The Money Market Association of the Philippines (MART), in partnership with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx), held its annual seminar for aspiring salesmen in the fixed-income market on July 22 at the Yuchengco Institute for Advanced Studies in RCBC Plaza. The event was attended by MART members and non-members coming from various banks, investment houses, brokerage firms, and leasing and insurance companies.
The seminar primarily aims to educate fixed income salesmen candidates who intend to take the fixed-income salesman certification exam of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Though the program is not an official reviewer for the said exam, topics covered were tailor-made to provide participants with the basic know-how of the structure of the local fixed-income market, and at the same time impart greater appreciation for the career of a fixed-income practitioner. For already-certified salesmen, the seminar likewise provided updates on the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) governing the local securities market.
The first speaker for the event was Atty. Eleanor B. Rivera, Managing Director of the Market Regulatory Services Group of PDEx. She emphasized on selected provisions of the IRR of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), the overarching manual of the securities market. She also imparted her expertise in the IRR concerning trading in the over-the-counter (OTC) market and trading with PDEx.
The second speaker was Jonathan L. Ravelas, Vice President and Chief Market Strategist of Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO). He gave a lecture on basic economics, highlighting on how market forces on the macroeconomic level can affect prices of securities in the fixed-income market. Also included in his lecture was his analysis of where the market is heading given today’s prospects of the global economy.
The last speaker for the seminar was Dino Rudyardo F. Gasmen, Senior Vice President and Head of Interest Rate Trading of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). His lecture was all about bonds, mainly focused on bond features and valuation methods.
All three speakers gave sample exams to the participants as a means to gauge how much of the lecture have they understood at the end of the day, and also as simulation for the SEC certification exam.