Alumni
In today's ultra-competitive environment, a CFA charter can really help to set your resume apart
By Anthony M. Novara (BA '04), General Investment Analyst, Private Client Group, National City, Cleveland, Ohio
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| Anthony Novara |
"After my FI 311 professor Elizabeth Booth brought the CFA designation to my attention with a couple of overhead slides at the end of a class lecture, I was curious about the designation and decided to do some online research. I quickly concluded that this program is the gold standard in investment management designations.
"My interest was encouraged when I started my internship with the State of Michigan Retirement Systems and noticed many of the analysts either had the designation, or were currently candidates in the program. After viewing a colleague's Level 1 curriculum, I felt confident I could pass, and enrolled for the exam. The curriculum had a lot of overlap with many classes I had already taken, or would take in the future.
"However, studying for the test was no easy task. During the six months I studied for Level 1, I also juggled four classes, an internship, and three extracurricular activities. Despite so many time constraints, I somehow managed to enjoy the social aspect of my senior year.
"I passed the test and my initiative in taking the test early showed potential employers that I was serious about the profession. It was also a great example of being able to multi-task, which is essential not only in the financial industry, but virtually all industries. It speaks well for Michigan State and the Broad School that the courses I took prepared me enough to walk into the exam room as a 21 year old and not be intimidated that the overwhelming majority of the candidates were five to fifteen years older than I was.
"I ended up getting the position I wanted in buy-side equity research due to a great internship and successfully passing Level 1. Taking the exam as young as I did was a really worthwhile experience, and in today's ultra-competitive environment, it can really help to set your resume apart.
"I have subsequently passed Level II and will sit for Level III in June. Working a demanding job and studying is no easier task than when I was a student preparing for Level I, but it is well worth the effort. I look forward to the day when I can put the letters 'CFA' after my name!"
Finance board member continues commitment to student success
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| Patrick Sahm |
Profile: Patrick Sahm, CFA (MBA'04), Manager of Investments, Denison University, Granville, Ohio
Patrick Sahm, recognizes what it takes to launch a career in finance: ambition, a good education and professional credentials. In fact, when he started in the Broad School's Full-Time MBA program in 2002, he already had passed two of the three exams in the rigorous Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program.
Now manager of investments for Denison University and a member of the Broad School's Finance Advisory Board, Sahm says he chose the Broad School for his MBA because of its small size. "I knew students would get more attention from the professors in a small program," he says.
"At the time I started, the Financial Analysis Laboratory had just opened and the MSU Foundation had just set up the Student Investment Fund for students to manage." With the help of Helen Dashney, who was then director of the MBA career services center (now director of corporate academic relations), he also had an opportunity to intern with the MSU Foundation and with Iowa State University's investment office.
Sahm continued to work toward his CFA charter even while he was attending MBA classes, and he encouraged other students to do the same. "The CFA designation for investment professionals is much like the CPA for accountants. It is recognized all over the world as a standard of fundamental knowledge of investment principles." A group of students worked with Geoffrey Booth, Frederick S. Addy Distinguished Chair in Finance, to obtain CFA study materials for the library and to identify finance curriculum in which there was significant overlap with the CFA candidate body of knowledge. "We were able to recommend to our peers which courses they should take in order to help them prepare for the exams," explains Sahm.
Not surprisingly, when Booth invited Sahm to be a member of the Finance Advisory Board, Sahm became a strong proponent for establishing the CFA Program Partners for finance undergraduates. "Earning your CFA takes such a total commitment," explains Sahm, "that by the time you are done, you really believe in it. I find myself proselytizing for the program."