Strengthening the Structural Resilience of the Capital Markets

Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2025

This report rates global pension systems, recommending reforms to improve outcomes and participant trust in an era of aging populations and increasing government intervention.

Research Report

Continuation Funds: Ethics in Private Markets, Part I

By Stephen Deane, CFA, and Ken Robinson, CFA, CIPM

This report explores how continuation funds provide liquidity in sluggish private markets, examining their growth, benefits, and the conflicts of interest they present.

New Topic Page

Private Market Investing

Private market investing is now an integral part of modern investing, and investors must build sharper skills to manage opportunities and risks. CFA Institute Research and Policy Center equips professionals with research, education, and policy insights to navigate alternative investments such as private equity, credit, and venture debt.

Research Report

Capital Formation in Africa: A Case for Private Markets

Edited by Olivier Fines, CFA, and Phoebe Chan

This report examines barriers to capital formation in 11 sub-Saharan African jurisdictions, emphasizing private markets, policy reforms, fintech, and public–private partnerships to boost investment, infrastructure financing, and economic resilience.

Featured Blogs

Enterprising Investor

Private Markets: Why Retail Investors Should Stay Away

13 Nov 2025

Retail access to private markets is expanding, but without stronger oversight and transparency, small investors may face significant risks. Sebastien Canderle argues that illiquidity, opacity, and misaligned incentives make these markets ill-suited for retail participation.

Enterprising Investor

From Sharpe to Pedersen: Why Active Management Isn’t Zero-Sum After All

12 Nov 2025

Diego Costa revisits Bill Sharpe’s famous arithmetic and Lasse Heje Pedersen’s refinement, showing how markets evolve from static systems to dynamic ecosystems. Sharpe explained markets at rest; Pedersen showed how markets in motion allow active managers to create economic value.

Enterprising Investor

China Inc. Returns: What’s Driving HKEX’s Boom

5 Nov 2025

Jacob Su examines how reforms by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited are channeling stock listings back to Hong Kong SAR and reshaping global capital flows amid Mainland China’s global market aspirations.

Policy in Action

New Research

The 2025 African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings

The 2025 AfDB Annual Meetings in Abidjan emphasized strengthening Africa's capital markets to drive sustainable growth. Discussions focused on mobilizing private capital, enhancing financial resilience, and fostering inclusive development through policy reforms and regional integration.

Find new research from CFA Institute Research and Policy Center, along with author videos.

Comment Letter

To UK FRC on the Sustainability Assurance Market

CFA Institute and CFA Society United Kingdom comment on the FRC’s market study on the Assurance of Sustainability Reporting.

Policy Paper

Gold-plating in EU Capital Market Law: Regulatory Practices in Select Jurisdictions

This report examines gold-plating in eight EU member states, focusing on the implementation of capital market laws such as UCITS, AIFMD, and MIFID. It compares the occurrence, impact, and legal approaches to gold-plating across jurisdictions.

Be Informed

CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council Publishes Summer 2025 Quarterly Report

The Systemic Risk Council (SRC) provides an independent assessment of the most significant vulnerabilities shaping global financial stability. In this edition, the SRC underscores growing concerns around unresolved US stablecoin regulation, the rapid expansion of non-bank financial intermediaries, and recent shifts in large-bank capital requirements that may weaken essential safeguards. We note that with sentiment driven markets, we become desensitized to lingering geopolitical tensions and traditional economic fundamentals that signal caution. It is a perfect environment for market bubbles. This issue also features perspectives from leading US and EU regulatory officials on modernizing oversight frameworks, improving systemic-risk governance, and minimizing fragmentation. None of this comes easy in the face of increasingly interconnected financial, technological, and economic systems.

Webinar Series 2026

Private Capital Frontiers

Private Capital Frontiers is an eight-part webinar series on private markets, covering tokenization, private credit, new access models, and regulation — giving investment and wealth professionals practical tools to rethink strategy and stay ahead of industry change.

Curated Content Page

The Window is Open. Step Into the World of Private Equity

Explore the Hub

Private equity is shifting, creating space for new ideas, sharper thinking, and professionals who understand how value is really built. The forces driving this transformation are more dynamic, and more accessible, than ever. Explore our private equity hub for rigorous insights, critical commentary, and expert guidance.

Curated Content Page

Geoeconomics and Financial Markets

Stay informed, think critically, and manage risk with insights from CFA Program curriculum and Research and Policy Center research.

Building Resilience: Exploring Capital Market Structural Dynamics and Policy Development

CFA Institute Research and Policy Center addresses how changes to the structure of capital markets affect the formation of capital, the providers of financial services, and the consumers of these services.

The theme Strengthening the Structural Resilience of the Capital Markets underscores our commitment to the dynamic relationship among asset managers, asset owners, and individual investors/savers through the capital markets, given the backdrop of trends in the regulatory and policy environment.

Our research considers market developments and policy matters using our core values and principles—investor protection, market integrity, and professionalism—as our base.