I mentioned earlier that there were over 950 public commitments to the Code on the Global Index. But only 85 of those are from the buyside – and only a handful more represent platform, infrastructure or technology operators (Chart 6). The GFXC has recognised some of the practical challenges faced by smaller firms when signing up to the Code, and has prepared new material to help ease this process.17 But we need more of the largest firms too: 17 of the largest 30 global asset managers are still not signed up (Table 2). That’s $ trillion of investors’ funds without a voice in the use and development of the Code. Chart 6: Public commitments to the FX Global Code18  Source: Global Index of public registers as of 9 September. Signing up to the Foreign Exchange Global Code should be high on the agenda for the CEO of every major asset management firm. It deepens trust: between you and your clients, your counterparties and your regulators. It strengthens corporate governance: providing a ready-made blueprint for best practice within your firm. That is especially true for UK firms, which will fall under the Senior Managers Regime from the end of 2019. Behaviour that is in line with the Code will tend to indicate a person subject to the Regime is meeting their obligation to observe 'proper standards of market conduct.'
This entails focusing our sights on the path ahead, towards re-building a global financial architecture that will facilitate and secure our economic prospects. With the considerable benefit of hindsight, we now know that finance, if not anchored to the aim of creating sustainable value in the real economy, will become inherently unstable and destabilising to the ultimate goals of greater shared prosperity. There is thus a compelling need for finance to have a greater role in shaping responsible behaviour that underpins a stable and well-functioning economy, and advances the goals of a progressive society and sustainable environment. This is the underlying objective of responsible finance. Of significance, aligning business practices towards responsible finance entails a paradigm shift away from the conventional thinking of finance - the most important distinction being the need to recognise and appreciate that responsible finance delivers value by focusing on its ultimate outcomes, rather than its immediate returns. Responsible finance at its core strives to serve wider objectives that is consistent with, but goes beyond, the predominant objective of enhancing shareholder value. In delivering long term sustainable value, allocative efficiency is achieved in a manner that promotes stability and prosperity in the broader economy and sustainability of the environment. Above all, responsible finance aims to optimise its positive impact on society, economic wellbeing and development. Over the recent decade, the heightened advocacy for ethical and socially responsible investments has also seen the proliferation of financial instruments that cater for both financial and societal objectives.