ining with Alida Carcano, CFA, is a culinary experience to be savored. Contrary to her spontaneous nature, she meticulously orchestrates every detail of her meals. Like a symphony, each course complements the next and, most importantly, the wine brings everything together in perfect harmony. And while wine and investing may seem worlds apart, Ms. Carcano, who is a director at Credit Suisse Private Banking in Lugano, Switzerland, draws an astute analogy between two of her greatest passions.

      “When you select a wine, it’s important that it’s suitable to your food. Otherwise you risk wasting a good bottle of wine,” she said. “Similarly, in the investment field, when you recommend an investment for a client — even if it’s a good investment — you must be certain that it matches your client’s needs.” This philosophy has served Ms. Carcano — and her clients — well. In fact, her desire to better understand the people for whom she is investing is what she finds most gratifying about working in private banking.
      Suprisingly, Ms. Carcano nearly chose another career path. After completing school in her hometown of Como in northern Italy, Ms. Carcano planned to study philosophy at university. Intrigued after taking an economics course when she was 17, she decided to study business instead.
      Upon graduation from L. Bocconi University in Milan, Italy in 1989, Ms. Carcano began working at the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in Zurich. For the next two years, she went through a training program where she rotated through different departments, including corporate finance, investment analysis, and fund management. During this initiation period, Ms. Carcano’s colleagues introduced her to the CFA Program, in which she enrolled in 1992, the same year she became a financial analyst at UBS.
      By 1995, after dividing her time between the bank’s Zurich and London offices, Ms. Carcano had grown homesick for her Italian traditions. Coupled with her homesickness was a gut instinct that the investment industry in Italy was about to explode.
       “Italy was keen on joining the European Union, but many people thought that the country would not be able to because of the huge public deficit,” said Ms. Carcano. “At that time, most people in Italy were investing in treasuries; the equity market was crowded out by the treasury market. I anticipated that people would begin buying into equities and that a new industry would develop — managing investment funds.” Ultimately, Italy rebounded from its deficit, the country joined the EU and, as Ms. Carcano predicted, the equity market skyrocketed.
      Ms. Carcano began her return to Italy by way of Lombard Odier & Cie in Lugano, Switzerland as a portfolio manager for private clients. In 1997, she decided to pursue an opportunity at Credit Suisse [Italy] in Milan, where she went to work as head of portfolio management for high-net-worth individuals. After two years there, Ms. Carcano was asked to head the bank’s Private Banking Investment Division in Lugano, Switzerland, an assignment she gratefully accepted and still holds today, even though it necessitated her leaving Italy’s financial capital.
      In addition to her demanding career, Ms. Carcano has served on AIMR’s Private Client Task Force, on the CFA Program’s Candidate Curriculum Committee, as a Society Presidents Council Representative, and as a CFA exam grader — activities that were driven by her ardent belief in the CFA Program. Currently, Ms. Carcano is a member of AIMR’s Continuing Education committee.
      Interestingly, what Ms. Carcano values most about the CFA Program are those aspects of investment management that she does not necessarily encounter in everyday practice. “I definitely like equities more than bonds,” she said, “but in the CFA Program, I found the fixed-income part of the program to be even more interesting than the equity part. Although I do not have to deal with it in daily business, I can appreciate the influence that it has on equities. The CFA Program was my only opportunity for that exposure. And although I don’t remember everything I learned going through the program, at least I have a clue about all areas of investment management, and if I have a question, I know where to go to find the answer.”
      In addition to her contributions to the CFA Program, in 1996, Ms. Carcano co-founded with AIMR governor Amaury Jordan, CFA, and others, the Swiss Society of Investment Professionals — the first AIMR Member Society in Europe. “Networking is so important in our industry,” said Ms. Carcano, “so when Amaury asked me if I’d be interested in volunteering, I said, ‘yes’.” That enthusiasm followed Ms. Carcano to Milan where, in 1999, she co-founded the Italian Society of Investment Professionals, serving as its president from inception.
      While Ms. Carcano now calls Lugano her home, she never misses an opportunity to visit Milan. In fact, following my interview with her, she encouraged me to take the train to Milan for the evening. I heeded her advice and boarded the next train. Once in Milan, I walked the streets and visited a number of interesting shops. As I perused the extensive wine selection at a wine shop and became increasingly overwhelmed by the choices before me, I began to gain a greater appreciation for Ms. Carcano’s expertise … and wished that she were there to help me select a bottle.