Shouldn’t GIPS® 20/20 have its own logo? 

That thought occurred to us a couple of months back. In fact, I sent a note to the CFA Institute suggesting it. However, I suspect they’re probably a tad too busy to be worrying about a logo. And so, we decided to design one. Well, actually we didn’t design it; we had one of our graphic artists design it for us. She came up with several ideas, and we liked this one the best.

This is, at least for now, an unofficial GIPS 20/20 logo

We unveiled this logo at last month’s Performance Measurement Forum meeting in Denver. I was doing a talk on GIPS 20/20, and thought it an appropriate time to show it. There were two senior individuals from the CFA Institute present, and we didn’t hear any objections; perhaps they’ll adopt it, or come up with their own design.

In case you haven’t noticed, The Spaulding Group loves logos

Our first logo was, not surprisingly, the one for our company. The initial design was done by a friend, who happened to be a graphic artist. It lasted only about three years. I met another graphic artist who designed what we currently use.

The symbolism isn’t always obvious. Yes, there’s an “S” within the blue rectangle (for Spaulding); and yes, there’s a subtle slash running through it. Why is it there? Well, this is the money management industry, isn’t it?

We have logos for our three PMAR conferences, for our verification practice, for our GIPS Planning Sessions, and much more.

We love logos. If they’re done right, we think they can be effective. And fortunately, we’ve had the benefit of some great graphic designers.

One more time: shouldn’t GIPS 20/20 have a logo?

Obviously, we think so. We’ll gift ours to the CFA Institute.

GIPS 20/20 is a major release of the Global Investment Performance Standards. A logo will serve to draw even more attention to it.

Oh, and if you were wondering about the arrow, it’s pointing to Charlottesville, VA, the home of the CFA Institute: how fitting!