The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society of The Bahamas (the Society) has hosted an ethics training session under the theme How to do the right thing even when no one is watching.

Dr Michael McMillan, director of ethics education at the CFA Institute, was the guest speaker. He has global responsibility for developing educational content for CFA Institute members and investment professionals in ethics and professional standards.

Aneka Rolle-Beneby, president of CFA Society of The Bahamas, said: “In our industry, ethical decision making is not often black or white. Our aim was to facilitate an affordable, practical and interactive workshop which would better equip industry professionals to navigate grey areas and make better decisions in the best interest of society and, in turn, for themselves and their companies.”

The ethics training consisted of two sessions: A breakfast session for financial services practitioners, and a closed afternoon session for financial services regulators. The breakfast session was attended by more than 150 persons, including bankers, pension trustees, lawyers and compliance officers.

Over 75 regulators attended the afternoon session, including representatives from the Securities Commission of The Bahamas; the Central Bank of The Bahamas; the Compliance Commission; and the Insurance Commission. Both workshops examined various real-life ethical dilemmas that financial services professionals may face, with participants asked to select the best course of action via their smart devices.

Christina Rolle, the Securities Commission’s executive director, discussed initiatives that include the creation of a risk analytics and examinations department and the release of its Securities Industry (Corporate Governance) Rules 2019 for public consultation.

“Certainly, every measure we undertake is geared towards facilitating a more ethical environment generally - whether it be developing new legislation for Cabinet’s consideration, developing guidelines and policies, taking enforcement action, on-site and off-site conduct monitoring, even informing investors about their rights,” said Ms Rolle.

John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, said: “At the corporate governance level there are many frameworks and safeguards that our organisations and the government have in place to direct and incentivise the outcomes in the public interest.

“However, there is also a dependency on honesty and good conduct that is entirely within each of our personal domains. This speaks to self-reporting and self-policing. I sense that this workshop is a part of this focus.”

The CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct focuses on putting the client’s interests first; maintaining independence and objectivity; and avoiding conflicts of interest.

The ethics training was made possible by the Bahamian society’s partners, the Securities Commission and Alib. Its supporters were the Central Bank of The Bahamas; Deltec Bank; Higgs & Johnson; Julius Baer Bank (Bahamas); Franklin Templeton Investments; and The Insurance Commission of The Bahamas.