A reader asked me last week if it is too late in her early thirties to follow her passion to become a financial analyst. My answer to her was, “No, it’s not too late.”
A study has shown that the majority of people, estimated as high as 80%, are in the “wrong” industry. When students are [...]

Have you ever tried stretching beyond your limits? What are limits anyway? Who set these limits on you? Here are some examples of how we sometimes impose limits on ourselves: “I’m too tired today to write another financial analysis.” “There is no way I can finish this project in a week!” “I can’t find any [...]

I assume that as a financial analyst, you can’t escape reading the daily news. I can’t imagine a financial analyst who isn’t up to date on the latest Bloomberg headline. In this past year, the problems in the financial industry have inundated the news front. Being exposed to negative news day in and day out [...]

Many financial analysts have solid financial background and qualifications. How can you differentiate yourself from your peers in the competitive financial industry? Strong people skills can be the distinguishing factor, assuming you and your peers offer similar level of value to the organization. Here are five characteristics that will help your colleagues to better know [...]

…move to Zimbabwe. BBC News reported Zimbabwe’s recent introduction of its Z$100bn bank note. Aside from becoming an instant billionaire (or even trillionaire), another advantage of living in Zimbabwe is the realization that even in the worst of economic times, everyone can still become billionaire. Annual inflation exceeds 2,200,000%!
But seriously, IMF in its latest World [...]

The most successful salesperson focuses not on “what can I get”, but “what can I give”. By salesperson, I don’t mean you have to be selling a physical product. You can be a broker selling stocks, a financial analyst selling ideas or any professional marketing yourself and your services.
Yesterday, I had the unfortunate experience of [...]

I can’t believe I did it again. I said “yes” to an invitation when what I really wanted to say was “no”. It’s been a long time since I had given in to a friendly nudge. I knew all too well that my schedule this month is fully booked. I didn’t want to disappoint my [...]

An ideal schedule is the next logical step to make use of the insights I gathered from the time audit last week about my time spending patterns. It goes hand in hand with a time audit. Having an ideal schedule doesn’t mean that you have to stick to it all the time. Every day is [...]

Long hours are a given once you commit to being a financial analyst. Still, do you sometimes wonder where your day has gone before you even get to start the most important task on your agenda?
I am starting a time audit for myself this week. It’s basically a log tracking my activities in 15-minute slots [...]

I am privileged to debut our Expert Interview with Tom Budinger, Partner of The Curran Group. In the interview, Tom discusses the essential qualities he looks for in candidates. Among the many qualities mentioned are:
• Passion for the business
• Independent judgment
• Creativity
• Curiosity
• [...]