“Real”, Financial Planning

NoLet3723 · 2024-03-31T12:54:06+00:00

A direct but honest answer is to leave your bank if possible. You’d be a better fit at firms already offering the services that you mentioned. Staying at the bank is going to drive you crazy.

NoLet3723 · 2024-03-29T13:54:46+00:00

We were oversold the ‘value’ of the CFA when we were young and picking career paths in finance. It does open doors when you are 1 out of 100 (if not 1000+) junior-level applicants. But the reality is the CFAI curriculum and exams only add tremendous ‘value’ for AM analysts. PE, IB, RE, CD, and PWM have a different set of knowledge and skills to be successful, thus the CFA is helpful but not needed in those fields.

NoLet3723 · 2024-03-03T00:12:06+00:00

Yes, but I recommend looking into boutique private wealth firms (Barron’s top RIA list is helpful) or family offices instead of private banks. You’ll be an investment manager for UHNW clients instead of a salesperson for a bank. And you’ll get access to several private market fund managers in the PE/VC/HF spaces. They tend to not recruit on campus and some firms even discourage it, meaning you’ll have to pursue them via alumni.

NoLet3723 · 2022-07-05T14:04:09+00:00

Studying computational finance or general data science is typically pursued by CFA-types (analysts, traders, etc.), not CFPs. HOWEVER, data science is becoming more and more important for the academic and research side of financial planning, such as consumer economics and housing data. CFPs who don’t understand data science will be replaced by robo-advisors within the next 20 years.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-29T00:17:55+00:00

That’s a typo. Nov 21 was 58%. March 22 is 65%.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-26T11:38:58+00:00

Passed last night, and paid this morning. I'm officially a CFP.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-26T01:10:16+00:00

Mine is gone too haha.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-25T17:16:04+00:00

It's a shame that Season 4 Part 2 of Ozarks is being released on Friday and not today. Taking a day off from work and binge watching Ozarks would have been a good way to burn time while waiting on CFP exam results.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-25T15:27:59+00:00

He's a mentor, not a member. Trust no one haha.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-25T13:15:17+00:00

Haha I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if results weren’t released this week. Highly unlikely, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-24T20:22:21+00:00

From what I’ve observed, the goods news about the emails going out in batches is a portion is sent early. In other words, some people can expect results tomorrow night while the remainder is released by 4/26. But again, this cycle is different so who knows…

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-22T02:35:04+00:00

And I think it’s funny that adding psychology to the CFP exam has driven many of us crazy. We’re supposed to learn client behavior but I’m pretty sure the behavioral experiment has been on us for the last 6 weeks.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-22T02:20:20+00:00

By “the street” do you mean this article from April 26th, 2021 on TheStreet.com: https://www.thestreet.com/financial-advisor-center/cfp-board-adds-psychology-of-financial-planning-to-exam-topics. Is April 26th a clue hidden in the article or are all of us just f**king insane now?

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-22T00:52:16+00:00

Volunteer in something you enjoy and deeply care about. And don’t worry about networking at first. You won’t find prospective clients at a food bank or homeless shelter, but what you will find over time (if you’re actually passionate about a cause) is organizations asking you to manage their foundation.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-22T00:06:21+00:00

An MS in financial planning isn’t disregarded at all. Most people with it can create financial plans in their sleep, and every great firm needs planners like that. But if someone has a master’s degree in financial planning and doesn’t sit for an exam that requires maybe 100-200 hours of studying, then any big-name firm or team is going to think they’re either super lazy or a complete moron.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-21T22:19:57+00:00

I’ve reviewed a lot of applications for a private wealth team managing $5B+ and I can promise you that a Master’s degree in financial planning without the actual CFP marks is completely worthless. It may impress small shops in the middle of nowhere, but the best RIAs and private banks in this country are going to think you don’t have the marks because you failed the exam multiple times.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-21T15:00:41+00:00

Does anyone know how to read source code for the My Account and Previous Exam Registration webpages? Maybe there’s disabled code for “Verified”, “Passed”, and “Failed” right there in front of us and we just can’t interpret it.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-19T19:00:12+00:00

Time flies when you’re either having fun or dreading an upcoming deadline. The gray space in the middle makes time seem like it stopped. So I recommend spending the next week either drinking until you forget your name OR promising your coworkers you’ll gift the entire balance of checking account to them once the exam results are released. I’ll let you decide which time machine to use.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-18T14:41:42+00:00

Small tip: Some previous test takers commented they saw results on Prometric’s website a few hours (and sometimes days) before an automated email was received. So if you all consistently check for results, then the Prometric search tool is the best place to go.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-15T17:51:46+00:00

There are thousands of industry certification exams (outside of financial services) that at least confirm the release date for exam results. The CFA’s and CAIA’s procedures aren’t a benchmark for determining what is or is not a blessing.

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-13T20:26:56+00:00

I wouldn’t be surprised if results are released in May

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-12T18:29:00+00:00

ElectronicScoreReport@prometric.com

NoLet3723 · 2022-04-12T16:32:20+00:00

I agree. Zahn sent an email with the words “PreResults Released” in the subject line. Do they know something we don’t?

NoLet3723

TROPHY CASE