Will Goodhart - CEO, CFA UK
As the academic year restarts and we all come back from holiday, it is unsurprising that many of us think about taking a course and sharpening our skills. Perhaps the summer break has reminded us of an ambition or caused us to reflect on our career progress – either way, many of us will spend some time in the next few weeks figuring out what we want to do and how we want to do it. The best of us probably already have this discipline as part of a regular routine, but for me at least the summer break provides the necessary pause for reflection and realisation.
Something that doesn’t take much realisation is that the investment world is changing fast – much faster than before – in the face of regulatory and commercial pressures and as a consequence of technological and societal change. That’s an elaborate way of saying that profitability is coming down and that behavioural finance, fintech and ESG/Impact investing are becoming increasingly important. These themes appear set to persist.
As has been the case in other sectors, the lifespan of investment businesses will likely shorten with the market splitting between scale and niche players. We all need to think about where we best fit in this changing world. We also owe it to ourselves to identify the skills and behaviours that we’ll need to navigate a career journey that will see more frequent, but shorter stops along the way.
To be successful, an investment professional will need:
• To be well-informed about growing business areas
• A network to help them identify the right opportunities early
• The right blend of technical and soft skills to present to an employer
• A pro-active attitude about targeting the organisations and roles that will be right for them
CFA UK can’t help you have the right attitude, but we can help you to understand the market, make the right connections and build your skills. Please look out for the information, inspiration and more on LinkedIn during September. If you aren’t already following us, please do. If you are following us, please spread the word - by sharing content you find interesting with your social network and helping others to learn how they can also invest in their career.
