On the 27th of November, ACIIA® council members from 10 countries gathered in Tokyo for an ACIIA® Council meeting, which was kindly hosted by the Security Analysts Association of Japan.

After dealing with the standard business of approving the minutes and the budget, the main items for discussion focussed on the preparations for transferring the headquarters of the ACIIA® from the United Kingdom to Switzerland, which will take place during the first half of 2004. Since the implementation of the CIIA® examinations in 2001, the ACIIA® member in Switzerland - the Swiss Financial Analysts Association - has played a leading role in the development of the examination scheme. The change in headquarters will centralise some of the main academic and administrative functions at the one office, increasing the efficiency of the association.

Another highlight of the meeting was the cooption of the ACIIA®'s 25th member, the "Société Marocaine des Analystes Financiers". This is the ACIIA®'s first member in Northern Africa and candidates in Casablanca are busy preparing for the examinations. We wish them every success.

Left to right : Fritz Rau, ACIIA® Chairman
Alice Gradon, Company Secretary
Kiyoto Hagiwara, ACIIA® Deputy Chairman
Mike Theobald, IEC Chairman

The Council Meeting was rounded off by a wonderful dinner hosted by the Securities Analysts Association of Japan (SAAJ). Our thanks go to the ACIIA® Deputy Chairman and CEO of the SAAJ, Mr Kiyoto Hagiwara, and his staff whose meticulous planning ensured that the meeting was a great success.

Left to right, top to bottom :
Sanjay Ramchandani, India
Gary Cheung, Hong Kong
Etienne Rutsaert, Belgium
Jean-François Balmary, France
Gonzalo Milans Del Bosch, Spain

The ACIIA® Promotions and Marketing Commission held its fourth meeting in Tokyo, one day prior to the ACIIA® Council meeting. The finishing touches to the ACIIA® members directory, (due to be published at the beginning of 2004) was the main item of discussion, along with the newsletter, advertising and website..

The PMC project "developing the CIIA® in new regions" is continuing to progress well, and further to the developments in Chile, Argentina and Morocco, SFAF France are now entering discussions with Tunisia and Egypt.