The Financial Market Integrity Index was developed to gauge the perceptions that investment professionals have about the state of ethics and integrity in financial services market.
The Financial Market Integrity Index (the FMI Index) was developed by the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity (the CFA Institute Centre) to gauge the perceptions investment professionals have about the state of ethics and integrity in six major financial services markets and how these perceptions evolve over time. Specifically, the index measures the level of integrity that investment practitioners experience in their respective markets—Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, or the United States—and the practitioners’ beliefs in the effectiveness of regulation and investor protections to promote such integrity. This pragmatic input from working investment professionals will help raise awareness of leading issues in the capital markets and will inform the work of the CFA Institute Centre in conducting regulatory outreach and developing enhanced professional standards.
The FMI Index is distinguished from other market surveys and is proprietary in that it capitalizes on our exclusive access to seek the opinion and perspective of the CFA Institute membership. CFA charterholders are investment professionals who have earned the CFA designation and are required to adhere to a stringent code of ethics. The informed opinion of this particular respondent group offers valuable insight into the current state of ethical practices and standards in select global markets and will help to inform regulators and other financial industry thought leaders concerning potential areas for improving the investment profession.
The CFA Institute Centre provides this report on the findings of the survey (the Report) to advance the cause of ethics and integrity in financial markets through the views and opinions of trained investment professionals so as to:
- Inform investors and regulators of the perceived ethics and integrity of practitioners and the effectiveness of regulatory systems in the market;
- Encourage investors to consider whether they are likely to be treated fairly and ethically if they invest in the market;
- Help assess whether a particular country or market has specific integrity issues that need to be addressed by regulators; and
- Inform practitioners in the market about how others perceive their actions and honesty, in general, and to stimulate remedial actions on their part where appropriate.