Editor: How did you first hear about the CFA Program?

Vassiliades: While I was studying for my postgraduate degree at the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Centre, I heard about the CFA designation from my colleagues, tutors, and other professionals at the Centre. I researched the CFA Program on the Internet and found that the program met my expectations as far as giving me the background to help me begin a career in the financial services sector, which was the career path that I planned to follow at the beginning of my studies in 1995.

Editor: Can you remember any particular strategies or tactics that got you through the three CFA exams?

Vassiliades: The strategy I followed to get through all three CFA exams was very simple. My time was very limited, and I was studying by myself, so I had to make a good plan of study and strictly follow it.

My advice to CFA candidates is to order your books well in advance, divide your time until the examination into weeks, assign to each week a specific study session, leave at least one month before the exam for revision, start with the topics that you are most familiar with, change a topic every week or two, change the type of topic (i.e., theoretical or computational) every week or two, and finally, try to understand what you are studying rather than memorizing.

The above recipe got me through all three levels of the CFA Program—passing each level consecutively— and I believe that it is a successful strategy that all CFA candidates could follow.

Editor: For someone considering the CFA Program, what can you offer as the most compelling reason to pursue the CFA charter?

Vassiliades: Pursuing the CFA charter helps you to understand how the broad area of finance is interlinked with other related subjects like management, economics, accounting, and so on. Once you are awarded the CFA charter, you are able to capitalize on that broad knowledge in finance. At the end of the day, the CFA charter is the highest professional qualification one can achieve in the financial services industry that has international recognition.

Editor: Please briefly describe your position with ICFI (Cyprus) Ltd.

Vassiliades: I recently joined ICFI (Cyprus) Ltd, an approved Cypriot Investment Firm regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, as chief financial services manager of the company. My main duties and responsibilities include supervising and controlling all financial services department managers and related units, helping in the formulation and oversight of the corporate strategy of the company, and assisting with the general management of the company as well as with staff training and development.

Editor: What are the fun and interesting parts of your job?

Vassiliades: The interesting part of my job is the close cooperation I have with all the employees at all levels of the company, whether their position is administrative or professional. It is very important to have people around you that you trust and that trust you and that understand your way of thinking. We allow our staff to freely express their ideas and make suggestions about the company; we even go so far as to create small teams within the company to research specific issues.

Editor: What did you learn from the CFA Program that you would not have learned any place else?

Vassiliades: The CFA Program does not allow you to be weak in any major subject of its curriculum. The CFA Program is like a chain, and a weak link in the chain will force the chain to break. This is unlike other professional qualifications that may allow you to earn a professional designation by passing individual subjects/papers with a marginal score or by choosing to study only the subjects/papers that you know you will pass.

Editor: How is the CFA designation perceived in Cyprus?

Vassiliades: The CFA Society of Cyprus has helped employers, professionals, authorities, and investors in Cyprus become more aware of the CFA designation through various events that it has organized. It is a great success to not only have CFA charterholders in most of the Cypriot Investment Firms but to also have charterholders holding key positions in those firms. Now, Cypriot Investment Firms and financial services authorities list the CFA designation as a requirement or as an advantage in their job descriptions, where in the past that wasn’t the case.

Editor: What is the most important thing you’ve gained from the experience of being a board member of the CFA Society of Cyprus?

Vassiliades: As a board member, I was given the chance to attend this year’s CFA Institute Society Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, where I met many people with similar interests, most of them working in the same industry but in a different country. It was a great opportunity to share experiences and thoughts on local society or industry matters. Furthermore, as a board member I was able to share my thoughts and ideas with the other board members about public awareness strategy and event planning as well as to meet people that I would never have had a chance to meet otherwise.

Editor: CFA Institute members who hold the CFA charter often speak of the connections or networking opportunities that open up once they earn the designation. Do you have any personal experience to illustrate this?

Vassiliades: The connections and networking opportunities are unlimited for CFA charterholders, especially if they attend their local society and CFA Institute events.