SICO adopts GIPS norms

Manama : Securities & Investment Company (SICO), licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain as a conventional wholesale bank, announced that it has joined a select group of asset managers in the MENA region that have claimed compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) issued by the CFA Institute. 

GIPS constitute a single global standard and ethical framework for the calculation and presentation of the investment performance history of asset management firms. These standards, which are based on the fundamental principles of full disclosure and fair representation of performance results, enable investors to make meaningful comparisons between investment managers across the world.

SICO’s compliance with these standards was independently verified by Ashland Partners & Company, a global pioneer in GIPS verification services. GIPS compliance covers all SICO discretionary portfolios and funds in multiple composites defined by investment mandate, objectives and strategy. The composites provide investment performance for the past five years, and will be extended further over time. Ongoing compliance by SICO will be verified annually by independent external audits.

Commenting on this achievement, SICO Chief Executive Najla Al Shirawi, said: “GIPS compliance reinforces SICO’s pioneering commitment to adopt the highest international standards and global best practice; and to protect the interests of our shareholders and clients above all else. Our investment performance can now be compared credibly with asset managers across the globe, providing prospective institutional clients with a greater degree of confidence in the presentation of SICO’s historical performance information.”

 According to Jason Millard, CFA, CIPM, a Partner with Ashland Partners: “We are proud to have assisted SICO in their effort to claim compliance with GIPS. GIPS compliance is a firm-wide effort that represents a strong commitment to providing investors full disclosure and transparency in performance results.  We commend SICO for leading the MENA region and look forward to continuing our work with them.”

 SICO also announced that it had adopted the CFA Institute Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct. The code defines the ethical and professional responsibilities of firms that manage assets on behalf of clients. It covers key factors such as loyalty to clients, the investment process, trading, risk management and compliance, performance evaluation and disclosure. For investors, it provides a benchmark of ethical conduct that they should expect from asset managers, and offers a higher level of confidence in firms that adopt the code.

“The adoption of this code by SICO is further demonstration of our conformance to the highest global standards of ethical behaviour and professionalism; and our enduring commitment to always put the needs and interests of our clients first,” Al Shirawi added.