Now that we are well into 2008, I can share with you some of the initiatives that have kept the CFA Society of Sydney very busy this year.
So far in 2008:
Board of Governors Meeting
The Board of Governors of the CFA Institute, of which our local, Emilio Gonzalez, is the chairman, met in Sydney for the first time at the start of the year for their strategic planning session. The CFA Institute held a reception for Sydney and Melbourne members at the Four Seasons on the evening of 1 February.
Public Relations
We have continued to use opportunities to raise the profile of the CFA designation for our local members and have their hard work recognised by our local investment community. This has included some coverage around the Board of Governors meeting, some local profiling, and publicising the ethics workshops which were held at three venues in early April.
Ethics Workshops
Some of the key employers of CFA charterholders in Sydney have been demanding some local ethics training for their staff. So, CFAS worked with CFAI to pilot an ethics training program in Sydney. Three sessions were held – two in-house sessions at AMP Capital and Maple-Brown Abbott, and one public session for our members. The classroom style, case-study based learning environment made the workshops interesting and interactive.
Educational Seminars
We have already used two of the speakers from the CFAI speaker retainer program so far this year, including Sykes Wilford, and have held four other educational seminars.
Candidate Review Course - Level II
Following the success of the new, improved, CFA review course, which was released in 2007, this program has now been rolled out to level II candidates.
On the horizon:
Administration Change
The CFAS will be moving its administration services from AFMA from June. The details of the new arrangement will be communicated to all members once finalised. Of course, we are aiming to make the transition away from AFMA as smooth as possible.
High Profile Speaker Event
The society has been granted funding from CFA Institute to host a high-profile speaker event in Q3 this year. The educational programming committee are working hard to put the event together, so look out for the invitations to this one.
Careers Services
This is still on the agenda for the board, aiming to commence in Q3 this year.
As always, none of these initiatives would be possible without the hard work of the volunteers on the board and committees, and dedication of our executive director. If you would like to become more involved with the society, please get in touch with us.
Olivia Engel CFA
President
