MarketPlace

Finance sector practitioners form advisory council

awuondo

NCBA Bank Kenya chairman Isaac Awuondo. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU

Kenyan financial sector practitioners now have a platform to project their ideas and views better after the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment unveiled the National Advisory Council.

This will make it easier for about 300 CISI members in the country to play an active role in the oganisation’s growth hence raising its profile in the local market.

The Kenyan NAC is the 14th globally for the UK-based CISI, a professional body bringing together securities, investment, wealth and financial planning practitioners.

“The NAC will provide a local organisation for members of the CISI to assist in promoting the objectives of the Institute,” said Kimacia Gitau, the CISI East Africa Region Representative.

Currently, the CISI has NACs in Nigeria, Bahrain, India, Switzerland, Greece, UAE, Singapore, Cyprus, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Hong Kong and Gibraltar.

The Kenyan NAC comprises four members drawn from the financial sector and that will be tasked with guiding the CISI’s activities in Kenya in developing professional standards.

Members include NCBA Bank Kenya chairman Isaac Awuondo, Britam Asset Managers (Kenya) chief executive Kenneth Kaniu, Standard Chartered Bank Head of Wealth Management Kenya and East Africa Paul Njoki and Christopher Morris, director of Africa Advisory Partners and CISI NAC President.

The unveiling of the local NAC comes a year after CISI signed a deal with Kenya’s Institute of Certified Investment and Financial Analysts (Icifa) that allows capital market practitioners acquire professional knowledge locally.

CISI was formed in 1992 by London Stock Exchange practitioners and currently has a global community of about 45,000 members in 111 countries.

In the past year, it has facilitated more than 40,000 CISI exams in over 81 countries.

CISI has formal recognition in 66 countries including the leading financial centres of the UK, UAE, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Aside from Kenya where it has been 2014, CISI has footprints in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

The CISI works closely with a number of authorities and professional bodies in Kenya, including the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) who have used CISI exams to develop the SICP (Securities & Investment Certification Programme) and have accredited the CISI as one of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) providers for the CMA CPD Programme.

Notable institutions the CISI has partnered with include Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS), College of Insurance (COI) and Oshwal College.

Others are Institute of Certified Investment and Financial Analysts (ICIFA), Kenya Institute of Bankers (KIB), Strathmore University Business School, Africa Risk Institute and Premier Capital.