ICMA Executive Education Skills Courses is a suite of training programmes for members and non-members focussed on developing those skills in the capital markets which will enhance our member’s business practices and contribute to their profitability. These skills encompass sales and marketing training, client relationship management skills, presentation and negotiation skills, and, perhaps most importantly, management and leadership skills.

Drawing on best market practice and a faculty of internationally recognised business skills trainers, ICMA Executive Education Skills Courses will provide skills training directly dedicated to the needs of the international capital markets. Classes will be limited in size, highly interactive, with a focus on individual exercises and role plays to develop key skills.

 
WHY?

• In recent years there has been much negative publicity regarding the investment banking industry and what has been referred to as its culture of ‘greed, short-termism, bonuses and hard sell’.
• Many bemoan the slide from relationship banking to transaction-based banking. The development of complex derivatives and packaged structures has lead to a much greater distance between the borrower and the lender and standards can decline.
• Management skills have been neglected. For too long the industry has promoted the best trader to manage trading or the best salesperson to manage sales, with little or no regard for any requisite management skills or relevant experience. The inevitable outcome is often poor management and reduced individual trading or sales performances. The ‘rogue trader’ syndrome is always blamed on lack of adequate risk controls while little attention is paid to the lack of people management skills in the industry.
• MiFID level 2 implementing Directive contains a high level competence requirement (Art. 5 (1) (d) requiring investment firms within its scope that such firms: “must employ personnel with the skills, knowledge and expertise necessary for the discharge of responsibilities allocated to them”. As the regulators move towards more principles or output-based regulation, the burden to ensure employees meet the required standards falls more heavily on the senior management of financial services firms.

ICMA, in line with its traditional role of setting market standards, will uniquely combine ICMA Executive Education Skills Courses with an emphasis on the highest ethical standards, ensuring customers are treated fairly, and promoting an environment of transparency and trust, both with customers and colleagues in the work place. Conflicts of interests in different investment banking work streams will be identified and addressed. ICMA Executive Education Skills Courses aim to develop better sales skills, client relationship management skills or management skills while maintaining ‘good’ ethical standards and personal integrity.

 
WHEN?

The following two courses will be scheduled to run publicly and new dates will be announced shortly, but enquiries from ICMA member banks to run courses on an in-house basis for their staff and clients are welcomed.

Mastering Mandates
London: 23-24 September 2013

Successful Sales
London: 2-3 December 2013
 
  
IN-HOUSE?

ICMA Executive Education Skills Courses can be delivered on an in-house basis and targeted to suit a particular member firms’ needs, thereby offering a very cost effective option to a public course. If a member (or group of regional members) has, say, at least four or five candidates looking to participate in a skills course then simply contact Chris O’Malley, Head of Faculty, ICMA Skills, to discuss bespoke in-house ICMA Skills courses covering one to 5 days. Programmes can be delivered in the member’s chosen European location at a time convenient to them.


COSTS?

ICMA Members: £1,000.00 + 20% VAT each
Non-members:  £1,300.00 + 20% VAT each

For group bookings on any of these courses, we offer discount scales of:
2-4 candidates – 5% discount each*
5+ candidates – 10% discount each*

*Please note that discounts are applied by way of a refund to the organisation when registration has closed and the final number of candidates from the firm has been determined.

*Please note that the running of courses will be subject to achieving a specified minimum number of participants.