Welcome to CareerCast and hello from Shanghai, where we were pleased to meet Mr Zhong, the CEO of North Asia at Amundi Asset Management. Find out why time spent working overseas is incredibly useful for those seeking roles in China’s asset management industry. In particular, it provides candidates with the bigger picture – a series of reference points that helps them see things from a global perspective. Also, learn about the importance of tenacity in today’s employment market: focus on your strengths and, most of all, persevere. These are attributes that will underpin any career in China’s game-changing financial sector. 

Discover why CFA charterholders are so prevalent in fund management as we sit down with Patrick Nugent, of Debbie Graham & Associates, a specialist banking and finance recruitment agency in New Zealand. Patrick shares some insider tips (including what not to do) on how to break into this increasingly competitive market. For those of you who are unsure about which financial career path to follow, Patrick also provides valuable advice on how to ‘reality test’ the most suitable roles.

This week’s episode of CareerCast comes from Melbourne, where we chat with independent board member and investment consultant Phil Graham, CFA. Find out why Phil believes that changing demographics are driving employment growth in Australia’s world-leading financial sector. He also highlights that job opportunities in this essential industry are more varied than you might think. And for those looking to advance their careers, Phil provides sound advice on growing and strengthening your network.

Welcome to CareerCast, where we are delighted to catch up with Paul Smith, CFA, immediate past President and CEO of CFA Institute from 2015–2019 and now an adviser to our organisation. In this podcast, Paul provides an overview of the investment industry and looks at how the career landscape is changing. He notes that the big players are getting bigger, while the smaller firms will have to carve out a niche in the market – all while the nature of the people's roles are constantly developing. Underlining a recurring theme, he observes that new entrants cannot rely on their technical skills alone: they must also be human facing with the ability to communicate.

Turning to Asia Pacific and Paul elaborates on the incredible opportunities in the region. Paul touches on how financial technology will change jobs. It’s certainly not a threat, but a tool that enables people to work far more effectively. Indeed, he believes that it’s the single-best thing to happen in the past 50 years.

In this week’s episode Sam Stubbs, Founder and Managing Director of Simplicity, a not for profit fund manager in New Zealand directly challenges the status quo of the investment industry and talks about his vision of low-cost access to funds and how career success can be found in stocking supermarket shelves

In this episode, we are joined by Nick Pollard, Managing Director of Asia-Pacific at CFA Institute, who examines the differences between two regional financial powerhouses – Singapore and Hong Kong SAR. In particular, he looks at what their respective experiences tell us about the changing career environment in the wealth-management industry as companies are increasingly looking for people with a broad skill set who demonstrate technical, relationship-building and client-facing abilities.

Later on in the interview, Nick weighs up the key challenges facing companies and financial professionals who want to establish themselves in China, and whether the growth of fintech there is seen as a threat or an opportunity.

This week’s edition of CareerCast by CFA Institute comes from Sydney where we catch up with Charles Wu, CFA, the Deputy Chief Investment Officer of State Super. Charles touches on two areas of interest for those seeking a career in the financial industry. First, he notes that the job outlook for Australia is indeed sunny, with various pockets of opportunity. These include the U$2.7 trillion superannuation/institutional industry, where the trend towards insourcing is underpinning job opportunities; and wealth management/financial planning, which is enjoying significant capital flows between the northern and southern hemispheres.

He then elaborates on the mindset he believes is required to build a meaningful career. The knack, he thinks, it to see the big picture – have a broad idea about what you want to do but be prepared to fine tune the details as life progresses. Importantly, be flexible enough to move sideways if required. And, of course, it helps to have an open and curious mind. Lastly, Charles offers some sound advice on the interview process – always remember, it’s a two-way street.

In this episode, we have a chat with Jason Lee, CFA from Libra Invest, a Malaysian fund management firm with US$2 billion in assets under management. Jason tells us about his unorthodox career journey, which has taken him from equity analyst to the CIO of Libra.

Hear about Jason’s views on the essential attributes he looks for in entry-level hires and how you can stand out from the crowd – plus, what causes him to disregard a job candidate. Finally, he gives his thoughts on the changing industry landscape, including the threats active fund management faces from developments such as passive vehicles and automation.