A message from your President, Eugene Kiernan FCSI

2021 has continued for many of us more or less how we left off in 2020 – still in a virtual world.

Eugene

National Advisory Council

We are delighted to welcome Paula Downey FCSI, who joined the Ireland National Advisory Council this year.

Paula, a long time fellow of the Institute, is highly experienced and expert in the compliance area both in Ireland and in the UK and has already made a huge contribution to the workings of the NAC, which we are very grateful for.

Events

Our virtual events programme has continued for 2021 and Ireland have hosted five events to date. Once again the feedback has been excellent from both our own members and those globally who are joining us for these events.  

Eoghain Murphy, NAC Member, chairs our ETFs event in March with Hector McNeill, HanETF and John Looby, KBI

We were particularly pleased to have Colm Kincaid, Director of Markets Supervision and his team who gave CISI members the first insight into the inaugural Securities Markets Risk Outlook Report, published earlier this year. 

Sustainable Finance continues to be an important topic and we ran a very informative session with Barry O’Connor & Louise Dobbyn of Matheson and Sam Tripuraneni, Blackrock on the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation introduced in March.

CISI members can watch past events on CISI TV.

IOB Accreditation of CISI Professional Refresher modules

The Institute of Banking have accredited some of the CISI Professional Refresher e-learning modules for CPD for their designations. More details.

Sustainable Finance Learning Resources

With sustainable finance becoming an increasingly important area, don’t forget to check out the CISI’s learning resources in this area, including Professional Refresher e-learning modules (free to members), the Certificate in Green and Sustainable Finance and the recently launched Climate Risk Certificate with the Chartered Bankers and CII.

Professional Refresher e-learning modules include:

    

Congratulations to James Stewart MCSI and Maria Delaney, Chartered MCSI - our 'Ginvesting' competition winners

James and Maria correctly answered that Mairead McGuinness is the current European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union.

A Gin & Tonic gift box from StillGarden Distillery is making its way to each of them.

A great response from our members; thank you for taking part.

CISI members can login to view the event recording via CISI TV.

• International Introduction to Securities & Investment
• Investment Operations Certificate (IOC)
• Technology in Investment Management
• Risk in Financial Services
• Combating Financial Crime
• Global Financial Compliance

It has been such a strange year (I don’t have to tell you!), but as we start to make our way out of lockdown, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to you about our own group, the CISI Cotswolds Branch. 

We are spread far and wide, which is why we have never managed to get all of us together for a face-to-face meeting. The virtual meetings have worked well, and I think the future will be a mix of both.

Some of us are, however, gagging to get together! Our first social event kicks off in spectacular style this year on Thursday 15 July.  We are very lucky to have Cheltenham’s Alex Chalk MP, Assistant Whip, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice), who will join us for early evening drinks and canapes at the prestigious No.131 in Cheltenham.  We will have an exclusive outside and indoor area for us (just in case the weather does not hold).

Our branch could not survive without the participation and support of our very loyal members, and I would encourage you to bring along either someone you know who may aspire to have a career in financial services, or someone in your team who has never attended a CISI event. Not only do we want to increase our numbers, but we also want to support diversity and open financial services to other audiences. To this end, non-member guests are welcome, free of charge.

To book on to attend the social, please click here. If you are bringing a non-member guest, please email anna.garfit@cisi.org, and send your guest’s name and they will be added to the guest list. 

I look forward to seeing you ‘in the flesh’ on 15th July.

Best
Sandra Paul

This session, held on 20 May 2021, was very timely. It covered both the new IORPS 2 process and proposals, as well as the recently published pensions reform report.

We were delighted to welcome again leading industry expert George Nolan for what he described as the final part of his "trilogy" covering the evolution of what is a very unique pension landscape here in Ireland. George has been very supportive of CISI Ireland in recent years, and has the ability to make a complex and sometimes arid subject both accessible and interesting.

We had a very strong and engaged domestic turnout for the webinar and a good representation internationally. The session was expertly chaired by National Advisory Council member Clark Elder, Chartered FCSI.

The event will shortly be available to view on CISI TV.

April 13th saw our 3rd event of the year so far. The Central Bank of Ireland presented on their recently published Securities Markets Risk Outlook Report. Colm Kincaid, Director of Securities and Market Supervision led a top drawer team of Central bank experts covering a wide range of topics including Impact of External Shocks, the migration towards Greener Securities Markets and increasing complexity. The session was skilfully chaired by Paula Downey, a member of the National Advisory Council.

CISI Ireland has hosted the Central Bank now on a number of occasions in the past three years and similar to the previous presentations, this was a very well attended session covering what are critical issues for the Irish financial services industry.

Yesterday's webcast was a great start to CISI Ireland’s 2021 programme of events.

There was a strong attendance and very high level of engagement for this very timely look at the implications of the new disclosure regulations for sustainable finance.

Chaired by Council member Martin Collins, we had presentations from Sam Tripuraneni of Blackrock and Louise Dobbyn and Barry O’Connor of Matheson, the premier Dublin-based legal firm. Matheson count seven of the world’s top  ten asset managers among their clients and so were exceptionally well placed to give a perspective. Sam provided a master class on best practice in the lead up to the new requirements for the fund manager.

Our use of polls during the session show that for the majority it is very much a work in progress, though a lot has been achieved.

CISI Ireland were delighted with a very interactive Q&A session and subsequent very positive feedback.

Note from your President, Eugene Kiernan FCSI 

Well, as we all know it’s been a year like no other! I feel that our industry and our Institute has faced, and risen to, challenges that we would never have envisaged.

For our part in Ireland, after our first (and last) physical event at the start of the year, we moved into the virtual world and in fact delivered what I think were very innovative and timely sessions. As well as high engagement from our own members, for the first time perhaps we reached out to a global audience throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. In terms of speakers and panellists I  was delighted to continue our partnership with the Central Bank of Ireland as well as working for the first time with the IDA and the 30% Club.  Our chat with two time Olympian Neville Maxwell was also a highlight of the year.

I would like to thank all the firms and individuals who helped us in these endeavours.

I believe that 2020, for many of our members, has shown the value of the strength and breadth of our CISI TV offering and indeed all the virtual material on our site.

Still... still I long to get back to the “real world “ and meeting members and guests in person.

We are working on an exciting program of events to build on the success of 2020 and I believe that before too long these events will come with a cup of coffee!

I would like to thank our National Advisory Council for unrelenting support and hard work. On their behalf, on behalf of our members, and my own I would like to sincerely thank our country executive Deirdre Heffernan for quite simply keeping the show on the road  - which requires a very wide range of skills!

New National Advisory Council Members

We were delighted to welcome two new NAC members during the year. Clark Elder, Chartered FCSI, Country Head of Compliance & MLRO at RBC Investor & Treasury Services, and Noel McMonagle ACSI, Account Manager at Citi. Noel has taken on a Social Media role for the NAC.

2020 Events

The CISI moved to a virtual events programme to continue to meet your CPD requirements and together increase our knowledge, build new skills and shine a spotlight on integrity and ethical behaviour. CISI Ireland, with the help of your National Advisory Council members, ensured that we maintained our own programme on topics which are relevant, timely and topical by leading industry experts in their respective fields.  We have run 7 events this year with our only physical event in January, on sustainable investment by Des Lawrence, Senior Investment Strategist, at State Street Global Advisors. Moving to a virtual platform, we then hosted six further events with the added benefit of attracting CISI members around the globe. Our event with Jim Power in June, Rebuilding the world - Investment in the new landscape, holds the CISI record for the largest audience at over 300 attendees on the day.

We were delighted to welcome Neville Maxwell, ex-Olympic rower for an insight on business lessons from Sport, transferable skills and high performance culture.

Our final event of the year focussed on gender diversity and the role financial services can play in moving the agenda forward. George Littlejohn graciously hosted a lively and informed debate with panellists from the 30% Club, Legal & General Investment Managers and the London School of Economics. This is a subject we will be returning to. Events are recorded and available to view on CISI TV.

Book Competition

A great response to our recent book competition, thank you to all those who entered. The fastest responses came in from John Shanahan and Paul Duke and who have received a copy of  “Fundamentals of Investing - a practitioner’s guide” by Brian O’Loughlin and Frank O’Brien.

CISI and IFS Skillnet

We are delighted to have been successful in our recent tender to have the CISI’s Investment Operations Certificate  included in the training programmes approved by the IFS Skillnet. Also approved was Combating Financial Crime &  Managing Cyber Security exams and Risk in Financial Services and some of our Professional Refresher e-learning modules.  Contact deirdre.heffernan@cisi.org for more details.

Ireland LinkedIn

Have you joined the CISI Ireland LinkedIn Network?  Until we can safely host our events in person again, we want to provide our members with a platform to network with their fellow CISI members in Ireland.  

The lifestyle benefits for individuals and families were highlighted as well as the whole ecosystem including academic access, improved connectivity, support services etc. Improved productivity, higher staff retention, lower costs were just some of the business “wins” for companies.

Neville Maxwell, a two-time Olympian rower and multiple world champion medal winner, delivered a “tour de force” performance in conversation about the lessons from sports and how they can readily be applied in the business world. In a wide-ranging talk, Neville discussed leadership, goal setting, targets, stress management, time keeping, and how to turn people into winners. Drawing on his current leadership role in the High Performance unit in Rowing Ireland, he highlighted both the strong current position and the pipeline of talent coming through. One key takeaway, both for business management and sport, is the need to focus efforts and resources purely on areas of competitive advantage rather than spread across the waterfront.

This was a very highly attended webcast with a great level of interaction and feedback from CISI members.

CISI members can log in to watch the webcast here.

This was an extremely well attended webcast moderated by CISI National Advisory Council member Adele Spillane MCSI and featuring two asset experts, Natasha Sahi and Alan Coffey, both from Blackrock Alternative Investors.

Covering both the fundamental building blocks of the investment case and current trends in the sector, the session highlighted both the return benefits and lower risk attributes that inclusion of private assets can bring to a multi-asset investment portfolio.

Many of the trends underlying recent growth, such as the need for increased infrastructure investment globally, point to a continued need for private equity and private debt. While the speakers had a very clear global perspective, there was significant engagement “from the floor” on the relevance to the Irish pension market.

CISI members can log in to watch the webcast here.

This was a highly attended webcast with over 20 local firms represented, delivered by the Central Bank Wholesale Market Conduct team headed up by Steve Clark.

After revisiting the Five Principles for a properly regulated securities market, the session went on to look at issues of forbearance and market conduct in a COVID-19 environment. In an environment of increasing “WFH” in financial service companies, the Central Bank highlighted the need for individuals to have a full understanding of the risks in their own role.

The Central Bank team also dealt with a range of questions on subjects such as ESMA risk buckets, illiquidity in funds, crypto-currencies and Brexit risks.

At CISI Ireland we were delighted once again to engage with the Central Bank in what continue to be “full house” events in either the virtual or the real world.

We hope you are keeping safe and well during these unprecedented times.

Having to move to such a different way of working will sometimes impact on our wellbeing. Since we cannot meet face to face at the moment, we wanted to remind you about the 'virtual events' that CISI is broadcasting to help - please have a look at the CISI events calendar, where you will be able to find live webcast sessions such as:

    Managing Mental Health in Challenging Times

    Resilience in the Time of the Virus

    Young Professionals Network - Be More Productive Working from Home

There are lots of other great webcasts to choose from too, such as an Update from the Bank of England the Wealth Management Forum.

Also do not forget CISI TV continues to upload new programmes whilst the Professional Refresher eLearning modules can help refresh your knowledge on a myriad of subjects.

Finally, we wanted to announce that CISI Yorkshire has elected a new Branch President, Charlie Thompson. Charlie brings with him extensive wealth management experience, and is excited to help continue to ensure our members have access to excellent, relevant CPD. Charlie wishes to thank Emma Spratley for her service as previous President and looks forward to meeting you when our face to face events start up again.

Best Wishes

CISI Yorkshire Branch

The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) is delighted to announce the appointment of Eugene Kiernan FCSI as President of the CISI National Advisory Council for Ireland. He takes over from Frank O’Riordon MCSI who held the position for the last four years.

Eugene joined the global financial services professional, not-for-profit body CISI in 1998 becoming a Fellow in 2005. He has over 35 years’ experience in the Asset management and Funds industry.

Eugene (right) began his career in Irish Life Investment Managers, initially as an Investment analyst, and then fund manager, before moving on to executive roles in firms such as AIB investment Managers and Appian Asset Management, in a wide range of roles including asset allocation and manager selection.

He has served on pension fund boards and recently qualified as a Professional Trustee. He currently acts in a consultancy role on asset management issues for a number of firms.

Eugene is a regular contributor to the media (print, TV and radio) on investment and market issues. He has also delivered keynote addresses to major industry conferences both in Ireland and the US.

Commenting on his appointment, Eugene said: “I believe this is a pivotal moment for CISI in Ireland. While we continue to be a global leader in delivering knowledge and skills for practitioners in the financial services sector, enabling them to develop their careers both in Ireland and internationally, we are also able to bring our deep experience and learning structures in the increasingly important areas of ethics and culture to support member firms, and indeed the broader profession. Our long-standing focus on the three key elements of knowledge, skills and behaviour ensures CISI membership is a compelling marker of professionalism.”

Kevin Moore, Chartered FCSI, CISI Director of Global Business Development said: “We would like to thank outgoing President Frank O’ Riordon for his excellent leadership of the Irish NAC. We are delighted to welcome Eugene and look forward to supporting him in his programme for the Committee and membership, helping to inspire the next generation of practitioners looking to join our financial services profession.”

The next CISI CPD webinar for Ireland is on Thursday 11th June at 12pm - Rebuilding the world - Investment in the New Landscape with Jim Power, Chief Economist, Aviva Ireland.  Full details here.

Economist Jim Power stressed the vital role Irish small and medium enterprises can play in leading the Irish economy successfully out of the current downturn. He was speaking today to over 250 investment professionals in Ireland and across Europe in a virtual seminar organised by CISI Ireland, as part of their virtual CPD programme.

“It is imperative,” he said “that we don’t let a health crisis, which has led to an economic crisis, morph into a banking crisis, through the escalation of bad debts.”

The new programme for government, pending the formation of the new Irish government, will have to fully and firmly address this risk. Mr Power is supportive of a new agency to specifically address the potential of the sector especially in a period when FDI flows may become pressurised.

Business support must be material and may need to be in place for a prolonged period and, said Mr Power, this will push deficits higher but he noted “austerity is not an option.”

CISI members can view the webcast here.