The integrity and ethics of investing

Every year the CFA Institute asks its charter members - the giant brains of the investment community - to weigh in on the ethical state of the financial system. Throughout, they expressed growing optimism on regulations in Canada and the ethics of those working in finance.

"Based on the comments of Canadian survey respondents regarding the integrity of Canada's financial system and capital markets, it is evident that Canadian charter holders believe conditions have been steadily improving over the past three years," said Matt Orsagh, director of capital markets at the CFA Institute.

The survey found that Canadian charter holders have more trust in the effectiveness of their own financial system than charter holders in other countries.

82%: Said they would recommend investing in Canada;

46%: "Very likely" to invest based solely on ethical behaviour;

4%: "Very unlikely" to invest based solely on ethical behaviour;

40%: Portion of respondents who indicated support for a "one regulator" system;

3.2/5: Confidence score for the integrity of Canada's financial system;

3.6/5: Confidence in buy-side analysts, the highest score;

3/5: Confidence in sell-side analysts, the lowest score among financial professions.