SAIFM 2nd Regulatory Summit: The brave new world of financial regulation

Meeting the challenge …

After the hugely successful inaugural summit in 2014, the SAIFM is proud to present the second regulatory summit, the defining annual event with regard to all matters regulatory. This event provides an independent forum for South Africa’s financial regulators, financial services professionals and institutions to discuss the essential issues and factors that are shaping South Africa’s financial regulatory reform.

The culture and behaviour of financial services providers that influence how business is conducted has become an important focus for financial regulators that seek to minimise reliance on a tick-box-approach. From an industry perspective, a new emphasis on ethical behaviour and codes of conduct codifying companies’ expectations in terms of executive and staff behaviour has become the norm.

Technological innovation likewise has become a challenge for regulators requiring high levels of specialised skills and an in-depth understanding of the impact such innovation may have on industries and their customers. Technology also provides the tools whereby compliance and disclosure could be made easier.

Taxation remains an ever-increasing headache to financial services providers that are looking for ways to minimise the tax burden to increase return on investment without running the risk of falling foul of the law and being faced with huge penalties. To get to grips with the intricacies of fast changing tax legislation remains a huge challenge for industry participants.

Interact with leading regulators and industry experts and share insight and experiences with colleagues at this prestigious event that is sure to alleviate concerns regarding the uncertainty that has been characteristic of the financial regulatory field globally as well as in South Africa.

The keynote speaker, Monica Singer, CEO of Strate, will explore the leadership challenges faced by securities regulators after the financial crisis in an environment stressing principles rather than rules, how Strate plans to meet those challenges and what will be expected of markets participants.

Our line-up of confirmed regulatory experts so far includes:

  • Tim Masela, SA Reserve Bank
  • Ingrid Goodspeed, National Treasury
  • Christo Luüs, Third Circle Asset Management
  • Pieter van der Zwan NWU
  • Eugene van Rensburg Iress
  • Brett Kotze JSE

Topics that will be addressed include

  • Prudential regulation and supervision
  • Retail distribution review
  • Financial market infrastructures oversight
  • The regulation of OTC derivatives
  • The impact of rapid technological innovation such as high frequency trading on regulation
  • The impact of capital gains tax on investment portfolios
  • The move to T+3: alignment of the SA financial markets to global regulatory standards
  • Ethics in the financial services sector
  • The impact of tax free investments on the savings rate in South Africa
  • The use of technology to facilitate the industry’s compliance burden
  • The update on retirement reform
  • Stress testing of central counterparties

Watch this space for updates on the programme and details of registration.