Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) Course

Why select this training course?

The global investment performance standards are ethical and voluntary internationally accepted standards for ensuring accurate calculations and presentation of investment performance using a set of full disclosure and fair representation principles. The GIPS are a critical aspect of any successful and well-managed investment. They are baseline evaluation of progress with ease selection of managers, aligning objectives, and incentives calculations. Any investor that upholds the GIPS shows their commitment to transparency, increasing trust, fostering better confidence, and fostering professional ethics.

The Global Investment Performance Standards course is a course that will train participants on a set of globally adopted voluntary guidelines that aim at showing a fairer side of investment performance information developed by the Investment Management. The data and information presented in this course will enable the participants/investors to make an informed decision and better compare the most appropriate manager or form of investment they wish to partake.

How do companies ensure they maintain GIPS?

GIPS (Global Investment Performance Standards) is a set of ethical standards for calculating and presenting investment performance to ensure that performance is comparable and consistent across investment firms. Companies can ensure they maintain GIPS compliance by following the following steps:

• Adopting the GIPS standards
• Creating a compliance policy
• Calculating performance following the GIPS standards
• Verifying performance
• Disclosing performance
• Maintaining records

Why is GIPS relevant to institutions?

GIPS is relevant for institutions because it helps them build credibility, make performance reporting more consistent and clear, gain a competitive edge, and get known worldwide. Institutions that want to build a good reputation in the investment management industry should consider how well they follow the GIPS standards.

The Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) Training Course by Rcademy will enable participants to understand detailed information about GIPS that can place them in a better position to assume higher positions in a challenging investment environment. The course is periodically updated and checked for standards change before the participants are trained. It will be an engaging course with many practical exercises, assignments, group discussions, and case studies.

Who should attend?

The Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) Training Course by Rcademy is ideal for the following:

• Investors and potential investors to gain knowledge to make effective decisions
• Senior investment firm manager who should enforce GIPS adherence
• Financial planners who advise senior managers
• Executive members of investment firms who should understand how to be compliant with GIPS
• Investment managers
• Investment advisers
• Legal advisors who are responsible for advising senior members
• Operations managers

What are the course objectives?

The Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) Training Course by Rcademy is thoroughly designed to give a detailed overview of Global Investment Performance Standards and enable participants to:

• Understand how compliance, regulations, and GIPS are related to each other and affect performance representation
• Discover the compliance fundamentals, including how to create a compliant representation, composite construction, firm definition, and discretion definition
• Apply the learnt knowledge to attain the minimal requirements for compliance maintenance in a firm
• Discover the full benefits of being compliant
• Understand the history of GIPS and the main concepts used in composite performance
• Understand advanced concepts such as error correction, alternative investment products compliance with GIPS, and portability
• Understand how the verification process is carried out and what it takes to be verified
• Discover the existing GIPS protocols
• Understand the importance of verification in providing marketing advantages, better procedures and policies, and boosting investors’ confidence
• Discover how to use input data consistently to calculate performance
• Understand GIPS compliance that can increase investment and increase business performance
• Gain the relevant skills, experience, knowledge, and confidence to work on important roles in international business opportunities
• Discover how to handle important organisational positions that relate to GIPS

How will this course be presented?

This Rcademy training course will utilise highly skilled professionals experienced in teaching and their area of expertise by involving practical learning and the theoretical world.
The theoretical work will be facilitated using videos, presentations, lecture notes and case studies.
The practical aspect will involve assignments, projects, role-plays, and discussions

What are the topics covered in this course?

Module 1: Introduction

• Global investment implementation of GIPS
• The history of GIPS
• The main objectives of the GIPS
• Governance and how it came to be

Module 2: The Importance of GIPS Compliance

• The worldwide view of GIPS compliance
• How to create investors’ interest and gain trust
• Performance comparability
• Error correction
• Portability

Module 3: Importance of Compliance to Asset Owners

• Performance standards used for other investment products
• Comparability and transparency commitment from asset owners
• International best practices in asset valuation based on performance
• Procedure, techniques, methodologies, and international policies development
• Fair value definition
• Recommendations for valuation

Module 4: Provisions for Global Investment Performance Standards

• Input data compliance
• Real estates
• Methodologies and techniques used in the calculation
• Reporting and presenting the report
• Handling private equity
• Composite asset construction
• Handling disclosures effectively

Module 5: The Verification Process

• Purpose and the main scope of verification
• Examining performance
• Procedures, techniques, and methodologies used in the verification process
• Writing a verification report
• Testing investment performance
• Writing a management representation introduction letter
• Planning for the verification process

Module 6: GIPS For Firms

• Core principles of standards
• Comparability methodologies and techniques
• Creating objectives, policies, and portfolio management
• Disclosure requirements

Module 7: GIPS Volunteers

• The technical committee
• The asset owner subcommittee
• The GIPS interpretations committee
• The GIPS verification committee
• The GIPS promotion committee
• GIPS fiduciary management providers technical committee

Module 8: Ethics and Standards

• Code of ethics for the investment management profession
• Ethical decision making
• Asset manager code
• Giving voice to values
• Professional conduct statement
• Member and candidate sanctions
• Disciplinary process
• ESG standards
• Inclusion, equity, and diversity code

Module 9:  The Key Changes to 2010 GIPS in 2020 GIPS

• Using allocated cash to present carved-out performance
• Portfolio structure focus with fewer asset classes focus
• GIPS compliance advertising options
• Pooled funds vs composite funds reporting distinctions
• Time-weighted returns vs money-weighted returns

Module 10: GIPS for Verifiers

• Introduction to the standards
• The verification processes
• Examinations based on scope and purpose
• It Takes for the GIPS 2020 to take effect for verifiers
• Case study: example of independent verifier’s report on verification
• Case study: an example of the performance examination report

Module 11: Contrasting Issues

• Understanding verification better
• Significant vs large cash flows
• How to follow principles when advertising
• Composite construction
• The required minimum account size
• Discretion