Enter the Final Frontier.

So you’ve fought hard and won your way through two major battles (Level I and II) and you are almost there.

Except that you’ve one more battle before you win the war.

Level III is a weird level.

How weird? To find out more I talked to three Level III candidates- Mark Gadalla, Vikas Gupta and Margarita Chirukova. Listen as we have a frank and detailed talk on, inter alia, the lessons from Level I and II, the unique challenges of Level III, study strategies and how to stay motivated. A must listen episode if you are writing the final level of the grueling CFA program.

Attention CFA exam takers – this episode is for YOU!

Level II is probably the most feared level in the program. I still vividly remember my Level II journey (I almost didn’t make it!).

How hard is it these days? Better to hear from the horse’s mouth. So I

interviewed Samina Burhani and Ameen Saada, two Level II candidates who I like a lot and who are also my students. We cover, inter alia, the lessons from Level I, the unique challenges of Level II and of course, their solutions. I hope you pick up some tips.

Listen, learn, grow.

Wow RFM has now reached its 10th episode! So, I decided to make this special. Because you’ve to make an exception for exceptional people. Alan Mathew and Priyanka Awatramani are fresh graduates who have zero work experience. So why on the RFM? Because they recently nailed something noteworthy. Remarkably mature and resilient for their young age, they were part of the amazing Middlesex Uni Dubai team that won the UAE version of the 2020 CFA Investment Research Challenge, a project that Yours Truly managed. They even made to the EMEA finals, the first EVER team from the UAE to do so and one of the 8 teams (out of 45 from all of Europe, Middle East and Africa) to make it…. read the full transcript at www.therealfinancementor.com

Ok, so we cover a lot in today’s episode #6 of RFM because I am talking to someone who has achieved a lot at the young age of 28.

Surabhi Chauhan is an asset manager based in Mumbai, a role she reached after experiencing the realms of equity research, private banking and investment banking.

We, of course, talk about how to crack CFA despite a hectic work schedule and how the qualification has helped her. Then, we talk about careers. India is a big but tough market and she shares her hard-earned tips for success in all the four areas she’s worked in. Mentoring is invaluable in shaping a career and we talk about how she picked a mentor and what she learnt. Women in finance have always faced challenges; she is explicit about these, but we also talks about how she’s successfully tackled them.

Before I let her go… Surabhi shares her top three career lessons.

SO MANY EXPERIENCES. SO MANY TIPS. Listen, learn, grow.

Learn more www.therealfinancementor.com

Interviews in comfy five-star hotel rooms can make the toughest guest open up! Like this one which is probably my longest yet.

Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? What are the three skills that many youngsters in finance don’t have yet are essential? Why is it essential that a CFA charter holder or CA should have at least a basic idea of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning? How is AI/ML transforming private banking? How does one get over the fear of public speaking? Why is that one skill that can save you in tough times in any company?

All these and more are answered in my sit down with Vaibhav Jain CFA. From analyst to investment banker to private banker, he’s learnt a lot (and is still learning!) and is full of insights.

Listen, learn, and grow. Learn more www.therealfinancementor.com

From humble beginnings in a small town to massive steel stockyards to banking IT project management to the heart of Investment Banking in London and now back home making an impact in education with CFA Institute, our next guest has gone through a LOT.

How does being an engineer change your way of thinking? What can a MBA from a top global school teach you? How do you jump from IT to IB? How IS it working in investment banking in the City? How do you survive an onslaught of layoffs? Why quit corporate life when you are doing so well? What are the issues holding back youngsters in finance, particularly women? Why should you learn to spiral bind (!!) documents?

All this and more on this episode with Amit Chakrabarty.

I pick my guests because they have a unique story to tell. And this is yet another saga. Listen. Learn. Grow.

At The Real Finance Mentor, we will continue bringing you interesting stories and insights from some of the most experienced people in thE CFA SPACE.

In episode #4 of our podcast, we have Femina Huddani.

I have huge respect for working women who succeed despite multiple challenges. And this lady has reached where most CFA students aspire to be; a portfolio manager! 

Femina left India for the US when she was a teenager. She competed her degree, fought biases, got into research, transplanted to the UAE, struggled her way to the top and oh yes raised a family and nailed the CFA charter along the way. Classic narrative of sheer ambition and persistence, a story I’ve seen at close range for a decade. 

Listen and be inspired.

Head to www.TheRealFinanceMentor.com to learn more.

We are back with Episode #3 of The Real Finance Mentor podcast by Binod Shankar. In this episode, we chat with Mr. Biharilal Deora, otherwise known universally as ‘BD’. BD is someone you must listen to.

Chartered accountant. CFA charter holder. Credit analyst. Private banker. Academic. Mentor. Asset manager. CFA board member. I’ve known him for nearly a decade. BD is super versatile and very clear in his thinking and he has an authentic and compelling story to tell, full of practical, valuable tips.

Anyone planning a career in finance will benefit enormously from this episode. Listen. Learn. Grow.

Ready for Episode #2 of The Real Finance Mentor podcast? Let;s do things a bit different this time. No, this episode isn’t directly about finance or CFA, BUT you better listen if you’re in finance! 

Mira was an indifferent student who somehow wandered into hospitality. She’s now an expert in the psychology of work and is a respected behavioral facilitator and coach to a wide range of executives from junior to middle to senior  management to senior across multiple nationalities. 

In this episode, she talks with clarity and conviction on some critical topics such as how to find your passion, mentoring, the folly of badge collection, the importance of resilience and a growth mindset,  the soft skills that really count and more. 

Head to www.TheRealFinanceMentor.com to learn more

Presenting to you Episode 1 of The Real Finance Mentor podcast by Binod Shankar. In this episode we have Karishma Bhatia.

Karishma is a girl who has tons of grit. She’s a CFA charter holder, a working mom and a finance professional.

But those are not the only reasons why she’s our guest. Her CFA journey was long, grueling and eventful. She had a tough time balancing personal, work and exam life, badly underestimated the difficulty, got solidly kicked in the ass by the CFA exams (and recovered) twice and switched employers and careers, all with a smile.

Listen as she talks about her hard won lessons on how to crack level II and III, the importance of a reliable partner(!), challenges faced by women in finance and her journey from couch potato to endurance athlete.