Why trust and ethics have underpinned a successful investment career
Key takeaways
Cindy Tan credits the CFA Program, its ethical teachings, and CFA community with her successful investment career in Singapore.
- The CFA Program helped Tan deepen her understanding of financial instrument valuation and contributed to her appointment to establish GMO’s Singapore office.
- CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct provides a framework for addressing complex industry challenges and maintaining client trust.
- Beyond the CFA Program, Tan relies on the CFA Institute community for peer learning, industry insights, mentorship, and professional development.
Cindy Tan says that it is the CFA Institute ‘gold standard’ approach to ethics that has given her the best professional support possible
For Cindy Tan, an unwavering focus on ethics and professional standards gives clients, employers, and fellow investment professionals the reassurance they need about her ability to work at the highest possible level. Tan is CEO of the Singapore office of global fund manager, GMO.
The emergence of new technology and a more complex, less predictable global economy across the past decade have led to huge changes in the way the investment industry works, she says. “Technical capability alone is no longer sufficient for any professional. When I talk to my clients, they are looking to us for trust — trusted advice and trusted knowledge. Trust is built on ethics, integrity, and professionalism.”
As well as being a CFA® charterholder, Tan is a chartered accountant and was initially drawn to the CFA Program while working for a public accountancy firm, specializing in audits of financial institutions. “I wanted to understand more about the fundamentals and valuations of financial instruments, so the CFA Program was a natural upskilling option for me,” she explains.
How the CFA Program prepares professionals for change
The ethical principles that underpin the CFA Program give CFA charterholders a solid foundation, along with the flexibility to apply them to new asset classes and new products as and when they emerge.
“CFA Institute is a professional body that we can trust to bring us the knowledge and the insights that are necessary for us to make sense of all the complexity.”
Becoming a CFA charterholder in 2005 also opened the door to a vast array of career opportunities, and was instrumental in Tan being hired to set up GMO’s Singapore office. In particular, it was her understanding of compliance and ethics — thanks to the CFA Program grounding — that gave her the edge.
Clients, employers, and the wider industry recognize the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct as the gold standard, Tan says. “For anyone who has gone through the rigorous three levels of the program — 900 hours of study, plus several years of professional experience — it prepares us for real situations and ethical dilemmas that we will face on a day-to-day basis.”
At a time when it’s easy to be distracted by the sheer volume of information, the curated research, actionable insights, and market-leading thought leadership CFA Institute provides an increasingly important role, Tan says. “CFA Institute gives us a sense of grounding in terms of what is necessary and what is required. For you to progress in your investment industry career, trust matters. Clients want to trust what you’re doing from a research perspective, from a portfolio management perspective, or a governance perspective.”
Beyond the CFA Program: the power of community
For Tan, the CFA Program is just one component of the CFA Institute proposition that helps her navigate a complex investment landscape. “I look to the CFA Program, the CFA Institute community, and other CFA Institute certificates and research papers to help me make sense of things. This is not just about lifelong learning — it’s also about having trusted conversations among my peers. It’s a community of professionals trying to help each other navigate our industry’s transformation,” Tan explains.
“Because CFA Institute has a community that’s been built up over the years, we are able to have that meaningful dialog across different sectors so that the whole ecosystem continues to evolve and progress.”
Having benefited from mentoring at the early stages of her career, Tan volunteers as a mentor for both her firm, GMO, and with CFA Society Singapore. More than just giving back to the community, mentoring provides an opportunity to hear perspectives from the next generation of investment professionals on how the industry is changing.
“That ‘reverse mentoring’ element allows us to have very broad conversations, and having a peer community that you can go to when you're trying to make decisions helps a lot,” says Tan. “If it weren’t for this community, I might take a lot longer to get to where I want to be professionally.”
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