CFA Institute and a team of financial industry leaders, chaired by economist John Kay, today announced the launch of the Future of Finance project, which aims to change the reputation of the financial industry by providing tools to ensure fairness, improved understanding, and personal integrity within the sector.

As a first step, the newly established Future of Finance has unveiled its statement of investor rights – a list of principles outlining the rights that investors are entitled to such as objective advice, disclosure of conflicts of interest, and fair and reasonable fees.

The principles apply to financial products and services such as investment management, research and advice, personal banking, insurance and real estate. It is intended to help investors ensure that financial professionals abide by these rights.

The Future of Finance project is focused on six primary topics, including putting investors first; safeguarding the system; retirement security; financial knowledge; regulation and enforcement; and transparency and fairness.

The project said it is planning “rigorous research to address each area and will produce accessible tools to encourage adoption and widespread change throughout the global financial system”.

Future of Finance advisory council chair John Kay said: “This project is designed to engage professionals and investors in and outside of finance to help solve problems with the global financial system. We can affect positive change in finance, but change starts with all of us – industry leaders, financial professionals, government agencies, financial regulators and the public. It’s an ambitious project that aims not just to gather the best ideas, but to make them a reality.”

A complete list of members of the Future of Finance advisory council will be announced in May, but initial members are named as: chair John Kay, economist and author; Keith Ambachtsheer, director at the Rotman International Centre for Pension Management, Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto; Paul Chow, former chief executive at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing; Elizabeth Corley CEO, Allianz Global Investors; Tom Keene, editor-at-large at Bloomberg News; Ira M. Millstein, senior partner at Weil at Gotshal & Manges; Saker Nusseibeh, CEO and head of investment, Hermes Fund Managers; and Robert C. Pozen senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and senior fellow at Brookings Institution.

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