Our new website went live this morning to provide more information about our operations and outlook for the association's objectives toward market development. In line with our primary objective of providing protection to investors generally, the site affords us the opportunity to have very robust feedback and interaction with the general public. Expectedly it is dynamic and will continue to undergo necessary upgrades in meeting the demands of the equally dynamic global investment industry and the provision of support in many ways to different stakeholders as time goes by.

Very important at this stage however is the communication of our membership and registration guidelines for ease of understanding and taking of appropriate steps and/or actions by our immediate and remote audience. Briefly before the introduction of our membership categories at CIIA, we introduce the three (3) main types of Investment Advisers and their key features namely:

 1. Independent Advisers: full stand alone and registered advisory practice without any link or obligation to any financial product vendors. Full open architecture operates here and mitigates potential conflict of interests in products offerings and/or procurement;

 2. Affiliated / Supervised Advisers: loosely related and registered advisory practice with often undefined but latent obligations to product vendors. Open architecture is not guaranteed and conflict of interests in product offerings and/or procurement is also not fully mitigated against;

 3. Integrated Advisers: these are full and registered employees of financial services groups or Conglomerates. Open architecture is mostly not supported here.

Membership of these three at CIIA therefore comes basically in four (4) categories namely:

 1. Registered Corporate - RC. Open to both Independent AND Group or Conglomerate Financial Services Advisory firms already registered by the SEC;

 2. Registered Individual - RI. Open to all three of Independent, Affiliated, and Integrated Individual Advisers already registered by the SEC;

 3. Affiliate Corporate - AC. Open to firms that identify with the ideals of CIIA and those in the process of getting SEC registration through our compliance services;

 4. Affiliate Individual - AI. Open to individuals who identify with the ideals of CIIA and those in the process of getting SEC registration through our compliance services.

IMPORTANT

We like our audience to please note at this juncture, the difference between affiliated/supervised advisers under the type definition and the affiliate membership category of CIIA. Affiliated Advisers are duly registered and practising advisers. Affiliate members of CIIA are neither registered nor practising advisers.

Key Implications

Registered Advisers employed by financial services groups or conglomerates not registered by the SEC will have to register with CIIA as integrated Individual Investment Advisers. In the alternative however, such unregistered financial services group might opt for corporate registration with the SEC and present the employee adviser as an adviser representative.

Other eligibility criteria are provided on the website with a copy of our Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct which we encourage applicants to digest before completing the registration process. Applicants will equally need to provide two references and complete an attestation of professional conduct statement as part of the registration process before paying necessary dues and final admittance into our database where a unique membership code will be assigned as appropriate. This membership code is definitive proof of commitment to the entire ideals of our practice at CIIA and is to be quoted on all correspondence with investors and the general public.

As part of our commitment to upholding market integrity especially from the very sensitive buy side, we are working very closely with the SEC to ensure that the very much needed ingredients for reviving and maintaining trust in every investment programme, across all demographic strata, and related transactions go through the scrutiny of our standards of operation whether in the traditional/physical or electronic/automated spaces. From small savers to long term, target programme and special needs investors including retirement savers, both our outlook and operations shall be non-discriminatory in approach to providing appropriate guidance and protection.

Intending members are equally assured of a number of supportive measures in career enhancement particularly from the expertise of the association's personnel and the available collective approach to advocacy in the market. Investor confidence is a vital requirement in market development and CIIA through its protection objective is committed wholeheartedly to zero tolerance for infractions traceable or directly attributable to its members. Our overall objective at the end of it all is to champion this cause for a market where every investor feels comfortable to do his or her business be it in the public or private markets. We believe our objectives and resolve are sure-footed enough and we look forward earnestly to working with and enjoying all stakeholders' cooperation for the utmost good.

Welcome once again to CIIA, where everything is about the Investor.