Getting into U.S. Investment Banking
14 August 2010
Financial Times

Fifty years ago, a group of investment ­managers hit on the idea of creating a system to teach U.S. analysts how to value U.S. equities, in the hope that this would create a more ethical, respectable craft, akin to law or ­medicine. And yet this idealistic project has turned, in the past 20 years, into something much more ambitious. CFA Institute has embarked on a dramatic program of expansion – or ­“mission”, as its adherents prefer to say – ­disseminating its ideas around the world through societies. Due to the exam’s price – much cheaper than an MBA – and the fact that U.S. investment banks have started using it as an entry requirement for recruits, it has attracted tens of thousands of young professionals.

The CFA programme
05 July 2010
The Hindu, Education Plus

Finance is global in nature, and the CFA charter is recognised by the industry as the gold standard. With ethics, strong analytical skills, rigour and tenacity, CFA charter-holders in Asia are well positioned to bring a global perspective to the investment industry. We have seen many employers in the region posting job vacancies with a requirement or preference for a “CFA charterholder” or “CFA candidate.” In addition to the knowledge, skills, and the ethical foundation the CFA Programme offers, CFA charterholders are internationally mobile, as they are linked to a truly global professional network. Only 1 in 5 who begins the CFA Programme successfully pass all the three levels of exam and fulfil work experience requirements to become a CFA charterholder. Passing the CFA exam is no easy task. Employers feel confident that CFA charterholders are serious and committed professionals with ethics, analytical skills, rigor, and tenacity.

CFA Exam Draws Record 139,900 as Asia Applicants Increase 12 Percent
02 June 2010
Bloomberg

Wake Up, Smell the Coffee - It's All About Dividends; and Companies with Higher Yields Provide, on Average, Far Better Total Returns to Investors
01 June 2010
The Globe and Mail

In a 2002 article in the Financial Analysts Journal, entitled Dividends and the Three Dwarfs, Robert Arnott analyzed returns on U.S. stocks from 1802 to 2002. The total return during this period was 7.8 per cent a year. Of this, 5 per cent – 64 per cent of the total – represented the return from dividends.

Why One Expert Thinks Stocks Are a Safer Haven Than Bonds
01 June 2010
Marketwatch

Davis said recently that bonds are an emerging bubble, destined for a fall over the next decade, just as investors have been throwing virtually all of their available cash into bonds to sidestep the pain in the stock market.
Speaking at the CFA Institute annual meeting, he said "the only real bubble in the world is bonds. ... When you look out over a 10-year period, people are going to get killed."

Enrolments Up Despite Downturn
08 May 2010
Classified Post - South China Morning Post

Excerpt: "We expected candidate numbers to fall through a lack of support from employers or as people lost their jobs, but they didn't," says Dr Ashvin Vibhakar, the CFA Institute's managing director, Asia-Pacific. "The number of candidates joining the programme has actually been growing for the past 10 years." With more than 10,000 candidates registered to take their exams in June, Hong Kong has the third largest participant numbers in Asia-Pacific. The mainland has the largest number of participants in the region with more than more 22,000 exam registrations. Worldwide, the CFA Institute has almost 100,000 members, including 4,200 fully qualified CFA charter holders in Hong Kong.

University of the Philippines Wins CFA Global Investment Research Challenge
19 April 2010
The Asset

The University of the Philippines has won the fourth annual CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge (IRC), the worldwide competition that provides university students with unparalleled real world experience in equity research and company analysis.

Three Levels of Trust When Choosing an Advisor
18 March 2010
Morningstar.ca

Excerpt: For a list of questions to ask yourself before seeking an advisor, visit the Investor Education section of the CFA Institute website. Tom Collimore, CFA, director of investor education at CFA Institute, contributed to this article. Margaret Franklin, CFA, is vice-chair of the CFA Institute board of governors.

Cottonmouths: Barlow Planning Next Career in Finance
18 March 2010
GA Ledger Enquirer

Excerpt: The Oakville, Ontario, native is busy studying for the Chartered Financial Analyst Exam. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, and this rigorous course of study is a long process. “You have to pass three levels over three years,” Barlow said. “You take three self-study exams and study for six months each time. There are seven textbooks for this one. I spend a lot of time in the library studying.” Varied career opportunities await Barlow upon completion of the graduate degree, including banking, investing and accounting. Right now, Barlow is concentrating on preparation for the first test.

Proxy Plan Roils Talks on Finance Rules
17 March 2010
Wall Street Journal

Excerpt: Kurt Schacht, managing director at CFA Institute, an association for investment professionals that supports the idea, said, "The important test for lawmakers will be whether they can hold the line for these important investor protections. We expect that banking and other special interests will do their level best to strip many of these important protections from the final bill."

CFA Challenge
17 March 2010
HT Horizons (Hindustan Times)

Excerpt: The CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge is provides an opportunity for university students, investment industry professionals, publicly traded companies and corporate sponsors to jointly promote the best practices in equity research and company analysis.  Additionally, all participants are introduced and held to the standard of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and tandards of Professional Conduct.

“Liability-Driven Investing” Scores with Wealthy Clients
16 March 2010
Family Wealth Report

Excerpt: Liability-driven investing works best for investors in the $500,000 to $10 million range, said Larry Siegel, research director at the CFA Institute’s Research Foundation, in an interview with Barron’s last summer.

CFA Institute Applauds Regulatory Reform Bill
16 March 2010
Silobreaker

Excerpt: The CFA Institute said on Tuesday that it strongly supports many of the items contained in the financial industry regulatory reform bill proposed by the chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Chris Dodd. However, the CFA Institute warned that the financial industry, and other lobbyists, will inevitably try to water down some of the provisions contained in the bill.

CFA Institute Supports U.S. Reform Bill
16 March 2010
Advisor.ca

Excerpt: "Having a properly structured oversight body for systemic risk is critical," says Kurt Schacht, managing director at CFA Institute, a leading voice on investor issues. "In our view, confidence in the U.S. markets can be greatly improved by having the right combination of expertise and authority for effective detection, mitigation, and resolution of systemic risk problems."

RP Beats 15 Countries in CFA’s Investment Research Challenge
16 March 2010
Malaya

Excerpt: Team CFA Philippines from the University of the Philippines won this year’s Asia Pacific Regional Investment Research Challenge (IRC) hosted by the Chartered Finance Analysts (CFA) Society of the Philippines, which was held recently at the Marriott Hotel Manila.

UR Team to Compete in Investment Contest
16 March 2010
Richmond Times Dispatch

Excerpt: The team won the statewide competition. The contest is part of the annual CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge, in which undergraduate and graduate business school students compete in international stock research and analysis.

CFA Institute Offers “Strong Support” for Key Items in Senate Bill
16 March 2010
Securities Industry News

Excerpt: The CFA Institute, the association that administers the CFA exam program worldwide, said today that it supports critical areas of the new Senate Banking Committee bill on financial regulatory reform. 

Long Wait for Family Office Work
15 March 2010
Family Wealth Report

Excerpt: “In a post-Madoff world there is increasingly long due diligence,” said Mr. Handler, addressing the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute’s 2010 Wealth Management Conference in Phoenix yesterday.

Investing, Business Performance, Return: Analyzing for Results
14 March 2010
bizzXceleration

Excerpt: The emphasis on asset allocation is also good news for investment advisers and brokers, because it gives them something to do. An analyst can charge a lot for recommending an allocation between different funds, if that is really what accounts for 90 per cent of returns. It is harder to justify a fee if performance has more to do with the decisions by fund managers when they pick stocks. Now, it seems that that conventional wisdom is changing. Another article in the Financial Analysts Journal suggests the earlier finding has been misinterpreted. Instead, Roger Ibbotson suggests the components of return should be divided into three: asset allocation and stock selection, plus market movement. Once this third factor is taken into account, the other two factors turn out to be about equal – and moves in the overall market are far more important than either.

Equity Asset Valuation
13 March 2010
invest4living.co.cc

Excerpt: Second Edition of Equity Asset Valuation, the distinguished team of Jerald Pinto, Elaine Henry, Thomas Robinson, and John Stowe - It is an extremely important reference book because I am preparing for CFA Level II exam. I’ve found the book an introductory one to illustrate basic concept in investment industry. Anyone who wants to enter the investment banks, mutual funds, asset management corps. should have this book in hand. I strongly recommend it to all candidates on the road to getting CFA charter, and other practitioners in investment field may also find it helpful.