the first of the CISI Southern Branch events for 2019, held at G Live in Guildford.

With a good turnout, Keith Churchouse, President of the Southern Branch, introduced the speakers for the event on the morning of 15 January 2019.

The Southern Branch was pleased to welcome Azad Zangana, Senior European Economist & Strategist with Schroders, as the first speaker. Azad gave an excellent and thought-provoking presentation on the global macroeconomic outlook over the coming months and years, with a focus on Brexit and its potential outcomes and impacts – a particularly pertinent topic given the meaningful vote scheduled for the evening of 15 January. On a broader note, Azad explored potential future trends for global markets and currencies in the light of factors such as the US-China trade war, the withdrawal of global liquidity with the ending of QE and the fading impact of Donald Trump’s tax reforms.

The second presentation was given by Heather Dunne of The Pensions Experts. Heather is a well-known figure in the financial services world, having worked in the industry since 1985. Her expertise and experience in pension transfers made for a welcome and very timely presentation, covering significant ground in this controversial field. Heather provided a clear, detailed and candid explanation of the reasons behind the recent increase and subsequent slow-down in defined benefit transfers, the significant regulatory and legislative changes that have taken place over time and her views on the future of the transfer of safeguarded benefits.

Our thanks go to both the speakers for two engaging and stimulating presentations. If you would like a copy of the slides, please visit the CISI website or contact a member of the CISI Southern Committee.

Your Committee meets on 24 January 2019 to look at the next events across Surrey and if you would like any financial topic discussed then please let Keith Churchouse know.

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI
President, CISI Southern Committee

As President of the CISI Southern Branch, I wanted to send our members many thanks for their support of our events and work over the year and, of course, to wish you all a great Christmas 2018, and a healthy and prosperous 2019 and beyond.

2018 has been a challenging year in many respects for us all, with much market volatility, and I am sure we will see more of this over the first few months of 2019. We have a good few events planned for the start of 2019, in Guildford and in Reigate to bring location diversity to our regional programme. Please do check what’s on and book accordingly.

I wanted to thank the Southern Branch committee members for their work and support during the year and we have our next committee meeting in Guildford on 24 January. If there is anything you want to see on the future agenda for the region in 2019 then please let me know. No guarantees of what will be added, but ideas are always welcome.

Thanks also go to the CISI for their support over the year and we look forward to 2019 together. There is a plan of a ‘super-event’ between the Southern and South Coast branches in the spring and more details should follow in the first quarter of 2019. We will keep you posted.

Have a great break over Christmas and we look forward to working with you into 2019.

Happy Christmas!

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI
President, CISI Southern Committee

Retired professional snooker player and current BBC snooker commentator Dennis Taylor shared a few interesting stories from his snooker days at the event, held on 11 October 2018 at The Spa Hotel, Tunbridge Wells

View the photos from the dinner here.

The CISI Southern Branch held its annual social event on the evening of 22 November 2018 at the County Club, in Guildford High Street.

The Southern Branch President, Keith Churchouse, welcomed the attendees for a roundup of 2018, noting the early start to the 2019 calendar for our region’s events, with the first CPD session taking place on 15 January in Guildford. He was also able to mention the outline of a ‘Super-Event’ towards the south of our region being planned for Spring 2019, with more information to follow.

Our sponsors for the evening’s event were Charles Stanley and Schroders, and we thank them for their continued support of the CISI.

Keith thanked the Southern Branch Committee for their help, wisdom and energy during the year and was able to introduce Laura Thurlow, CEO of the Community Foundation for Surrey to open the night’s proceedings to detail the work they achieve in our region through philanthropic giving.

Our thanks go to James Stewart Smith as compere to Mr Jonathan Orr, our guest speaker, who is the Chief Financial and Operations Director of British Athletics. Jonathan has extensive experience in the commercialisation and staging of global sporting events and the profitable exploitation of media and other intellectual property rights. Skilled at operating in political multi stakeholder environments with a track record of financial probity, empathy for organisational goals, delivering strategic objectives and challenging convention, Jonathan maintains a deeply pragmatic approach to business and enterprise wide issues with a sharp focus on continuous business improvement.

A very enjoyable informal interview followed between James and Jonathan on many aspects of the business of sport and this was followed by a Q&A session. All agreed that it was an insightful presentation.

Drinks and canapes followed, and a good evening was enjoyed by all. Thank you to all who supported.

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI
President, CISI Southern Committee

Dear Jersey members - you can now fill in this online form which is the new formal process in getting involved in the Jersey committee. 

Having never been to a full conference before, it was great to experience the whole programme of events over the two days of the CISI Financial Planning Conference in Birmingham in early October 2018.

The presentations were varied and covered a good spectrum of topics, noting that I found the subjects on day two slightly more involving for the type of business we transact. The provider/networking area was well prepared, engaging and interesting and great to see a few familiar faces, and to meet some new contacts.

One striking presentation was that from Tom Murray of Charity Flow on Philanthropic giving and its interaction in the client advice process. I was able to ask the audience about their involvement in this so far, which was clearly significant for many.

I also thought that the panel debate on Tuesday morning with regards to British Steel Pensions and contingent charging was notable. The solicitor, Philippa Hann’s direct approach to what adviser companies should and should not be doing was a very welcome outside view of the advice process and I was not alone in thinking this with the rounds of applause she received.

It was also good to catch up on CISI news, especially was we have entered Financial Planning Week at the start of October and I know this will be a great success.

Overall, an interesting and thought-provoking conference. The audience engagement was good and great to see so many delegates there.

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI
President, CISI Southern Committee

Autumn has started and with the long hot summer now behind us, we look forward to the next period of CPD and social events for the CISI Southern Branch for the late 2018 and early 2019 calendar.

Each CPD event lasts approximately two hours, normally with two speakers, to diversify the topical subjects being considered to appeal to our varied audience. A second venue is now established in Reigate and big thanks go to Louis Coke, Vice-President of our branch, for achieving this new regular destination. It certainly offers greater access to CPD events for our CISI members and we will look to achieve a further locality in time, once both current venues are fully established.

Your Southern Branch Committee has met on a couple of occasions during the summer to look ahead to provide a diverse and, we hope, attractive agenda for events over the next period, for both financial planners and wealth managers alike. I would like to extend my thanks to Praneet and Nikki at CISI central for their help in achieving the outcomes for our branch over the next few months. Please do log into your personal MyCISI account online to see what’s on over the period, including our social event in November 2018 in central Guildford. It should be an inspirational evening, with our guest, local business leader Tom Higgins of Gold-I. The Community Foundation for Surrey will also be with us on the evening, not to ask us for funding, but simply to tell about their work across our geographical area.

An important feature of the CISI offering is education to local schools, colleges and learning outlets. Our Education Officer, Vicky Fulcher, has been working to contact schools in the Southern Branch region to pass on learning material for budding future financial experts. If you have any contacts who would benefit from this opportunity then please do contact me.

There are important economic events occurring over the next period, including the Brexit negotiations, ongoing and ever-changing regulation, US mid-term elections and, of course, this year’s ‘Santa rally’ (not guaranteed of course!). We believe our events will reflect these economic positions as they are approached, but we are only human. If there is anything we have missed, or topics, or speakers you feel would add value and you would like to see being added to the agenda for 2019 then do let us know. We will look to accommodate requests where we can.

I, and the Committee, look forward to the season ahead.

Keith Churchouse CFP Chartered FSCI
President, CISI Southern Committee

 

A Level students taking CISI qualifications from schools and colleges across Merseyside recently took part in the CISI’s Work Experience Week 2018, culminating in a conference at the Liverpool waterfront.

Read the full article here.

This is some of the feedback we received after the recent Blockchain event with Anthony Day, COO of the Deloitte EMEA Blockchain Lab. Anthony presented ‘Blockchain for Business and how it is transforming financial services’, to an audience of almost 50 CISI members and his enthusiasm and knowledge for the topic was infectious. So much so that he received a spontaneous round of applause when he finished.

Further feedback is below:

‘Anthony made a complex area come to life and it was both interesting and at times, concerning to consider the changes block chain will bring to the financial services sector in the coming years’

‘Very good session with lots of content’

‘Great presentation, relevant, to the point and quality real life examples’

Our next presentation as part of the 2018 CPD Program is ‘Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023’ by George Nolan QFA, RPA. Pensions Specialist, New Ireland Assurance Company, continuing our commitment to topics which are timely and relevant, by leading industry experts.

Sam Hurst, 19-year-old Swansea University student, overcame his fear of networking and is now on track to a career in financial services

Read more.

The Community Foundation for Merseyside received the massive sum, which was raised at the branch’s annual dinner

Read the full article here.

Magician Zamaan Ismail was back with his tricks for the second year running at the event, held on 17 May 2018 at Malmaison Hotel, Birmingham

View the photos from the ceremony here.

This meeting of the CISI Southern Branch was held at The Harbour Hotel in Guildford.

Following on from the CISI Southern Branch AGM, the new Southern Branch President, Keith Churchouse, introduced the speakers for the event on the evening of 12 June 2018.

Ned Naylor-Leyland from Old Mutual Global Investors is a well-known figure in the investment world focusing on investment in gold and gave a very energetic and engaging presentation on the way that gold can be used and has been used historically to hedge investment risk and provide significant diversification.

The presentation was certainly engaging and challenging and also provided historic data to illustrate cyclical movements which may indicate future trends. Ned willingly engaged with the audience during the Q&A session at the end of his presentation and recognises that some of the data provided is challenging to the investment world, although his conviction was strong in detailing his aims for the fund he manages.

The second presentation was by Alex Breese of Schroders, who concentrated on the UK equity market, with a particular focus on Brexit and its potential effects on the UK economy and UK shares.

The data available was significant and Alex has confirmed that his presentation is available on the CISI website. This provides his view on the UK market at the moment and particularly a sentiment which could indicate that the UK market is slightly undervalued with a potential for upside benefit.

Again a very energetic and engaging presentation which was enjoyed by the audience at the Guildford event.

Our thanks go to the social event sponsors, Old Mutual Global Investors and Charles Stanley, for the drinks reception after the presentations which was a great finale to the evening, with many enjoying the open air terrace of the Harbour Hotel on a glorious evening, as can be seen from the pictures.