Concern about the ethical culture within financial firms is not limited to Australia, a new survey has found.
The CFA Institute, a global association of investment professionals, recently conducted its 2015 Global Market Sentiment Survey. It found that 63% of respondents globally said that a lack of ethical culture within financial firms was the single biggest reason for the current lack of consumer trust.
…one third of respondents said that a zero-tolerance policy by management for ethical breaches was essential
Asked how they would address the problem, nearly one third of respondents (27%) said that a zero-tolerance policy by management for ethical breaches was essential.
“These results point to an issue that CFA Institute has been acting on for years, the fact that compliance is not a nuanced concept,” said CFA Society of Sydney President, Anthony Serhan.
“If we are to earn trust from investors, ethical and literal compliance must be treated as equally important and equally enforceable.
“This means that employers must step up, create a culture of ethical compliance, and enforce it rigorously.
“That isn’t to say that the burden falls entirely on employers. Vigilant, proactive regulators are also crucial, but one of the most interesting revelations from this year’s survey is that ‘unethical firm culture’ is seen as the true culprit when it comes to lack of trust, more so than any failure of government regulation,” Mr Serhan added.
