Introduction to the New Investment Foundations Certificate - Who Should Take It and Why?

Grace Yeung, CFA, FCPA (Practising), CPA, CPA (CA) is Senior Director, Exam Development, Asia Pacific of CFA Institute. Grace plays a global role, and she leads the development and production of CFA Exams and CFA Institute’s certificates. Grace’s team consists of over one hundred fifty consultants and staff worldwide. She develops strategies and leads projects of the CFA Program, CFA Exam, certificates, and accomplishing the mission of CFA Institute. One of Grace’s key projects is transitioning the CFA Exam from paper-based to computer-based. Grace is committed to advocating for ESG and the Certificate in ESG Investing program. She often shares her views about ESG with the media. With her background and professional experiences in Asia Pacific, Grace outreaches to CFA Societies, professional standard setting bodies, practitioners, and credentialing organisations in the region to seek insights and develop strategies that are relevant to the CFA Program and the Certificate in ESG Investing.

Grace has over twenty years of global experiences in the financial services and investment management industry. Prior to joining CFA Institute, Grace held the position of Senior Manager, Assurance, Financial Services and Asset Management of PwC Hong Kong. Her clients include global and regional asset managers in traditional and alternative investment spaces, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, and infrastructure. She led assurance and consulting projects including investment fund set-up, regulatory licensing, and internal control compliance. Grace had assurance, consulting, and financial services working experiences in the United States and Canada.

Grace holds a Master of Economics from University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Laws, Corporate and Financial Laws from University of Hong Kong. She graduated as a Bachelor of Science with summa cum laude, distinction in Management Science, and Phi Beta Kappa from University of California, San Diego. Grace is a CFA charterholder, a Certified Public Accountant licensed with California, USA, a Chartered Professional Accountant of Canada, and a Certified Public Accountant (Practising) at Hong Kong SAR. She completed the Certificate in ESG Investing program and holds the certificate. She is also a Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)’s Sustainability and Climate Risk Certificate holder. Grace is a Fellow and a member of the Task Force for Digitalization of the Qualification Programme under the Qualification and Examinations Board of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is a member of Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance Working Group of Hong Kong Green Finance Association. She is also an active participant in the accounting standards roundtable panel of the HKICPA.

Richard McGillivray joined CFA Institute in June 2013, and has worked on a wide range of professional development projects with firms, regulators, industry associations and universities across the region.

Richard brings an unusual blend of experience in investment management and education to CFA Institute. Prior to CFA Institute, he set up the Asia Pacific operations for a UK-headquartered asset management business for whom he built and supported a broad client base, including private and retail banks, institutions, fund of funds and family offices in Asia Pacific and Africa. Prior to that, he worked for nearly 20 years in adult and professional education in Asia Pacific and southern Africa, including in financial services, media, aid agencies education and law.