ne of the first things a visitor notices upon entering the office of Boston-based investment management firm Standish Mellon Asset Management is the striking display of CFA charters hanging side by side in the fixed-income trading area. Upstairs, charters also are on display for the equity trading group. Instead of relegating employees’ CFA charters to corners of their individual offices, Standish Mellon trumpets the accomplishments of its staff members through four walls of charters — just one example of how the firm actively encourages its employees to excel.

      Increasing confidence among clients is one reason for the walls of charters at Standish Mellon. “We are completely organized and focused on the client,” says Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager of Domestic Fixed Income George Noyes, CFA. “We talk to our clients about the CFA charter. We are trying to do everything right. In a sense, the CFA charter is part of our corporate fabric at Standish Mellon.”
      Indeed, out of 107 investment professionals on staff at the firm, 71 are charterholders and another 26 are currently registered for the CFA Program. “We have a high density of CFA charterholders among our professional staff,” says Noyes. “We don’t twist anybody’s arm in terms of getting the charter, it’s just that the younger staff feel that this is an absolute necessity.”
      While Noyes modestly downplays his firm’s role in encouraging employees to become charterholders, he does admit that the charter influences hiring decisions. “If someone were interested in working at Standish Mellon and they did not have the CFA Program on the radar screen — if they hadn’t taken Level I or II — they probably wouldn’t get in the door,” he says. “Our advertisements say something like ‘CFA charter highly desirable,’ and we mean that.”
      Standish Mellon invests a great deal in all of its employees, especially those registered for the CFA Program. “We pay for almost everything, from fees and books to one review course per level,” says Noyes. “The world of finance is incredibly specialized, so we view the CFA Program as an important way to broaden our employees’ educational experience.”
      A broadening that has helped Standish Mellon attain one of the highest employee retention rates in the industry. “Our firm tries to keep employees for a very long period of time,” said Noyes. “We have almost no employee turnover. We try to revolve employees throughout different areas of the firm and different assignments to keep them interested and learning, and frankly the CFA charter paves the way and employees know that.”
      With 26 CFA candidates on staff at Standish Mellon, the CFA examination understandably creates quite a stir at the firm each June. “I think that almost everyone views this as a rite of passage,” says Noyes. “An awful lot of teamwork goes into the preparation and the discussion. Not to put too much pressure on people, but it's a big firm event.”
      Given the large size of each CFA charter and the fact that soon more than 100 will be on display, does Noyes ever worry that Standish Mellon will run out of wall space? “Yes, but our employees like to have their charters up on the wall with everybody else, so we will spare no expense in symbolizing our firm’s commitment to the CFA culture of professionalism,” he said. “Besides, it looks great and the clients love to see them.”