Trust is integral to keep wheels of financial markets turning

MOST people would agree that trust is difficult to gain, easily broken and once broken is tough to rebuild. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of finance and in investment services where trust is integral in keeping the wheels of the markets turning. Following the global financial crisis, there was a severe loss of confidence in the financial system overall (for various reasons such as allegations of mis-selling, collapse of asset prices, closure of firms and bailouts of financial institutions using tax payers' monies), and it has taken years for confidence to be restored.

What is trust?

Trust from an end investor is the dependency on a service provider in a situation of risk over a prolonged period. Trust in investment firms is far more complex and tacit than trust for almost any other product providers. The importance of trust grows with risk and terms of engagement. In the investment industry, trust and value are interconnected.