Finance and investment professionals have been asked to invest in new and emerging digital skills to enhance their competitiveness in an increasingly changing business environment.
“The emergence of new digital currencies and other fintech tools will continue to affect the role of finance professionals. It is therefore important for finance professionals to equip themselves with the requisite knowledge to tap into these new opportunities,” said Dr. Nicholas Letting, the Kasneb Chief Executive Officer.
Letting was speaking during the graduation ceremony for 82 Certified Investment and Financial Analysts (CIFA) organized by the Institute of Certified Investment and Financial Analysts (ICIFA). The occasion also marked ICIFA’s one thousand membership milestone.
He further noted that ICIFA had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Fund Managers Association of Kenya (FMA) to train financial and investments professionals in various business and entrepreneurial skills.
He said the partnership will see financial and investment professionals undertake various capacity-building initiatives aimed at advancing their competence in providing sound investment advice and management services to various stakeholders including businesses, entrepreneurs, the international community, and Kenyan citizens.
Kasneb, he said, had also reviewed the CIFA syllabus in 2021 and a new unit in financial modeling was introduced to enable students to apply financial modeling and analytical tools in investment analysis in response to the needs of the market.
Under the new syllabus, the professionals are now better equipped to manage a portfolio of assets, manage corporate finance, execute portfolio decisions and analyze various types of investments such as equities, fixed-income investments, and derivatives among others.
Ms. Diana Muriuki-Maina, the ICIFA CEO said that the institute is the only professional body in Kenya mandated by the Investment and Financial Analysts Act, No. 13 of 2015 (IFA Act) to register and license investment and financial professionals both in public and private sectors.
She said that in accordance with sections 20 and 21 of the IFA Act, ICIFA members are required to comply with standards of professional competence and ethical practice in accordance with the ICIFA code of ethics, therefore, enhancing professionalism in the management of investment schemes/funds aimed at boosting investor confidence.
