CFA SINGAPORE Files... · Gary Ng, CFA Honorary Treasurer CFA Singapore pg 3 pg 4 - 16 PG 17 PG 18 - 20 PG 22 - 24 PG 25 - 26 PG 27 Honorary Treasurer’s Message. Page 4 ... accountants,

QuarterlyCFA SINGAPORE

Do CFA charter holders make good independent directors?Round table with the Singapore Institute of Directors

issue 03 u 15 Oct 2011 u www.cfasingapore.org

Diversification in market stress u Behind the Scenes u Golf Challenge 201 1 CFA Singapore-Saxo online portfolio management COMPETITION

Jul -

Sep

2011

Honorary Treasurer’s Message

Do CFA charter holders make good independent directors?SID thought leadership on corporate governance (pp5)Financial management a must for audit committee (pp6)Do investors want CFA members as independent directors (pp7)Spotting fraud (pp9)How do boards select indpendent directors (pp10)Accreditation for directors (pp11)What makes a board of directors professional (pp12)What motivates a person to be an independent director (pp14)

Behind the ScenesVictor Ong and the professional development committee

Diversification in market stressBud Haslet and Matt Moran on options and derivatives

Golf Challenge 201 1All in a day's fun

CFA Singapore-Saxo online portfolio management COMPETITION

Calendar of Events

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Dear Colleagues,

The last quarter was a turbulent period for financial markets and this will likely continue for the rest of the year as the markets are increasingly complicated and complex. While Europe’s sovereign debt crisis is a specific cause of the turbulence, we recognize that financial products in general have become more sophisticated and have the ability to create more volatility in financial markets. Thus, CFA charter holders need to constantly upgrade their knowledge of new regulations, products and tools to assist them in their profession and career.

CFA Singapore consistently organizes high quality professional development (“PD”) events to help CFA charter holders keep abreast of these developments. Since the beginning of 2011, the PD committee has organized over 25 events which cover topics as diverse as “Options, Volatility and Risk Management” and “Liberalisation of Renminbi: A Singapore Story”.

I would like to thank my team of volunteer PD committee members, including Victor Ong, Alex Ho, Yee Ting, William Ang, Boon Pin, Sri Prihadi,

May Sng and Zhuanqi, for their dedication.

An event which I wish to highlight is the insightful roundtable discussion organized in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Directors: “Do CFA charter holders make good independent directors?” This is well covered in the feature article of this edition of our newsletter, which you are encouraged to read. We will continue to partner organizations that have good synergies with CFA Singapore.

CFA Singapore is not about “all work and no play”, which is why our networking committee led by Seow Hock Hin has organized over 20 networking events for the year, including table tennis games, chocolate appreciation courses and the usual networking drinking sessions. The highlight of the year has to be the 8th CFA Annual Golf Day which saw over 70 members pit their skills against each other on the greens, and Toh Ee Han taking home the trophy.

Such enjoyable events have been made possible by the enthusiastic voluntary spirit of our members. On a personal note, I started volunteering in CFA Singapore as a networking committee member in 2000 when I was 28 years old. I subsequently chaired the networking committee and became a board member. In the latter capacity, I also held a variety of roles, including Networking Chair and Vice President. I am currently the chair of the professional development committee and the treasurer.

Having a CFA charter played a positive role in my switch from a career in auditing to private equity investment. Volunteering in the CFA Singapore has enabled me to meet many highly regarded and senior members of the financial industry who serve on the board and outside. I urge younger associate members (who are not yet CFA charter holders) to continue pursuing their goal towards the CFA charter and those who are already charter holders to take a more active volunteer role within CFA Singapore.

Gary Ng, CFAHonorary Treasurer CFA Singapore

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Honorary Treasurer’sMessage

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Do CFA charter holders make good independent directors?At the Society’s round table with SID on 7 July, senior members aired their views on independent directors’ training • accreditation • whether investors want CFA charter holders in that role • their ability to spot fraud • what motivates them • how they are selected • what makes them professional.

Board appointment service

Senior CFA Singapore members, by virtue of their position in the industry, have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Some may be at a stage when they want to change their lifestyle to something slower, and want to maximize the use of what they have in terms of knowledge and experience.

- Dr Tony Tan, CFA, CEO of Governance & Treasury Advisory Services Pte Ltd

"In co-operation with the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID), we now have a platform for senior CFA Singapore members interested in

becoming independent directors to share their expertise," said CFA Singapore member, Dr Tony Tan.

Senior members who are interested in SID’s board appointment service should contact our executive director, Mr Francis Er, at +65 6227 8560 or email [email protected] for more information.


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Directors are the pinnacles of organizations. Your behavior and the tone you set dictate what the organization will see as the tone for the company.- John Lim, FSID, Chairman of Singapore Institute of Directors

John: As the national institute of directors, we believe in being the thought leader. And we will state our position in various things. Adrian is the chairman of our advocacy committee. We provide a lot of feedback to regulators and government agencies. We also endeavor to work closely with various stakeholders on the corporate governance scene. We try to get the right feedback. We also try to encourage high standards of professional and personal ethical conduct.

For example, we’ve reflected to SGX many times that before a company gets listed, it should be prepared to have good corporate governance. They set up Catalist, and now they require a governance advisor on the board. If you do that, what signal do you send to the market? That maybe the company is not so good, you know? It’s like a watch list! If you are not good enough, don’t list.

Our main mission is to try to help improve corporate governance through the raising of board effectiveness through improving the competence of directors. Our key activity for this is through training and development. But now, increasingly, we want to focus on the selection and appointment of appropriate

directors. We have a board appointment service with a database of the curriculum vitae of 320 SID members who have indicated their willingness to be considered as independent directors.

SID has about 1,600 members. Less than 15% are female. Most are ordinary members, which requires a few years of experience as board directors, though not necessarily of publicly listed companies. Slightly more than 10% are associates, meaning people in management positions or professionals who have yet to sit on boards.

We believe very much in board diversity, not necessarily only in gender. We also believe that appointments have to be made on merit and that means we cannot have a quota. But quotas, such as Malaysia’s policy that gives companies in the private sector 5 years to ensure that women comprise at least 30% of key decision-makers, compromise on quality.

Raising the bar on directors Directors are the pinnacles of organizations. Your behavior and the tone you set dictate what the organization will see as the tone for the company. You have to

satisfy yourself that you have read and analyzed what is being said is true and fair and reflects the actual position of the company based on the knowledge which you as a director should have. The macro duties and responsibilities of directors have not changed. It’s just become a bit more complex. Increased knowledge, increased commitment will be required. There’s going to be fine lines of differentiation.

Some changes in the recently revised code of corporate governance address the independence of directors when they have a connection with substantial shareholders. Such circumstances deem the person non-independent. So the proposal is if a person serves as an independent director for nine years, he or she can be deemed non-independent.”

Now a company can say, ‘we’ve got three independent directors, and all three served at least nine years.’ You can’t have all three stepping down. You’re going to take a big chunk of history and knowledge away.

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Singapore Institute of Directors thought leadership on corporate governance


Tony: One question for Adrian, the lawyer and Basil, the accountant. Both of you are independent directors in listed companies. Would having CFA charter holders like us make a difference to the company?

Adrian: The corporate governance code (CGC) right now is quite specific on who is qualified to be on the audit committee. Listed companies are required to have an audit committee by law. Other committees such as the

remuneration committee are secondary. Under the code, audit committee members are not restricted to people with accounting background, but also includes those with financial management training. Right now, the listed company’s audit committee requires at least 3 members. Two of the three, including the committee chairman, must have this qualification. So that suits CFA charter holders very well.

With the latest CGC move to tighten regulation, we will possibly have a sea-change in the composition of listed company boards with a nine to ten year limit. And we have this proposal for companies whose chairmen are not independent directors: these companies

must have at least half the board comprising of independent directors. I think these two proposals will see a lot of churn eventually, maybe next year. That really opens the door for a lot of people to come forward. I think CFA charter holders are more than qualified to help out on the audit committee.

Basil: I think it is very good to have other qualifications getting involved. What we’re getting is a lot of accountants and chartered accountants, ACA, ACCA holders and qualified lawyers. But I don’t see many CFA charter holders as independent directors. I guess they are more involved on the trading side, equities and valuation, rather than on corporates.

I think CFA charter holders definitely make better directors than lawyers.- Adrian Chan, Senior Partner of Lee & Lee Advocates & Solicitors

Financial management training a must for audit committee

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Corporate governance is not one of regulation. We believe there has to be more self-governance and market governance. Market discipline and self-governance is what makes good governance sustainable. If everything is mandated by regulations and legislation, people find ways around that.

What we’re looking for is substance. It’s better to have a meaningful code, which is practical and pragmatic, something people can implement, rather than very high ideals that people just find ways to get around. There are so many intelligent lawyers and

accountants that if you want to get around the code it’s easy.

CFA Singapore a good partner CFA Singapore is an appropriate association, given the profile of its members, for SID to collaborate with in our effort to improve corporate governance standards in Singapore. Our modus operandi has always been one of collaboration with like-minded organizations. We have very little facilities and resources of our own. We have been able to do some training activities, some networking activities, plus the membership fees, and this has allowed us to

have some surplus each year. So, it’s always in collaboration with other organizations, such as law firms, accounting firms, various institutes and associations.

I certainly think that having CFA charter holders is useful, especially now, when more knowledge is required. Even the court says that if you are ignorant, it is no excuse. On the other hand, if you have expertise, you could be held to higher standards. Now we know directors are able to rely on professional advisors.

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Tony: Let’s ask people from the investment side, like Ashish and Jeffrey. Would you feel more comfortable with a listed company if it had a CFA charter holder sitting on the board, or does it make no difference to you?

Jeffrey: I think it matters a lot, especially coming from our investment perspective. When the S-chips were first listed in Singapore, there were many Singaporean investors who just plunged headlong in investing in them without knowing the corporate governance issues that were at hand. We visited many of these companies - some listed here, some on NASDAQ. Many of these Chinese companies do not have a global competitive advantage.

Whatever they tell investors in the place of listing, we realized that many of them do not practice back home. With this perspective, safeguarding the interests of our unit holders becomes very important. With so many corporate governance issues on these companies, it is timely for the investment community to step forward and address some of these issues head on. You must realize that a lot of Singaporean investors invested in these companies and lost all their money and savings in them.

Ashish: The pass rate and the rigor of the CFA program just tells you there is a stamp of quality on CFA members, especially when this has been a perpetual trend in the past 10 to 20 years. They

have a lot to bring. We invest in a lot of companies and with big stakes. We’ve been pretty demanding. If the companies do not have best practices, we give them a pretty hard time. Otherwise we don’t want to invest in those companies. So I see from the other side.

To the question whether CFA members make good independent directors, I think both the qualifications and experience would make them good independent directors.

Do investors want CFA members as independent directors?

We invest in a lot of companies and with big stakes. We’ve been pretty demanding. If they do not have best practices, we give them a pretty hard time.- Ashish Goyal, CFA, Chief Investment Officer of Prudential Asset Management

If you are a good independent director, you’ll be able to smell a rat when there is fraud.- Jeffrey Lee, CFA, Managing Director of Phillip Capital Management

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Tony: There is a view that we make good analysts and we make good thinkers but we may not be able to manage the social element of a board.

Ashish: I think that may be correct for members who are at early stages of their career. But if you are talking about people with 20 years of experience, I think experience rounds off a lot of rough edges.

Kian Lee: I was a portfolio manager in GIC for a while. I won’t say all CFA members would make good independent directors. Rather, it depends on the profession the member is in. If you are trading, you are not concerned with the social aspect and only with trading.

As analysts and portfolio managers, however, we have to interact with the management of listed companies. Secondly, we always have to deal with the strategic direction of the company. And I think this is where we can contribute. As independent directors, our interest is to make sure value is being created for all investors, and not merely from our own standpoint as a vested party.

To me, there are two issues. It’s not about having the CFA charter. Rather, how CFA Singapore is able to screen out people with bad character. People who are weak get tempted and get pressured to go into the direction of weak management. The other issue I have is the time involved. When I read the newspaper, I feel that some of our independent directors are too indiscriminate. They sit on a whole long list of boards and you wonder if they understand enough of the companies of all the boards they sit to add value. Do they have the time to go through the numbers?

John: These are very good observations. The end analysis is that whether or not a person is going to be a good independent director is going to depend on the person. I will not be able to say that all CFA charter holders will make good directors. But I will say that the qualification of CFA provides the basic foundation. Today, the ability to read, understand and analyze financial statements is the pre-requisite. Because it doesn’t matter what business you are in, it all ends up in dollars and sense. And how you manage financial risk. CFA membership provides relevant training in this aspect. But whether or not you make a good independent director depends on the commitment you make, the EQ that you have (IQ may not be enough), and strength of character.

Tony: Let’s ask Richard, who is a director, and a CFA charter holder, and a SID member also.

Richard: From a general perspective, it’s always good to have an accounting background if you want to sit on the audit committee. But having said that, independent directors not only to look at financial numbers, but also at corporate governance.

I think in any professional body like CFA or accounting bodies, we have this requisite of integrity. This integrity makes you protect minority shareholders or investors like yourself. You have to be interacting with the chairman or the CEO with depth. Without doing that, and not knowing their business, having a CFA charter or an accounting title becomes just a paper qualification.

It’s always good to have an accounting background if you want to sit on the audit committee- Richard Ong, CFA, CPA, ACA, Director of Appleton Global


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Jeffrey: Even Chinese companies listed on NASDAQ or other more recognized exchanges can have a CFO colluding with local banks to produce for investors statements of cash holdings which are in fact not there. If you are a good independent director, you’ll be able to smell a rat.

Tony: Actually, that’s a very good question. Will they be able to do that (smell the rat)?

Kian Lee: Regarding what Jeffrey said about spotting potential fraud, I don’t think that every company who took an independent director that is a CFA charter holder would be able to spot it all the time. Looking at cash flow gives an idea of whether cash balances are tangible or not, but it is not that easy, especially if the company is in a booming industry. Like Satyam, where even the auditors were part of it. Any CFA charter holder would have been taken in by them.

Tony: I have an example. I invested in this Hong Kong

company, Ocean Grand. In 2005, they came out with a bond issue and in 2006, they defaulted. We were completely shocked because everything was looking fantastic. They had a stellar board. I was part of the post-mortem to find out how the fraud was put together. We found out that having great personalities on the board was part of the game plan to give investors the illusion that this was a great company, sort of like ornaments on a Christmas tree.

The CFA badge is definitely good for the company. But the risk is you don’t know the underlying reason why you’ve been selected to join the board.

Ashish: There is this HK-listed company that the market has serious doubts about. I recently pulled out its annual report and read all 180 pages of it. The whole annual report is pristine. Every word, the things you want to see, all the numbers are there. The accountants are PriceWaterhouse; they’ve got good accountants. I think it’s quite a good company but

the market has very serious doubts. And because we are fairly big shareholders, they’ve been talking to us, asking how to convince the market that they don’t belong to the category of companies where ‘the cash doesn’t exist’ or there’s fraud.

What happened was that a few directors of this company sold shares immediately after the results were announced, because they have narrow windows of when they can sell. The company has a policy of not paying bonuses, and that’s the only way they can make their money beyond what the company pays them. Most of them actually only sold about 5% to 10% of their holdings. It’s not as though they’ve sold everything. But what they did really spooked the market. The market is very nervous about these things.

If only they had a better understanding of how to deal with this, either pre-announce this, or have a regular program.

Spotting Fraud

Do independent directors on an excessively long list of boards have the time to add value?

- Soon Kian Lee, CFA, Principal Consultant (Head of ASEAN) of Mercer (Singapore)


John: There are two ways to select a director. Many companies, even in Singapore, go for directors with certain credentials because they think it adds credibility. Some of these companies are okay, they just want to add some gloss. But I think the important thing for the director is to accept independent directorship only after doing due diligence, such as checking the company’s track record. From experience, the owners and the management are very important. And if you know somebody on the board, you should probably check.

A lot of small businesses, when they get listed, are very wary of new comers to the board because they run things family business style. May not be wrong, it’s just slightly different, more family-oriented.

Some directors are well qualified, but are rules and regulations-driven, and basically focused only on compliance and reputation risk. But business owners want directors who not only can guide them in regulations and recommendations, but also improve the business. And that’s one thing that people sometimes forget. Over-emphasis on independence has actually done a disservice to competence of

boards. If you don’t look at competence, you’re not going to get a very effective board.

Also there is the aspect of chemistry. Talk to the major shareholder to find out what his expectations are. Don’t assume that everybody understands what the role of a director is. His expectations and your expectations may be completely different, and from day one you’re going to have a difficult time.

There is this problem that is a little less prevalent in western societies: people are reluctant to challenge what they disagree with, or to step down immediately. They wait till their term comes up, but 3 years is a long time. So if you are uncomfortable, you have to step down. Otherwise it may be too late. If something happens, you can’t step down because you are expected then to help the company restore its credibility. You can’t just walk away in times of trouble.

In the end, the director’s role is to add value to the company. In my many years of sitting on many different boards, I’ve never seen a company that has done well with a weak CEO or a weak management team.

The board cannot make up for the lack of effectiveness in the management. If management is weak, things cannot be implemented, controls will not be in place, and the supervision is weak. The second thing the board is responsible for is development of strategy. But in reality, the board will have difficulty developing the strategy if it is a complicated business. So you’re always dependent on management. But the board always has a duty to look at the sanity of the proposals put up by the management, to look at the numbers and ask a lot of questions.

The board should be prepared to challenge what has been put up and ask for options. If we are going to put that much money here, where else can we put the money that is going to give us similar or even better return, but with smaller risk. This is something that boards talk a lot about but very often don’t do anything about.

On the other hand, some company chairmen don’t want you interfering. A strong management also doesn’t want the board to interfere, so you have to strike a balance.

How do boards select independent directors?

The board cannot make up for the lack of effectiveness in the management.

- John Lim, FSID, Chairman of Singapore Institute of Directors


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Eric: Does it make sense to create an accreditation-style program through SID so that from a regulatory / supervisory perspective, you have a lynch pin, so to speak, in terms of values and ethics that board members are encouraged to have along the lines of the CFA charter? This would lead to another revenue source for SID. Obviously you have an accreditation and training program that goes along with that.

John: That’s a very good suggestion. Accreditation is something that the SID is working on. This is not finalized, but a direction we’re looking at: If you have been a director of not less than two listed companies for a total period of not less than 3 to 5 years, then you can apply for accreditation.

We have started this accreditation that has two different types of core programs. One is a certificate followed by a diploma course run in conjunction with SMU, with evaluation at the end of each of the six modules. (The modules cover the duties, responsibilities and legal obligations of directors; assessing strategic

performance; finance; strategic marketing; leadership; and human resource management.) We ourselves have got two core programs consisting of five modules each (Listed Company Director and Effective Board Leadership).

Of course, we are looking at the more experienced directors who may not be keen to go through all that, to see if we can come up with a modified program. But you have still got to go through some program. But we believe that qualifications in themselves don’t make you a sufficient director. You need to have the experience and have gone through a spectrum of situations. So that’s what we’re looking at. As a start, it is purely voluntary. A director’s value becomes fairly tangible if he or she has gone through a course of study in addition to having several years of experience. And more people will go for that.

We have stayed away from compulsory training. What is proposed in the new code is not to make training mandatory, but disclosing in the annual report what training their directors have had to go through.

Accreditation is not for life. The accredited director needs to maintain a certain minimum number of training hours a year. We believe continual training is essential as rules and regulations change, and there are constantly new developments.

Australia and Thailand have their own accreditation.

Basil: In UK, they have Chartered Directors. They have to go through exams as well as an interview process to establish the candidate’s integrity, honesty and character before qualification as a Chartered Director.

Eric: The accounting profession is slightly different because they have a regulated requirement. But I believe CFA charter holders in positions of research or in positions of dispensing views command a price differential for their opinions.

Kian Lee: I listened with interest your comments about accreditation, and how you are prepared to make modifications to the accreditation requirement if the candidate sits on two public-listed companies. My question is: why must it be

Accreditation for directors

SID’s professional training program is moving away from just theory. We want to have more practical examples. There are many valuable lessons to be learnt.

- Basil Chan, FSID, Director and council member of Singapore Institute of Directors

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public-listed? There are so many non-profit organizations that people do serve in. Why is this experience not considered? In fact if anything, I would value people who serve in non-profit organizations for their character because they are not there for the money.

John: This is our initial conceptualization for the accreditation. It doesn’t mean that if you sit on not-for-profit organizations, your contributions will be disregarded. But of course, not-for-profit organizations are just beginning to get their governance in the right place. In the past, availability was the

critical criteria. A lot of people who sit on these not-for-profit organizations are people who have the time availability, and are not necessarily the best people. And in not-for-profit organizations (as in small companies), the requirement for good independent directors is stronger, because the management of these organizations may be weak. Not-for-profit organizations usually can’t pay very much, and they also believe that you should not pay more, anyway. And therefore you can’t expect the best. Therefore your infrastructure, your depth is not there. Knowledge, competence

and character are all very important characteristics.

At the moment, we are basically doing training for listed companies, but we are also beginning to do training for SMEs.

Eric: Recently, I’ve dealt with quite a few boards and I’ve found that the directors are very worried about personal liability. Their only questions in board meetings that deal with strategic issues or approvals are: Am I going to get sued?

There doesn’t seem to be a focus on value-add, on shareholder value, on strategy, on developing a process or a series of Q&A. I’ve been very surprised by some of the veterans that I’ve put on the boards. In my various positions, I was putting together boards for various companies that had IPOs of shares, and had to have discussions with directors that had positions in six or seven public company boards. As an independent director, you have to ask questions of the management as you would if you were an asset manager.

Does SID have a formula or process that board members can refer to and avoid leaving it to the CEO to handle dubious practices that are taking place?

CFA charter holders are a good

source of potential candidates, but at the end of the day, like anyone who is evaluating opportunities, whether it is financial or otherwise, it really distills down to asking the right questions.

In professional boards, I’ve seen people really getting prepared, analyzing and asking probing questions to what’s the impact and alternatives, and how money is spent. If you look at the less professional boards, you have people who are supposedly seasoned, and have been on multiple boards of public listed companies and not asking these questions.

My background is banking and accounting and my natural hunting ground for board members is ex bankers and accountants. As accountants are not allowed to be independent directors for public companies that are profit seeking, I’ve had to look at retired accountants.

Traditionally, if a banker retires, they start a hedge fund. This conflicts them out of doing a lot

of things. The rest of the pool is a less obvious reach. I had this experience with a REIT. Fortunately for investors, REITS have to go through a series of regulatory processes for licensing and approval and so forth by both the MAS and the SGX. And we found that finding qualified board members was a hurdle, but it was one that we could overcome. We had a shortlist that I put together but the regulators then said, sorry but this person is on ten boards. He’s not going to have time for your company, so you’re going to have go kick him out. We had a bit of an issue in terms of a pipeline, and what we’re discussing today is the possibility of using the CFA qualification as a pipeline for additional directors.

John: There are two issues. Number one is why are directors not asking more questions? Sometimes there are directors on board who are technically not independent. They have business relationships but sometimes when they get on the board, they don’t want to

What makes a board of directors professional?


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be the odd man out asking the tough questions. But one of the key things that directors must do and should do is to ask a lot of questions because that allows you to break down a lot of cases. And, how to ask the right questions in a less offensive manner.

The other issue is finding competent directors. We believe there are enough qualified individuals to be directors. But people always like to get people they are familiar with, so the same names are thrown up all the time. I think there is value in pushing for board members who are not only competent and with experience, but also the younger ones. If you don’t start feeding the pipeline, the directors get old and they drop out.

If you’re only looking for experienced directors, nobody new will be able to start. I think it is incumbent on companies to have a broad diverse board where you have the very experienced, maybe older, some middle-aged ones and maybe even some younger ones. Younger directors have the

tendency to ask more questions, provided they are not asked to shut up. They are usually less embarrassed. Older directors who have been there six to seven years are embarrassed to ask when they do not know what’s going on because it shows you’ve not been paying attention.

If you’ve got a senior manager in the company and he’s got good potential, and he’s got opportunity, he should try to sit on an outside board where he is non-executive. That also helps him to appreciate the difference between executive and non-executive directors. The company can also benefit from practices that the senior manager can bring in from the exposure. But people always criticize, saying if a general manager sits on another company’s board, confidential information may be leaked out, or the competitor may do better with inputs from my people. That’s somewhat shortsighted, but it’s a real concern.

Kian Lee: I think you can find many senior people who are

CFA charter holders and no longer investing directly. But if you look at their background, they have been managing businesses for quite a while. Those are excellent candidates for independent directorship.

Basil: The role of the director is more than just looking at governance. It is also what else the directors do to create value to shareholders. The UK Institute of Directors has got offices all over and networking sessions to bring in transactions that bring value to the company.

Adrian: That’s true. Some of the non-executive directors of boards I’ve sat on are very pro-business, with very insightful comments. They don’t only look at corporate governance.

Richard: CFA charter holders probably can advise on valuation when it comes to the M&A deals. A lot of companies grow via M&A.

Basil: They can be independent and not benefit from advisory deals.

As an independent director, you have to ask questions of the management as you would if you were an asset manager.

- Eric Pascal, Advisor of Tarian Advisors

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Adrian: I can only speak for myself. In some cases, someone you know approached you. It may be the founder himself. In one case that I’ve seen, the founder himself approached me. He was a former client of mine. I knew the founder well, so I agreed.

In other cases, in the course of an IPO, a banker approaches you, saying, this is a good company, would you like to consider? And you feel this is a place where you can contribute. First of all, it has to be fun for me. It also value adds to my practice as a corporate lawyer as I can tell my clients examples of how some things can be done. So the amount of knowledge that I get hopefully is equal to the amount of knowledge I share. So I think you have to find it interesting and fun.

John: For those who are not lawyers and all that, knowing the owners make the difference. That’s why the old boys’ network is so powerful and difficult to disengage. For some senior executives looking to step down, being a non-executive director is how they keep themselves

challenged mentally. The moment you find this becomes a chore, it is time to step down.

Adrian: If you are fearful of liability all the time, then you are a negative influence. I think it’s time to step down and move on.

John: Some Chinese families are very entrepreneurial and they get listed. So they have to bring in directors recommended by the sponsor. The entrepreneurs sometimes find that these non-executive directors can be too risk-adverse for business growth, and yet they are there to help grow the business.

If you go in, and you don’t know the people well, maybe it’s better you don’t go in. Because the first thing on your mind is to ensure that you don’t get into trouble. So you tend to be very negative, which doesn’t help the business.

Basil: Actually the getting-to-know is two ways. It’s not just the company looking at you, because they don’t want someone to come in and create roadblocks over everything they want to do. On the other hand, you also want to make

sure you are comfortable with the management and with the shareholders, if they are involved.

Richard: I agree. You have to enjoy working with the board. There’s not only the regulatory aspect but also in the business, getting engaged with the bosses on how they can grow the business. Having said that, your main responsibility is still being independent and trying to serve the minority shareholders. There is also the corporate governance aspect and the financial aspect.

Lye Heng: That’s all the more reason for CFA charter holders, especially fund managers and investment managers, to be independent directors, because we have been trained to evaluate what makes a business successful. I’m not saying that accountants and lawyers are not able to see that way, but a board needs diversity.

Kian Lee: I want to share a case when I was invited by a charitable organization as a board member. The first question I asked was who the person extending the invite was and does he share

A board needs diversity. - Ng Lye Heng, CFA, CAIA, FRM, CEO of Salmon Thrust

What motivates a person to be an independent director


Page 15

the same value system as I do. If the answer is no, I would not have gone in. The second question is what can I contribute on a sustained basis. I came to understand he wanted me on the board because he wanted me to be the Treasurer and straighten out all the financial aspects of the organization. I felt that I could contribute, and I made it very clear they had to give me a free hand as to what I believed had to be done.

This is just a recommendation, because independent directors are not as accountable as executive directors. It’s for the candidate to respond as to whether or not he agrees or disagrees with my opinion. Having a common value system made me comfortable enough to join.

Ashish: I think I am very skilled at looking at businesses, the investment side of things and accounting. But if you ask me about the responsibilities of a director, I kind of have a general sense, but I don’t think I have a very clear idea what they are.

So I think additional training for CFA charter holders will be very useful.

Talib: Some people experienced in engaging with management and senior people in the investment field may not want to sit on a board because the company doesn’t pass their smell test. I would like to sit on the board of a company that passes the smell test, but that might get me into the awkward situation of being posed the question, “Who are you serving?”

By sitting on the board, are you technically removing the opportunity to be investing for your investors?

A common situation could arise where you own 5% in a company and is offered a seat on the board. More likely than not, you’ll have to decline in the interests of their investors because that would then make you an insider.

It’s not only a competency issue, but also an independence issue.

Tony: I was interested in being an independent director after I left my job and completed my doctoral studies as I was looking for a different type of lifestyle. When the President of CFA Singapore approached me to study the possibility of helping senior CFA members play a more active role in the investing community, I researched that possibility and wrote a paper on whether CFA charter holders should be independent directors. What I realized was; as investors, research analysts and fund managers, we all try to effect change as outside agents. However, I then asked myself; wouldn’t it be a lot more effective if we become change agents on the inside? We have the skills, knowledge, experience and a brand that is a mark of quality, which puts us in a unique ‘sweet spot’ to do something meaningful. That insight convinced me that we can make a difference and hence my attempt to try to make this happen - hence this collaboration with SID.

It’s not only a competency issue, but also an independence issue.- Talib Dohadwala, CFA, Senior Consultant of Cambridge Associates Asia

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(1) John LIM, Chairman of Singapore Institute of Directors

Mr. Lim is currently the Chairman of Gas Supply Pte Ltd, Executive Deputy Chairman of LMA International NV, Deputy Chairman of NTUC Fairprice Co-operative and the Singapore Institute of Management. He is also the immediate past Chairman of Building & Construction Authority and of Senoko Power Limited. He was previously Group Managing Director of Pan-United Corporation Limited, MPH Ltd and Chief Executive Officer of Cold Storage Holdings Ltd. He now sits on the Boards, Audit, Remuneration and Nominating Committees of three listed companies and is the Audit Committee Chairman of Boustead Singapore Ltd. He is a member of the Corporate Governance Council, Securities Industry Council, Company’s Act Review Steering Committee, Management Committee of Singapore Compact for Corporate Social Responsibility, Senate Member of the Marketing Institute of Singapore, and a former director/Council Member of both the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore Confederation of Industries.He is the Chairman for the “OECD Asian Network on Corporate Governance for State Owned Enterprises”.

(2) Adrian CHAN, Vice-chairman of Singapore Institute of Directors

Mr. Chan is Head of the Corporate Department and a Senior Partner at Lee & Lee. He serves on the Executive Council of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises as its Honorary Secretary and sits on the Listed Companies Committee of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce. He is also a director of Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee, the joint law venture between Lee & Lee and the international law firm, Hogan Lovells, and is an independent director on the Boards of several publicly listed companies on the Singapore Exchange. He serves on the Corporate Practice Committee of the Law Society of Singapore.

(3) Basil CHAN, Treasurer of Singapore Institute of Directors

Mr. Chan is the Managing Director of MBE Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd, a firm which he founded. He currently sits on the boards of a number of public listed companies where he is a non-executive and independent director. He chairs the audit committees of several of those companies. He was a member of the Corporate Governance Committee in 2001 that developed the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance and was a former member of the Accounting Standards Committee of ICPAS (Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore). Mr. Chan has more than 30 years of experience in audit, financial and general management, having held senior financial positions in both private and listed companies. Mr. Chan is a Chartered Accountant by training, having qualified in the UK.

Special Guests


Page 17

Behind the Scenes: Victor Ong and the professional development committee

For Axis Capital senior credit analyst Victor Ong, being a volunteer for CFA Singapore has been a rewarding experience of broadening his network of fellow CFA charter holders and gaining exposure to other parts of the financial industry outside work.

“The society is a good place to make new friends and gain professional knowledge,” he said.

When Victor first returned in 2008 from a stint in London, he touched base with the local financial industry at the society’s networking events such as Xciting Thursdays, Badminton and Movie Nights. The following year, he was cajoled by the Chairmen of the Professional Development committee (Gary Ng and Benjamin Goh) to join their team. Between them, the committee of about 10 members organized a whopping 33 talks and continuing education events last year. That’s about one to two events per fortnight, but Victor claims it takes him no more than half an hour a week brainstorming with

fellow volunteers for topics that would likely interest workshop participants, and reaching out to potential speakers.

Some workshops that he has helped to organize include Trading Asia Pacific Equities Systematically, Credit Event Prediction: Default and Spread Models, Analyzing and Valuing Banks during Financial Crises, and Property Derivatives.

Thorough the society, he has gained new friends in the CFA Society such as Francis Er, Thng Beng Hooi, Tan Chin Hwee and Seow Hock Hin. He became closer to fellow committee members such as Gary Ng, Benjamin Goh and Alex Ho. Victor also got to know non CFA members such as Phillip Chew, Jack Cao and Alvin Lee from organizing/participating in CFA activities. According to Victor, co-operation between the various committees opens up more resources for event organization.

Juggling a demanding day job and volunteer work

Victor’s day job involves highly analytical stuff such as developing a view of the fundamental and credit strength of issuers and borrowers, the state of play of their industries, the macro-economic conditions and political climate which would affect their operations, and analyzing different debt financing structures. Being a credit analyst also means he needs to develop strong relationships with counterparties such as banks.

“Clash of schedules between work and the society’s activities is unavoidable but fortunately, the society’s secretariat provides excellent logistical support,” he said.

When away from work and the society’s activities, he plays basketball and golf. He is married to his lovely and wonderful varsity sweetheart, Anna.

“I gained exposure to other aspects of the investment world, such as quantitative trading.” – Professional development committee member Victor Ong

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Bud Haslet, executive director of the Research Foundation of CFA Institute and head of risk management and derivatives at CFA Institute, was in Singapore recently to share the perspective of an options market maker and options-based money manager. With him was Matt Moran, Vice President of Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

“History shows indices provide little diversification during times of extreme market stress,” said Matt. When the recent global financial crisis unwound, all indices fell by more than 50% based on data from 31 Oct 2007 to 28 Feb 2009. And the unfortunate thing is, under such conditions, correlations between the stock, bond and private equity indices also tend to go up.

“The derivatives market is undergoing a period of transition and a lot of this has to do with what happened in 2008,” said Bud. For the first time, the Asia Pacific region is the global derivatives leader. In 2010, 40% of trades in derivatives occur in the Asia-Pacific, compared with 39% in the Americas.

Diversification in market stress


Page 19

What do remain negatively correlated with stock indices, and are therefore good hedging instruments, are CBOE Volatility Indices. The personal development workshop was especially timely as it fell on 3 August, at the brink of the large market swings that started in the month of August. In Aug, the VIX on the S&P 500 rallied to its year-high of 45.

Known as the stock market’s ‘fear gauge’, the VIX has been considered by many to be the world’s best barometer of investor sentiment and market volatility. This is because the VIX is a key measure of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by S&P 500 stock index option prices. Mathematically, historic

volatility is the annualized standard deviation of daily returns during a specific past period. VIX is based on real-time option prices, which reflect investors’ consensus view of future expected stock market volatility. During periods of financial stress, which are often accompanied by steep market declines, option prices - and VIX - tend to rise. The greater the fear, the higher the VIX level. As investor fear subsides, option prices tend to decline, which in turn causes VIX to decline.

Option premiums increase with volatility because the risk that is then assumed by the option writer is higher. It is usually during such times that options writers make the most money.

“Playing with options is a constant juggling of the factors that change options values,” said Bud. The factors are the underlying stock price, time to expiry, volatility and interest rate changes.

Professionals use positions simulators to show how things change. For beginners, Bud recommends the free software downloadable from the Internet called Options Simulator. “It doesn’t allow you to build a very robust system, but it’s a great place to start,” he said.

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A broad scope of topics on derivatives trading and risk management was covered at the FTSE Room at Capital Tower that Wed afternoon. About 40 CFA Singapore members peeked into the latest trends Asia Pacific’s derivatives

markets and the SGX Index Option Contract. They also analyzed risk measurements. Bud shared his favorite option money-making strategies, what goes through the practitioner’s mind when writing covered calls, how determinants to

options premiums constantly change, the option’s role in risk management and more.

Mr. Matt Moran is vice president of business development for the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), where he is responsible for many of the exchange’s educational efforts for pension funds, mutual funds, and other institutional investors. Previously, he was trust counsel at Harris Bank and vice president at Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He is an associate editor of The Journal of Trading and The Journal of Index Investing. Mr. Moran holds JD and MBA degrees from the University of Illinois.

Mr. Bud Haslett, CFA is Head of Risk Management and Derivatives for CFA Institute and serves as Executive Director of the Research Foundation of CFA Institute. Previously he spent 20-years as an options market maker and a total of 6-years with an options-based money management firm and as an options strategist for a brokerage firm. Haslett served as editor of the book Risk Management: Foundations For a Changing Financial World and holds graduate degrees from Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania.


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Teh Hooi Ling, CFASenior CorrespondentThe Business Times

Tan Chin Hwee, CFACo-Head of AsiaApollo Global Management






















Golf Challenge 201 1

The CFA Singapore Society’s 8th Annual Golf Challenge 2011 was held at the sprawling gardens of Tanah Merah Country Club on 22 September. Seventy golfers took leave from their day job on a Thursday in eager anticipation of a rewarding experience at the exclusive golf course.

Whilst roaming in a buggie around the lush fairways littered with miniature waterfalls and man-made lakes, I was pleasantly surprised to catch sight of a pair of blue-feathered thrushes flirting with each other on the lower branches of a tree. By virtue of the golf course’s close proximity to the airport, every now and then, one catches sight of a departing aircraft still so close to ground its airline logo is clearly visible as it takes off into the far horizon.

“This golf course is simply beautiful,” said Rasik Ahuja, the chief investment officer of EFG Asset Management. Rasik

was a former board member for the CFA society of the UK and had relocated to Singapore just this year. Rasik may be new to Singapore, but many local members were likewise wowed and unanimously voted it the best course in Singapore.

“The Society should do this at least once a quarter,” declared a very satisfied Goh

Keat Jin, managing director of International Business at Maybank.

“It’s a beautiful course but also a challenging one,” said Dan Schaefer, president of The CFA Singapore.

All in a day's fun

L-R: Sharon Craggs, Francis Er, Ng Kheng Siang, Tony Tan


Page 23

In the novelty competition, the two prizes for “nearest-to-pin” went to Bryan Thio and Arnout Heukelem. The two prizes for “nearest line” went to Francis Er and Roland Jossi. The two prizes for “longest drive” went to Chua See Piu and Hano Coetser. In the Stableford competition, Toh Ee Han walked away with the top prize. Lennie Lim was in second place and Arnout Heukelem was third.

The day did not start out so

rosy, though. Heavy storms until late morning made one wonder if the competition would be called off. But all who braved the morning showers to make it to Changi Coast Road were amply rewarded by an overcast sky and a dewy afternoon in the outdoors, all-too-perfect for golf.

The day’s fun was made possible with the help of the networking committee chaired by Mr Seow Hock Hin, who roped in sponsors such as Eurex, CME Group, MF

Global, CQG and SGX. Thanks to generous subsidies from the sponsors, society members only had to come up with a nominal S$60 per person for the green fee, the club’s famous chicken rice for lunch, a Southeast Asian buffet dinner, the sports bag cum T-shirt, and the lucky draw for putters and golf bags.

23Page

L-R: Mezhgan Qabool, Cheng Yee Ling, Thomas Tey, Dan Schaefer

Sheheryar-Rasul: Lucky-Draw 1st prize

Dr Tony Tan

Dan Schaefer

Jan Richards


NOVELTY PRIZE

Nearest Line (Hole 15)Roland Jossi0.13m

Longest Drive (Hole 5)Chua See Piu232m

Nearest Line (Hole 6)Francis Er0.08m

Nearest Pin (Hole 11)Arnout V Heukelem2.02m

Nearest Pin (Hole 8)Bryan Thio3.24m

Longest Drive (Hole 17)Hano Coetser272m

STABLEFORD COMPETITION (System 36 Handicap – Stableford Play)

Arnout V Heukelem S36 Hcp: 17Score: 36

Lennie Lim S36 Hcp: 17Score: 36

Toh Ee HanS36 Hcp: 17Score: 37

1st prize

2nd prize

3rd prize


NOVELTY PRIZE

Nearest Line (Hole 15)Roland Jossi0.13m

Longest Drive (Hole 5)Chua See Piu232m

Nearest Line (Hole 6)Francis Er0.08m

Nearest Pin (Hole 11)Arnout V Heukelem2.02m

Nearest Pin (Hole 8)Bryan Thio3.24m

Longest Drive (Hole 17)Hano Coetser272m

Shen Xiangjun, PetroChina trading analystPseudoname: DoesGreyMatter

Mr Shen Xiangjun’s youthful good looks reminiscent of a Korean pop idol on the surface seem somewhat incongruous of the young man’s keen sense of the macro-economy. Every day from his Singapore office at Raffles City, he calculates and monitors PetroChina’s trading risk exposures, analyzes global macroeconomic trends and local oil supply/demand balance, proposes and executes hedging strategies.

Two months into the CFA Singapore-Saxo online portfolio management competition, the PetroChina trading analyst was up 52% from the initial portfolio of US$100,000 all participants were given on 1 July.

In an exclusive interview with The CFAS Quarterly, Mr Shen said the three boogies looming over the global financial markets right now are making the economic outlook quite bleak. That is, the Greek debt crisis and its Lehman-like contagion risk; high unemployment in the US and its slow fiscal reaction; and China’s bid to orchestrate a soft landing in the midst of skyrocketing inflation.

Mr Shen’s strategy in the competition has been to diversify his portfolio using indices. Other factors he considers are market selection, strategy and timing. He uses Beta to assess risk.

“The best that an investor can do now is to either stay in cash or to time the market and buy on oversold and short-term weaknesses,” he said.

CFA Singapore-Saxo online portfolio management COMPETITION

In a battle for the best in equity asset class investing, contestants are given US$100,000 to buy and sell exchange-traded-funds and over 13,000 stocks from 23 global exchanges using Saxo Trading Platforms.

The 2011 CFA Singapore-Saxo online portfolio management competition started on 1 July 2011 with over 200 CFA Singapore members participating. Now in its fourth month, the competition runs for a 6-month period and the winner will be announced at the next CFA annual dinner in 2012. The grand prize is a fully funded USD20,000 SaxoTrader account, which will allow the sole winner of the competition to take live positions and potentially keep all net gains exceeding this initial deposit.

“The range of equities tradable on the Saxo platform is quite impressive. The modular system of the platform allows traders to monitor a large amount of information at the same time, and allows users to customize the platform to their liking.” – Shen Xiangjun

How the contestants have been faring

25Page


Justin P’ng, Private InvestorPsuedoname: jpam

Private investor Justin P’ng was up 19% as at 31 Aug. In the near-term, he expects markets to continue to be highly volatile while trending downwards.

Volatility “I don't set much store by forecasts, and that includes my own! Valuations are attractive but not compelling, and markets over the short-run are driven by sentiment, not valuations. After the Lehman Brothers crisis, asset managers now pay greater heed to global macro developments. As year-end approaches, underperforming hedge funds are likely to make bigger trades to make up for lost ground. The volatility is made worse by high-frequency traders, and hedge funds who do not want to get caught on the wrong side of the markets. Uncertainty and volatility will combine to keep potential buyers on the sidelines, so with only short-term money flows dominating the markets, amygdala-directed trading will continue to be the order of the day.”

Downward trend

“I expect markets to continue to trend

downwards as there can be no expectation of the quick resolution of worries that are currently plaguing the markets. Those that remain too sanguine about the markets are not buyers; they are merely not sellers. Along with money managers, corporate executives and consumers alike have had their confidence impaired first by slower growth, and now market turmoil. This crisis of confidence will thus have recessionary implications for developed markets.

How emerging markets perform over the longer-term will depend largely on how China manages to curb inflation amid a slowdown in domestic growth and a cloudy external environment. The European sovereign debt crisis is a real problem, likely to require bank recapitalization and/or fiscal transfers.

What I believe is most likely to happen is markets will approach the brink before pulling back. The worst-case scenario is Europe doesn’t eventually get a grip on their banking problems. The best-case scenario is the restoration of confidence in a timely fashion.”

Tony Tiong, Metals ProcurerPseudoname: tonytcp

The investment portfolio of Mr Tony Tiong, who is a Western Digital special metals procurement expert, was up 32% as at end Aug.

To get the best out of the current market volatility, he is buying on technical support and selling on resistance price levels. To preserve capital in the current stock market conditions, he also frequently hedges using inverse exchange-traded funds.

What’s been happening in the super economies is making Tony downbeat on the stock market outlook. These include difficulties and challenges faced by the United States in jobs creation and deficit

reduction, fears of sovereign defaults in the European countries, tightening measures in China to fight inflation, the Japanese struggling to recover losses from the natural disasters and the ever-strengthening yen.

He stays optimistic however. “There are still many opportunities behind the current stock market volatility and the various global leaders will be certain to do something to help revive the ailing economy,” he said.

“I like the Saxo Trading system for its access to global markets, low commission rates, and flexibility to amend or place chain orders,” said Justin P’ng, giving a thumbs-up to the functions on the Saxo trading platform user interface. However, he has two grouses. Firstly, not being able to amalgamate trades has somewhat increased his transaction costs. Secondly, the centralised forex time prevents traders from fixing exchange rates. He felt the pinch recently when the markets plunged and the USD appreciated sharply: A 15-hour delay in the translation of sale proceeds after he liquidated positions on Asian markets resulted in a substantial currency conversion loss.


Julian Chia, Project Manager at Saxo Capital Markets, is part of the Singapore team which manages and configures the trading platforms for Saxo and their White Label Clients within APAC. Having assisted in the set up of previous portfolio management competitions organized by Saxo Capital Markets, he shares his experiences and thoughts on the ongoing CFAS-Saxo competition. "Saxo's fully featured demo trading platform, which contains most of the functions and features on the live trading platform, makes simulated trading competitions like the current CFAS-Saxo competition very realistic. Participants will be able to formulate different strategies, avail themselves of technical analysis using our charts on all available stocks/ETFs and familarise themselves with instruments across 23 exchanges." "It is interesting for me to see how different strategies are put into play in a competitive environment, while at the same time, offering participants a valuable learning experience relating to the features and functionalities of the trading platform in aiding their trading strategies."

"I can see from the daily generated reports that there are some who are sitting on the sidelines, either waiting for opportunity or perhaps forgotten that they have signed up. In this volatile market environment, 2 months is more than sufficient to overtake the current leader and win some trading credit in the process!"

Page 27Page

Upcoming CFA Singapore EventsDate Time Details Speaker Venue

Oct Time Piece Appreciation TBC TBC

19-22 Oct Advanced Financial Modeling Workshop Hamilton Lim Maxwell Chambers

20-Oct 12pm - 2pm Strategies and Innovation in Indexing

Ms Rosanna Grimaldi Maxwell Chambers

20-Oct 7pm - 10pm Wine Tasting Keth Nicholas Wine Mansion

1-Nov 12pm - 2pm Anatomy of the Bear Mr. Russell Napier FTSE Room

9-Nov NW Drinks /Will Writing Lee Chiwi Dallas

15-Nov 12pm - 2pmLong Duration Common Stock Investing: A Contrarian Manifesto

Bill Smead FTSE Room

24-Nov

Corporate Crisis Events and the Importance of Directors and Officers Liability Policy

Arunoraja Ratnam TBC

3,10,17 or 24 Nov 2011

CD Event - Career Panel Various TBC

27-28-NovPrivate Equity: Opportunities and Techniques in India

Arvind Mathur TBC

Nov Bowling NA TBC

Nov Talk on typical DD issues in SEA transactions PWC TBC

Dec Go Kart NA TBC

8-DecCFA Singapore Charter Award Ceremony/Year End Party

Dan Meader Raffles Hotel

27

The CFA Singapore Quarterly features the latest in thought leadership, best practices and investor education activities of investment professionals in Singapore. Written by financial journalists for veterans as well as those aspiring to greater heights as an investment professional, this quarterly newsletter commissioned by CFA Singapore is produced by NextInsight (www.nextinsight.net) and circulated to about 10,000 CFA charter holders and program candidates. Email or call Sim Kih ( [email protected] ) at 6438-2990 for feedback and inquiries.

Documents

CFA SINGAPORE Files... · Gary Ng, CFA Honorary Treasurer CFA Singapore pg 3 pg 4 - 16 PG 17 PG 18 - 20 PG 22 - 24 PG 25 - 26 PG 27 Honorary Treasurer’s Message. Page 4 ... accountants,