The CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity has offered several proposals to improve investors’ confidence in the global financial markets.

It said today that it is encouraged by reports that global regulators, finance ministers and central bankers will be reviewing IOSCO’s Code of Conduct Fundamentals for Credit Rating Agencies to supplement their discussions on changes to the credit rating agency industry. James Allen, capital markets director for the CFA Institute Centre, said, “We support IOSCO’s code of conduct for CRAs as a globally accepted industry standard and suggest improvements to the code to enhance investor confidence.”

The CFA Institute Centre suggested several further proposals, including: improvements to the credit rating process; the use of fair value reporting; and, that regulators should ensure that investment firms and investment managers adopt, implement and enforce procedures to ensure suitability.

Allen added that the turbulent US markets should serve as a reminder that, “transparent financial reporting is a critical lens for investor understanding and decision making”. The CFA Institute Centre believes that public companies, especially those that utilize complicated vehicles need to improve their reporting of such structures, including putting them on their financial statements,” he noted.