Is the Fund Management Certificate Program for you?
This first of its kind fund management program is an interesting course that offers continuing education and professional development of fund managers by providing its participants with tools to elevate their skills and achieve higher levels of competency in their jobs.
Last weekend, the learning session of the country’s first Fund Management Certificate Program (FMCP) was held at the Ateneo Rockwell campus. This is a collaboration among the Ateneo-Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), the Fund Managers Association of the Philippines (FMAP) and the IFE Management Advisers Inc. (IFE).
The Ateneo Center for Continuing Education was happy to announce that this program was enthusiastically received as seen in the number of registrations for the learning session. I only announced this the day before the event, and I received several messages inquiring about the program, so I decided to write about it, especially for those who missed the session.
What’s it about?
This first of its kind fund management program is an interesting course that offers continuing education and professional development of fund managers by providing its participants with tools to elevate their skills and achieve higher levels of competency in their jobs. It is aligned with FMAP’s mission to uphold the interests of the investing public through the practice of professional fund management in accordance with the global ethical standards and best practices.
Its unique structure of learning covers important topics that are missing in typical financial management courses. The learning platform includes lectures, case studies, in-class exercises that will culminate in a proposal and panel presentation where the participants shall demonstrate what they have learned in practical setting.
Learn from the industry’s seasoned professionals
There is a growing interest in investing these days and we see various workshops, talks and other platforms where lessons on how to handle your money are offered. This program is truly a cut above the rest as it gathers only the best in the industry with track record of managing money for decades. These guys have seen the different cycles in the market and economy in general and they will share not only their theoretical wisdom but also their actual experiences of having been in the industry for decades. They are the following:
1. Marvin Fausto – the Program Director, is the founding president of the FMAP and currently board adviser of FMAP, CFA Society Phils.; held the positions of governor in the market governance board at the Phil. Fixed Income Exchange, and president of the Trust Association of the Philippines, among others. He has over three decades of experience in the fund management industry including Chief Investment Officer of the largest bank BDO until 2014. He is now the Chairman and President of IFE, and consultant to COL Financial Group.
2. Jun Trinidad - former Senior Economist of Citibank N.A. (Philippines and Thailand). He held the position for 17 years, and is now a frequent economics resource speaker sharing his insightful views on how macro analytics and forecasting translate to market views on the Philippine peso and fixed income debt markets. He brings to the program vast experience in economic research, having previously worked at Jardine Fleming Securities, DBM Securities and USAID.
3. Deanno Basas - President and Managing Director of ATRAM Trust Corporation, and currently the president of FMAP. His 22 year-experience as a fixed income practitioner is a significant resource for FMCP, having been Head of Interest Rate Derivatives Trading at ING Bank Manila, Head of Money Market and Interest Rates Trading at Wachovia Bank Hong Kong, and Deputy CIO at ING Investment Management Philippines.
4. April Lynn Tan, CFA - Vice President and Head of Research at COL Financial Group Inc., the largest online stockbroker in the Philippines. She carries to FMCP her equity research experience valued market views that are regularly heard on television, market briefings, and strategy presentations. She was the president of the CFA Society Philippines for a few years and under her tutelage, the Philippines won several championships in the annual CFA Institute Research Challenge.
5. Fritz Ocampo - Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of BDO Trust Bank. As a former director of Deutsche Bank’s Asset and Wealth Management Group in Manila, and lecturer at the Asian Institute of Management, he brings academic credentials and industry experience to FMCP. He is a recipient of Asia Asset Management’s “Philippines’ CIO of the Year Award” and The Asset Management’s Philippines “Fund Manager of the Year for Long Only Fixed Income Funds Award.”
6. Juanis Barredo - Chief Technical Analyst of COL Financial Group Inc. and its Vice President for Sales and Customer Support Services. He was named the country’s Best Equities Technical Analyst for the past three years, a distinction awarded by FMAP. He is merging technical theory and practice into FMCP, drawing from his experience as a technician, investment educator and a popular speaker on technical analysis.
7. Naneth Vinoya - former Head of Institutional Sales and Deputy Trust Head of Deutsche Bank AG Manila Branch’s Asset Management Department. Her professional career spans 25 years, covering customer-facing roles in marketing and business development, portfolio management, and client services. She shares her experience to the program participants highlighting the integral role of client management in the fund management practice.
8. Cris Arceo, CFA - currently President of the CFA Society Philippines Inc., Board Adviser to FMAP and Vice President and Head of the Fixed Income Desk of China Banking Corporation. She worked for the Philippine National Bank and Philam Asset Management Inc. and lectured at the De La Salle University. In FMCP, she carries her investment experience and CFA training to raise important awareness of ethical standards.
9. Mike Ferrer - Managing Director of the ATR Asset Management Group, prior to which, he spent 15 years with ING Group holding the positions of Country Manager of ING Investment Management (IIM) in the Philippines and Taiwan and as General Manager for IIM South Asia. He adds value to FMCP’s discussion of the growing domestic fund management industry on the back of his 29-year experience in banking, asset management and private equity.
When my sons heard their father enumerate these seasoned men in the industry during the learning session last Saturday, they said, “Wow! Pa, it’s a good thing you were able to gather them all for this program!” Indeed, it will be a great opportunity and definitely, a valuable learning experience for the participants because any one of these speakers can already fill up a roomful of listeners, given their respective vast experiences in the finance industry.
They will talk about the various aspects of fund management during the course’s run from Oct. 11 to Dec. 2, 2017. (Learn more about the ten modules, schedules, grading system, requirements, etc. in tomorrow’s FQwentuhan).
Who can participate in FMCP
If you are any of the following, this is a worthwhile course for you:
1. Portfolio Managers and Wealth Advisers
2. Unit Trust Fund and Mutual Fund Managers
3. New Fund Managers
4. Fixed Income and Equity Analysts
5. Insurance, Pre-need and other Asset Managers
6. Risk Managers, Audit and Compliance Officers
7. Marketing and Operations Officers
8. Institutional Investors with managed funds
9. Individual Investors engaged in personal wealth management
10. Other Investors seeking to learn about fund management
The last two are quite interesting because that’s basically all of us, who should be managing our own funds to a certain degree. There was an interesting question during the learning session and it took off from Marvin’s presentation that there is a growing trend from actively managed funds to equity index funds globally. Marvin answered that indeed there is such as trend; however, fund management is a lot more than just stock picking. Asset allocation is more important that your ability to pick the right stocks is just part of the whole fund management business.
But wait, there’s more!
This course is not your typical “let’s attend then we’ll get a certificate” course. It is an exciting, fun yet challenging course that will probably stretch your imagination and capabilities, especially for those attending to other matters at the moment. You will learn from the masters here and abroad. You will test yourself in group work and presentation. You will really “go back to school!” And here’s the bonus: the top student will be awarded an all-expense paid training/exposure visit to BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager! Wow! What a great privilege and experience.
Are you joining?
Honestly, I was surprised to find out that the entire course, with a chance to have this training at BlackRock, is only priced at P53,000. There’s even an eagle rate of P48,000 for early registrants and FMAP members. Actually, it may be best if you register right away, not just for the discount but because they will only accept 48 participants for the maiden run of the course. Here are the contact details for your reservations:
www.cce.ateneo.edu
sales.cce@ateneo.edu
Matt Mabansag - Telephone Nos. 830-2043 or (0932) 791-9190
To know more about the course and to really figure out whether this is something that can help you in your FQ journey, please watch tomorrow’s FQwentuhan about FMCP. 
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ANNOUNCEMENT
If you missed the learning session last Saturday, watch tomorrow’s FQwentuhan at noon to know more about the country’s first Fund Management Certificate Program.
Want to know your FQ score? Take it today.Click link to take the test. http://tinyurl.com/FQTest
