It’s been another fantastic year seeing CFA UK members bringing their experience and views to our advocacy work. Together, approximately 50 members have volunteered to author and review 11 responses papers to regulatory bodies and white papers in 2022, making positive change and impact in areas such as Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and Investment Labels, Pension Regulations, Russian ‘side-pockets’, the FCA’s New Consumer Duty and both sustainability and transition plan reporting by corporates.
This year we have also kicked-off our joint newsletter together with the Ethics Steering Committee to improve our dialogue with members. We have also head a number of webinars on topics of Accounting for Goodwill and German stakeholder capitalism.
In this yearly round up, take a look at the pioneering and purposeful work CFA UK members have driven forward on your behalf. Thank you to all CFA UK volunteers that have been involved with our professionalism initiatives this year, especially those participating in more than one project or serving on our standing Professionalism Steering Committee and Pension Expert Panel.
We are always looking for volunteers to join new working groups on thought leadership and responses, so please get in touch if you would like to take part.
Suzanne Hsu
Thought Leadership Projects
DECEMBER 2022
We have just published a report on Social Investing by UK Pension Funds. The report was written by a working group of CFA UK’s Pensions Expert Panel and provides a current assessment of the degree to which UK pension funds are incorporating Social factors into their investments and the opportunities and challenges they face in doing so.
Regulatory Response Letters
DECEMBER 2022
A working group is currently picking its way through the FCA’s consultation (CP22/20) on their proposals for Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and Investment Labels for retail funds. A big thanks if you were one of the 100 members who responded to our survey which will guide and inform our response to the FCA.
NOVEMBER 2022
The Pensions Expert Panel (“PEP”) led a response to the DWP on their proposals to ‘Broaden the Investment Opportunities of DC Pension Schemes’.
OCTOBER 2022
The Pensions Expert Panel (“PEP”) led a response to the DWP on their ‘Draft Regulations for (Funding & Investment Strategy) DB Pension Schemes’. Written against the backdrop of the LDI-driven crisis in the gilt market, this letter notably advocated against regulation driving the herding of these schemes into the same narrow asset classes.
JULY 2022
We responded to the Transition Plan Taskforce’s consultation on the shape and form of new Transition Plans required to be published by leading UK companies.
We responded to CFA Institute and their proposals for a radical overhaul of CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics & Standards of Professional Conduct.
JUNE 2022:
We responded to the UK Endorsement Board’s consultation on the ISSB’s two exposure drafts introducing ground-breaking new sustainability disclosures by corporates.
MAY 2022
We responded to the FCA’s proposals to provide for ‘side-pockets’ for assets impaired as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
We responded to the DWP’s proposals to ‘Facilitate investment into illiquid assets by DC Pension Schemes’. We continued to further our arguments to exclude performance fees from being included within the charge cap formula provided they were still separately monitored
FEBRUARY 2022
We responded to HM Treasury’s proposals for a reform of the ‘Future Regulatory Framework Review’ in which HM Treasury propose to reshape the mandate of both the FCA and the PRA in a post-Brexit world. This letter sets out many of the principles informing a current response we are formulating to HMT on their proposed 'Edinburgh Reforms'.
JANUARY 2022
We responded to the FCA’s discussion Paper on Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and Investment Labels. Many of our recommendations were adopted in the FCA’s current consultation paper (CP22/20) on the same topic which we are currently responding to.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our advocacy work in 2022:
Hilary Eastman, CFA
Natalie Winterfrost, CFA
Fraser Lundie, CFA
David McClean, CFA
Paul Lee
Suzanne Hsu, CFA
Esther Perkins, CFA
Natalie Gregoire-Skeete, CFA
Alistair Byrne, CFA
Amit Bisaria, CFA, IMC
Nicholas Rakowski, CFA
Christopher Bamberry, ASIP