The FMA members meet at least once in a quarter to discuss matters of mutual interest. During these forums, members have an opportunity to interact with other managers, raise queries, consult and share ideas.
Point of Engagement
The FMA is a point of a contact for any member or non – member wishing to engage industry players. The World Bank Group and FSD Africa have met with the staff of FMA members for discussions mobilizing of domestic institutional investors to finance infrastructure Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). The National Association of Securities Professionals has also met with the FMA members in their role of facilitating US institutional investors in financing infrastructure in Africa. Other institutions with whom we have engaged to discuss mutual interests include:
- The Chartered Institute of Securities & Investments (CISI) – cisi.org;
- The Bond Market Association of Kenya;
- REITs Association of Kenya (in formation);
- UCITS Association
- Custodian Association
- Pension Administrators;
- The Association for Savings and Investments in South Africa (ASISA) – asisa.org.za
- Think Business Awards – thinkbusinessafrica.com
- Zamara – zamaragroup.com
- Actuarial Services (East Africa) Limited – www.actserv.co.ke
Advocacy
The FMA engages with industry regulators on as “as needed” basis to provide input into the development, and promotion of regulations to create a conducive business environment. The Association usually organizes meetings with the regulators at least once a year to discuss matters concerning the market and share ideas on how to enhance growth. In addition, the FMA have had an opportunity to propose annual budgetary submissions through the respective regulators.
Some of the issues raised with regulators include:
- Treatment of property in pension schemes
- Consistent performance measurement procedures for all pension schemes
- Monitoring of unethical behavior amongst industry players
- Incentives for industry development and competition
- Review of Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) guidelines to allow for risk – based asset allocations;
- Review of current administrative structure of assets held in custody;
- Encouraging savings by giving tax incentives to CIS investors;
- Introduction of measures to address business practices that may compromise the quality of standards within the industry;
- Exemptions for professionals in relation to market certifications;
Discounted rates for programs offered by Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI)
The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment is a professional body for securities, investment, wealth and financial planning professionals. CISI offers various courses taken around the world. The CISI is a professional body offering courses for the securities and investment industry in the UK and in a growing number of financial centres globally.
The Association has entered into a partnership with CISI allowing staff from the FMA member firms to access recommended technical courses at a royalty of 7.5% on normal rates. This offer excludes the foundation qualifications (Fundamentals of Financial Services and International Introduction to Securities and Investment (Kenya) and Regulations and Market Practice (Kenya)), which are a regulatory requirement (by the CMA) for all client facing staff with less than ten years relevant work experience in the investment industry. However the offer is valuable for all client facing staff in fulfillment of the required Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training. Some of the technical specialisation courses offered by CISI and qualify for the 7.5% rebate include:
- Global Securities
- Derivatives
- Wealth Management
- Financial Compliance
- Corporate Finance
- Operational Risk
- Asset Servicing
Industry Salary Survey
We employ an independent consultant to undertake the survey every 2 years’. The survey is based on a comparative study of both monetary (basic pay, pension contributions, allowances and bonuses) and non – monetary benefits (life insurance, leave, loans, club memberships) for positions across the participating firms. This Survey is exclusive to FMA members with the results being only available to participating members. The results of the Survey enable the participating members to better understand and manage the compensation costs and structure, while seeking to offer competitive employment packages to attract and retain staff.
Networking
The FMA organizes quarterly networking events where colleagues within the industry get together to have fun and interact. Some of the events held in the past include the Annual FMA Quiz night, Breakfast meetings and World Cup quarterfinal qualifiers.