{"id":26491,"date":"2016-03-24T10:25:59","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T14:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=26491"},"modified":"2021-11-08T10:28:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T15:28:08","slug":"opportunity-in-the-field-panelists-talk-to-fiu-business-students-about-finance-careers-and-the-cfa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2016\/03\/opportunity-in-the-field-panelists-talk-to-fiu-business-students-about-finance-careers-and-the-cfa\/","title":{"rendered":"Opportunity in the field: panelists talk to FIU Business students about finance careers and the CFA."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Opportunity<\/p>\n

For many young business professionals, deciding to sit for the all-encompassing Chartered Financial Analyst exam may seem like volunteering to wrestle a bear.<\/p>\n

Still, as panelists from the CFA Society Miami explained to a room filled with Florida International University (FIU) College of Business students, the test yields a top-notch credential while reinforcing knowledge acquired in school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe process is unlike anything you\u2019ve done before,\u201d said panelist Christopher Lentz, managing director of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group. \u201cThe depth and breadth of information is staggering. Those who have it know what you\u2019ve been through to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His message was echoed by panel colleagues Marcel G.\u00a0Laniado, vice president and investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Miami; Duncan T. Blount, responsible for Emerging and Frontier Markets Commodities at RWC Partners; and Lynn Herald, wealth management advisor at TIAA. Moira McLachlan, senior portfolio manager, Bernstein Global Wealth Management, moderated the March 2, 2016 event held at FIU Downtown on Brickell.<\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s presentation was the first partnership between FIU\u2019s Master of Science in Finance program and Miami\u2019s CFA society. It gave students a chance to hear about the panelists\u2019 experiences, and network with them and CFA Society Miami board members before and after the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always encourage (students to sit for) the CFA,\u201d said Shahid Hamid, professor and chair, FIU College of Business\u2019 Finance Department and a society member since the 90s. \u201cIt covers everything: accounting, different areas of finance, economics, statistics.\u201d It\u2019s the field\u2019s most difficult certification, he said, and translates into a big professional step up.<\/p>\n

\"Opportunity<\/p>\n

Certification helps professionals get what they need.<\/em><\/p>\n

McLachlan asked panelists about their work and how luck and opportunity factored into their journeys. Each participant had their own story. But all showed persistence in identifying and pursuing their goals.<\/p>\n

Lentz\u2019s father was a banker, and he felt that might be his direction as well. Still, he said, he wasn\u2019t inspired by today\u2019s data-heavy practice. Lehman Brothers gave him his first taste of commercial real estate. After its bankruptcy, he worked at Lazard, earned an MBA and sat for the CFA exam. Eventually, he decided Miami offered more opportunities than New York or other East Coast cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cReal estate is a tangible asset, I understand it well from Lehman,\u201d Lentz said. \u201cI knew it suited my skills well, and I was confident that my work was worth more than what anybody would pay me \u2013 working on commission suited me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He signed with Ackman-Ziff because he hit it off with Principal Robert Kaplan. \u201cI knew my mentor was going to be an impressive individual and I knew I would learn the most from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Laniado, \u201cwhat helped me was constantly evaluating myself,\u201d he said, giving as an example his decision\u00a0to improve his knowledge by staying abreast of current events and new market trends. “I also worked to see things from the perspective of my clients so that I could better identify opportunities or potential issues.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat experience was pivotal?\u201d McLachlan asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the hard skills,\u201d Blount said. \u201cWorking on models 24 hours a day (as he did early in his career as a first and second year analyst) you don\u2019t sleep.\u201d And, he added, you will \u201clearn Excel \u201cbetter than you speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lentz also cautioned students that the CFA \u2013 and a career — is a long race. \u201cDon\u2019t be frustrated where you currently are, learn as much as possible.\u201d Along the way, find mentors who invest in you, he said: \u201cThat is really what shaped my career the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student attendees were happy with the panelists\u2019 openness on a difficult professional challenge. \u201cFIU is highly committed to providing students and alumni the greatest networking opportunities — through different sources — that help us achieve our professional and personal goals,\u201d said Claudia Rubio, who is earning a master\u2019s in finance and already has an international real estate master\u2019s obtained at FIU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many young business professionals, deciding to sit for the all-encompassing Chartered Financial Analyst exam may seem like volunteering to wrestle a bear. Still, as panelists from the CFA Society Miami explained to a room filled with Florida International University (FIU) College of Business students, the test yields a top-notch credential while reinforcing knowledge acquired […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":26495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[4237,4236,3995,619,1808,1952,3998,2412],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26491"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36191,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26491\/revisions\/36191"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}