Tuesday, 07. March 2023
sphere.swiss by Andrea Briganti, Head of e-Learning, Indigita
Training staff on regulatory and financial topics is required to fulfil governance duties and, in many cases, forms a legal obligation arising directly from the contractual relationship between wealth manager and client. At the same time, making sure employees keep their knowledge and skills up to date makes a lot of business sense, too. Client advisors who are fully familiar with the applicable regulations will know exactly what questions to ask and how to avoid pitfalls, which will speed up processes, save time and lay the foundation for a great client experience. In a similar vein, staff trained on cyber risks will be more likely to spot fraudulent instructions, potentially avoiding substantial financial damage and fending off harm to an organisation’s reputation.
Every financial institution has the duty to manage and mitigate risks. Meeting this obligation requires awareness of existing risks, which, in turn, requires the necessary knowledge. It’s not enough if risks get identified by the control functions. It’s equally important that potential breaches, like insider trading or market abuse infringements, get spotted directly by front office staff before they are executed. This can only happen if the respective employees have been properly trained on how to do so.
The contractual relationship between wealth manager and client creates various legal obligations. The Swiss Code of Obligations applies to advisory and discretionary management mandates and requires such mandates to be exercised with due diligence. Swiss case law states that this means wealth managers must rely on adequately trained and competent professionals. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA takes a clear stance by saying that good organisation implies that employees are trained on a regular basis und possess a thorough understanding of their obligations and responsibilities, as well as the related internal processes. This also includes cross-border compliance.
All of the above means that supervised financial institutions, such as wealth managers, need to train employees on relevant topics in order to ensure compliance and mitigate risks. To help fulfil this obligation, Indigita is offering an extensive catalogue of trusted online training solutions, which build on industry-leading content provided by BRP Bizzozero & Partners and most of which are recognised by the Swiss Association for Quality SAQ.
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