Africa’s capital markets need to shift focus for society to benefit more
Recent events and long-standing market conduct issues have widened the trust deficit
Structural changes and regulatory interventions may be required to correct Africa’s capital markets’ tendency to benefit financial practitioners more than they benefit the society, says CFA Institute president Paul Smith. The institute is headquartered in the US and, on a recent visit to SA Smith met representatives of CFA Society SA, the African Securities Exchanges Association and regulatory bodies for soul-searching discussions, including the role of investment professionals in developing their countries. “We’ve acknowledged the problem. It comes from a combination of things. It’s the products, services, firm structures and industry structure. It’s going to require some regulation because people do need to be nudged in the right direction, there is no question about that,” Smith says. To rebuild trust in a country such as SA where recent events and long-standing market conduct issues have widened the trust deficit, Smith reckons structural changes are required - from industry own...
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