PortfolioConstruction Forum and UTS launch IMR Program

Investment continuing education and certification services provider, PortfolioConstruction Forum has partnered with University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Business School, to support the newly formed Investment Management Research Program (the IMR Program). The collaboration deepens the relationship the Forum and UTS formed last year when the Forum took over responsibility for the management and delivery of the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) certification program, throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The IMR Program succeeds the UTS Paul Woolley Centre, a privately-funded financial markets research initiative which has been led by UTS Professor Ron Bird since its foundation in 2007. In essence, the UTS Paul Woolley Centre has been reconstituted as the IMR Program which will also be led by Professor Bird.

The IMR Program will build on its predecessor’s research in the areas of capital market operations, financial institutions/intermediaries and institutional investors, as well as continuing the established annual Workshop and Conference events, with the first UTS/PortfolioConstruction Forum IMR Program Workshop on Thursday 30 March 2017. Under the IMR Program, Professor Bird will also retain his 15-year role as director of the Investment Management Analyst Course, a key component of the CIMA certification program for Australian candidates.

"The collaboration of PortfolioConstruction Forum and UTS Business School connects a firm which specialises in executive education, with a university which is keen to expand its executive education offerings," said Graham Rich, Managing Partner and Dean of PortfolioConstruction Forum.

"By strengthening our engagement with Professor Bird and UTS Business School, PortfolioConstruction Forum is able to secure the long-term future of both the Investment Management Analyst Course and therefore the CIMA certification program in Australia, and to bring UTS Business School’s investment management research to a broader audience. This includes the IMR Program providing advanced continuing education , led by academics, to CIMA certificants and other PortfolioConstruction Forum members. The net result is a significant enhancement in the breadth and depth of our CE and certification programs."

"I've known Graham for a long while," Professor Bird said. "His team at PortfolioConstruction Forum is recognised for curating and offering high quality educational programs for the wealth management and investment industry, so this partnership benefits both UTS and PortfolioConstruction Forum.

"As well as managing the IMR Program events, the Forum will provide funding for the IMR Program, enabling it to pursue research relevant to the investment management community. Working together, we will also seek to develop new initiatives to support an industry which is increasingly being asked to meet higher educational standards."

Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean (Research) of the UTS Business School, Ashish Sinha's speech at the first IMR Program Workshop Thursday 30 March 2017

My name is Ashish Sinha, Professor of Marketing & the Associate Dean (Research) and it is a pleasure for me to be welcoming you to the Investment Management Research Program Workshop that is being jointly organised and hosted by the UTS Business School and PortfolioConstruction Forum.

I would like to thank both Graham Rich and Professor Ron Bird for inviting me to the workshop. My goal is to make some introductory remarks and then hand over the podium to Graham and Ron.

I got here a year or so back. And one of my first tasks was to come up with the research strategy of the business school. As you may know, UTS Business School is a leading business school. We are ranked third by the recent round of the excellence in research exercise run by the government. For me, the first question was where to from here – we already are one of the finest in the country, but what next?

And so I tried identifying areas that we should focus on, that would help us to get to the next level - some already existed in the portfolio, some were a reorganisation of existing strengths while others were completely new.

Broadly speaking, we settled on five focus areas: Health Economics, Market Design, Business and Social Innovation, Data Analytics and Financial Markets & Information.

And as a part of developing the research strategy, it was felt that we should also review the existing research centres, such that the research centres and research strengths are aligned. Cutting a very long story short, it was felt that while Paul Woolley Centre had served the Business School well for many, many years - if I may add under the stewardship of Professor Ron Bird - it would be better for it to be a part of the Financial Markets and Information centre, which is where it resides currently as a theme within the centre.

We also felt that PWC should be rebadged as the "Investment Management Research Program" which perhaps is a better reflection of the research and dissemination activities it undertakes. We are extremely pleased that an academic of Professor Ron Bird's calibre has agreed to lead the IMR program. Please join me in congratulating and thanking Ron for his contributions.

I am also pleased to announce that the IMR Program will be working very closely with PortfolioConstruction Forum. Graham will touch upon that later.

So, in short, it is business as usual. The IMR program replaces the Paul Woolley Centre, but the educational and research activities that it undertakes will stay the same.

I would like to add that it has been a great year for the business school research wise. We recently launched a research report that highlights all our achievements.

ABOUT PORTFOLIOCONSTRUCTION FORUM

PortfolioConstruction Forum is the specialist, independent, investment continuing education and certification service curated for Australia’s and NZ’s investment portfolio construction practitioners, to enable their better quality portfolio construction knowledge, skills and wisdom, and thereby improve the financial wellbeing of individuals and society. http://portfolioconstruction.com.au/

ABOUT CERTIFIED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ANALYST (CIMA) CERTIFICATION

CIMA® certification is the peak international, technical portfolio construction certification program designed for investment and wealth management practitioners and advocates. Sitting in the clear and uncluttered space between Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP), CIMA certification is the peak, specialist certification for anyone involved in any aspect of constructing multi-asset, multi-manager portfolios.
The CIMA certification mark is owned by the Investment Management Consultants Association® (IMCA®), the global professional association for advanced investment and wealth professionals. In Australia, CIMA certification is managed and delivered by PortfolioConstruction Forum, IMCA australia’s strategic partner in the management and delivery of CIMA certification and member continuing education services. Over 15 years ago, UTS Professor Bird was a founding Director of IMCA and introduced the Investment Management Analyst Course, a key component of the CIMA certification program for Australian candidates, under the auspices of the University of Technology Sydney.
http://portfolioconstruction.com.au/cima/about-cima/

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SYDNEY