Comparing mortgage refinance options with varying terms is a unique mathematical challenge, and also one that consumers face often in a declining rate environment.
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Would you like to say you “just got started” or that you are “almost done”? Would you rather be at the beginning, or near the end of accomplishing a significant goal in your life and career? This is the difference between failing and passing CFA Level II.
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Of the few online searches I did on CFA career paths when I first contemplated writing my Level I exam 15 years ago, working in the mining space was not on any top 10 lists that I came across. Yet in the decade that has passed since I first started my mining career (mostly gold, with some copper and a sprinkle of silver), I have worked closely with both the buy-side and sell-side while simultaneously acquiring industry-specific knowledge.
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Choosing to embark on the path to your CFA charter is a big decision that needs to be made only after understand the commitment needed to succeed.
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Back in January of 2020, which feels like years ago, I wrote an article pointing out that credit markets were setting themselves up for a potentially dangerous outcome. In no way could I or anyone else have predicted that a global pandemic and worldwide shutdown of entire economies would be the catalyst, but the conditions were ripe for any spark to start the fire.
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It is difficult to offer advice to aspiring charterholders that is applicable to all three levels of the CFA® exam series. As you may have already discovered, each level is fairly unique. Level I and Level II are far apart in difficulty while Level II and Level III differ greatly in format.
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The complete time horizon for most investors follows a common path; initially, there’s an “accumulation” phase in which positive cash flows are added periodically to their portfolio’s balance, and later, a multiyear “distribution” phase in which cash flows turn negative and withdrawals are made to support the investor’s income needs in retirement.
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If you’re reading this, you may be thinking about the CFA® designation and what it can do for your career. Or you might already be a candidate pursuing the charter.
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I am passionate about behavioral economics (behavioral finance is behavioral economics applied to finance problems; it is thus a subset of behavioral economics). I teach it in my classes and have written a book about it.
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Alternative Risk Premia (ARP) portfolios have started to supplant hedge fund investments in institutional portfolios. Perceived lower cost, better liquidity, and improved transparency have diverted assets or created new demand within the alternative space. As part of the move toward factor investing, we will discuss what ARPs are and their pros and cons for investors.
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As you go about your daily life, especially when making choices involving some sort of trade-off (exchanging money for goods and services, exchanging time for money, making investment decisions, deciding how to get the best value for money on your weekly grocery trip), you probably think of yourself as cool, calm, rational, and in control.
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We cannot predict the markets—or can we? History repeats is an old saying that proves to be true for markets! Markets, over time, follow rules which are scientifically investigated and proven. Therefore, there are three basic things that you have to consider when investing—under special consideration of a long investment horizon.
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While it certainly may feel like your entire existence is engulfed by this test for six months out of the year, it is naïve to think that the rest of the world cares or it will place itself on pause until you are less busy studying.
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I began my career in the bond market research department of a major sell-side investment bank. At that time, "Wall Street" was run by firms whose salespeople, traders, and research teams established the markets’ liquidity and dictated market prices to clients.
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Many of the CFA charterholders and candidates I have met seem to have always known that it was the path they wanted to take. Finance degree, CFA charter, job at a bigtime investment firm. It was different for me.
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As Benjamin Graham, one of the investing world’s original greats, said, “The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns.” Regrettably, too many investors worry about the risks when it’s too late.
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The new 2025 CFA curriculum has been released for all three levels. This article will summarize all of the important changes to the curriculum and how it affects your preparation.
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From humble origins in the early 1970s, index investing has become the 800-pound gorilla of investments. First derided, then accepted as a technique, these days, money moves out of active equity management and into passive vehicles every day.
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I would like to address some of the common mistakes made by candidates during the CFA® exams and how those mistakes can be avoided so that you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of taking the exams multiple times in order to pass them—which unfortunately was the case for me. While I am not proud of the fact that I had to take the exam multiple times, and some might consider it foolish to talk about failures, I learnt much from those failures.
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Ethics is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of professionals in the financial services industry. As trusted advisors, we are given a mandate by our clients to manage, preserve, and grow their assets and to operate in their best financial interests.
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