Voice of Volunteers Mengxi Yu

Voice of CFA Charterholders

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Leveraging insights from the CFA Program for further career development
Global Asset Management Firm
Equity Research Associate
Mengxi Yu, CFA
Earned the CFA charter in 2017
CFA® charter: a token of trust in early career stages

I became a CFA® charterholder in 2017, as I was entering my second year of work as an analyst. During that time, my main tasks were to organize interviews with our client’s board of directors and to evaluate and analyze their financial risk in order to provide investment counsel. I decided to earn the CFA charter as the first achievement in my career, with the objective of gaining more trust from clients while I am still in my twenties. I was working for a securities firm at the time, and it was also a way to show my motivation within the company.

Leveraging insights from the CFA Program for further career development

It was clearly visible how the word "CFA charterholder" written on a business card changed the way I was seen by my interlocutors; it would trigger conversations on its own. Besides being one of the top distinctions in the finance industry, the CFA charter also greatly helps in my day-to-day activities, providing a knowledge in finance that can be directly applied within various parts of my work. Furthermore, I believe that the expanded network available within CFA Society Japan has a positive impact in the long term, enabling many charterholders to discover new career development opportunities.

The give and take spirit: giving back to the community

Among the initiatives led by CFA Society Japan, the study groups and research challenge are directly open to volunteers. As the CFA charter opened my eyes to the career path I want to pursue for the following 30 years, I wanted to give back to the community, sharing my knowledge as a charterholder and as a finance professional, so I actively started to participate in the study groups.

I also started to participate in the CFA Institute Research Challenge, hosted by CFA Society Japan. The event is an annual global competition where university students test their analytical and valuation skills on a company to create a report. I joined as a grader, after having worked as management staff the previous year, an experience that has also proven useful in my work. In the future, I would like to pursue the review of grading and support policies in order to help improve the results from the teams in Japan.

A competitive advantage in the workforce

I would recommend for people who are even slightly interested in finance to start by joining events from CFA Society Japan. Serving as a gateway to the industry, the CFA charter comes as a decisive advantage and a clear competitive asset for anyone wishing to pursue a career in finance.

● What is the CFA Institute Research Challenge?

A financial analysis competition for university undergraduate and postgraduate students that comprises of Japan and Asia Pacific regional qualifying competitions before a final global competition.
Taking place completely in English, 2018’s Japan qualifying competition was contested by 19 teams from leading universities. The winners were the team from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. It’s a large event which involves many volunteers.

To know more about CFA charter
A global certification in the finance industry
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A certification for investment professionals
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The certification with the largest number of applicants
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Interview
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PIMCO Japan Ltd
Senior Vice President, Account Manager,
and Product Manager
Earned the CFA charter in 2017
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PIFA Partners, Inc
Director
Earned the CFA charter in 2003
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SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.
NBA Research/Regional Financial Institution and Corporate Business Promotion
Earned the CFA charter in 2018
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Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory LLC
Vice President
Earned the CFA charter in 2012
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IHS Markit Japan GK
Assistant Vice President, Portfolio Valuation
Earned the CFA charter in 2016
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Global Asset Management Firm
Equity Research Associate
Earned the CFA charter in 2017