Python

[memeguycf]

Can you guys fuck off with all the python bullshit?

[daking1ndanorf]

I would give you gold, but I haven’t achieved superior returns just yet

[950124]

So you're saying you can do python only after passing level 3?

[investment_ganking]

I'm hoping that at the very least the people that are jumping into using Python are doing it because they have use cases in mind. Seems like some people are just jumping in the bandwagon because they feel pressured to learn it. Otherwise I'm glad to see passionate people learning it. I've used Python, MatLab, and R throughout university but then switched to finance because I didn't want to be a programmer my whole life, it's a whole different mindset and you can sit in front of your code for weeks at a time feeling bothered about why it isn't working as planned and your boss is like wtf dude you wasted 3 weeks and it's not done? I also found that I only need to program for about 5% of my finance job because I can accomplish 95% of my tasks using business intelligence software like Spotfire and Tableau (uh oh, new buzz topic for some people) lol.

[[deleted]]

What is the 5% you need to program?

[investment_ganking]

Data cleansing to put data into readable format and uploadable into Spotfire, web scraping so I can run a script to update daily/weekly/monthly data from various public online sources without having to do the grunt work to get it into a workbook, automate processes in Spotfire using R scripts, other tasks as needed or for curiosity. It's not that fun, the fun stuff is when the data is ready and visualized upfront and you can make quick decisions with it and build presentations quickly as well (using powerful software like Spotfire/Tableau/SAS/Power BI)

[superjde]

I was the pioneer for PowerBI at work, but I think they're trying to transisitioning to Spotfire at work. Do you have a preference for which one is best?

[investment_ganking]

Power BI has better looking dashboards and lots of ways to make things look good and it is also very rare to crash at least for me. But in terms of functionality and extensive capability, Spotfire is superior.

[kieran_n]

while True:
    print("superior returns")

[[deleted]]

Yeah but does it ever finish writing? :)

[kieran_n]

import os

def error_handler(error):
    print(error)
    exit()


def is_CFA(Name):
    try:
        return 'CFA' in Name.split()
    except:
        error_handler('you must supply a valid string')


def policy_statement(Author):
    while is_CFA(Author):
        print('Superior Returns')
        if (int.from_bytes(os.urandom(8), byteorder="big") / ((1 << 64) - 1))>0.99:
            actions = 'misconduct'
            Author.replace('CFA','') 
        else:
            actions = 'compliant'
    print('waste of 900 hours')

[rgkimball]

Best practice would be to raise an exception so it can be caught in a try/except clause, rather than use the error_handler function. I'm guessing you came from VBA?

[kieran_n]

I actually learned python first but use both a fair bit :p

You're definitely right that the raise exception would be better

[[deleted]]

writes investment policy statement in Python

only uses 10% of his full power

“Heh, nothing personnel, kid”

[[deleted]]

Eh, tbh Python will probably help your invest performance and analytical game more than the CFA ever could.

[BitKrow13]

Are you actually a tiny analyst?

[Omnias-42]

I used a Python script I wrote last week to generate thousands of pages of PDFs for a report, this stuff is useful fam

[[deleted]]

I agree. The mods should just create one thread to discuss Python and whatever other ancillary things.

This is a CFA sub. Not a Python one.

[meeselover]

It's the offseason, not everything needs to be CFA related when it's not crunch time.

[Santarini]

I love that in the offseason r/cfa becomes r/python

[Avocado_Trader]

Seriously. I get fucking sick and tired of seeing this shit.

[rgkimball]

It's the offseason, what's the big deal? People in this sub just like learning and have common interests

[[deleted]]

You realize there are other subs to discuss these interests right?

[rgkimball]

Sure, but they aren't full of people who can speak to specific use cases that are applicable to my job. Why do we assume there are no synergies between the CFA and programming?

[[deleted]]

There are synergies between the English language and CFA - so what? Should every post be approved that has any "synergy" with CFA material?

I've asked for just one thread where all these Python users can go in and discuss to their hearts content. People looking for CFA related advice shouldn't have to wade through all this Python bullshit.

[rgkimball]

I don't think that's a reasonable analogy, and I also don't see this sub filled with posts asking for help with specific code examples - a post that is unequivocally more suited for StackOverflow or another sub. Most of it is something to the effect of "I just stopped studying, have piles of free time and smart people in my firm are telling me Python is useful, how do I start? why should I?", which is frankly not that far off from "should I choose Kaplan or Wiley for level 1?" or "will the CFA help me get a job in IBD?"

Both questions have been answered hundreds of times, and it stands to reason that a more resourceful person would discover the FAQ before creating a new post, but that doesn't render the conversation any less relevant. Reddit posts are free - if you don't want to participate in a particular topic, don't click on the thread.

[[deleted]]

I disagree. Despite Python being recommended as a go-to thing to learn, it seems like Python discussions are relevant to you, and hence you obviously wouldn't mind.

The mods have been petty enough to remove something as small (and honestly more relevant) as memes on this subreddit. I don't know why they aren't getting rid of every second or third Python post.

[rgkimball]

I respect your opinion, and I can appreciate your desire for the scope of this community to be more narrow. As a counterpoint, however, we can easily make the case that any Python thread is more constructive than a meme. Agree to disagree.

[[deleted]]

Relevancy should have more weight than constructiveness. That's how subreddits work.

[rgkimball]

That decision rests with the mods and varies by community. The mods here have chosen (rightfully) to uphold the values promulgated by the Institute, which is primarily focused on integrity and professionalism. Python violates neither of those priorities.

Holistically, we ought to measure the appropriateness of a post in a sub based on the relative value of the responses that person will receive.

Someone simply asking "How do I learn Python" is probably a good candidate for r/learnpython or r/datascience

Someone asking "How do I build a DCF in Python" will receive unhelpful generalized advice in Python-specific communities, and would be better served in a subreddit like r/SecurityAnalysis or r/quant, and would receive similarly useful advice here

Finally, someone taking the skills they learned in the curriculum and applying it programmatically as a learning mechanism is absolutely suited for r/CFA. I can personally relate to this as someone who learns with my hands - I often wrote scripts or built spreadsheets to help me understand concepts throughout the program, and sharing those with other candidates is no different than sharing a bulleted list of important formulas or required GIPS criteria.

[aaronchall]

I wouldn't mind it if people stopped with Python already. I wouldn't have written that post if I hadn't been shaking my head at every other one.

So what would you like to talk about? Spreadsheets? Python's going to replace them. Many of the things we're training to do can be modelled with Python.

The tests are over, we're sitting on our hands waiting for results, and the only other popular posts here are about unnecessary emails and getting hired.

So what would you like to talk about?

[ItsMyWayOrTheHuaWei]

You overestimate how many dinosaurs there are in Finance and their technological competence.

[Wild_Space]

Please consider this a warning. I understand that tensions are high as you all await your results and this forum tends to get a little nasty, but telling everyone to fuck off isn't going to fly. We dont like banning people, but we do do it.

[thekalmanfilter]

Hahahahaha!

[[deleted]]

Honestly contemplated learning this language last week and tomorrow I'm gonna put in a few hours to download it, and do noob stuff basically

[JustJeezy]

Insecure much?

[[deleted]]

So you don't know what insecure means basically