(Clockwise from left) Manish Gvalani, Director and Head of Signatory Advisory, Emirates NBD; Shwetabh Sameer, a member of the investment team at the London-based VC firm Molten Ventures; Vandana Somani, Lead – India Operations for Neuberger Berman; Hari Viswanath, Editor of businessline, Research Bureau (bl.portfolio)
Finance is an ever-expanding universe, offering opportunities for professionals across diverse roles such as investment managers, wealth managers, equity research, investment banking, corporate finance, and treasury operations, etc. A common among all these is the CFA accreditation, which can propel your career prospects and growth in the industry.
Are you aspiring to make a career in finance? Is a non-finance educational background holding you back? Can the CFA programme truly act as a magic wand to unlock doors in the finance world? Is artificial intelligence (AI) gobbling up jobs or making life easier? How to crack open opportunities?
To address these questions and shed light on the global opportunities post completion of the CFA programme, the CFA Institute, in partnership with the businessline, hosted a webinar on Thursday titled ‘Unlocking global finance opportunities with the CFA program’. The event was moderated by Hari Viswanath, Editor of businessline Research Bureau (bl.portfolio).
Discussing the transformative role of AI in the financial world, Manish Gvalani, Director and Head of Signatory Advisory, Emirates NBD, observed that though AI helps to save time in problem solving, it is still the finance professionals and their knowledge that deliver effective solutions to customers. The practical world, however, needs communication skills to maintain and build relationships, win credibility and climb the career ladder, he said, urging aspirants to invest in these skills to stand out in the field.
Vandana Somani, Lead – India Operations for Neuberger Berman, added that automation through AI allows professionals save time, which can be invested in other strategies and initiatives. “Think of AI as a tool that you can use to optimise your time”, she said.
Shwetabh Sameer, a member of the investment team at the London-based VC firm Molten Ventures, added that AI literacy is becoming increasingly important across fields and also for finance careers.
Should one’s non-finance background deter them from a CFA certification? Sameer, who is a mechanical engineer himself, noted that it should not. The CFA curriculum and materials by itself are very detailed and filled with many examples, to help understand the practical concepts in finance, he said. “Building a small community of people doing CFA around you and discussing concepts should be good enough to complete the CFA charter as a whole,” he added.
Acknowledging the hectic nature of the course and stressing that it may require sacrifices in terms of social life and weekends, the panelists stressed that being a CFA-accredited finance professional gives you a global perspective of the industry and helps you stand out in the crowd.
To view the full webinar, please visit: https://bit.ly/43oBdNu
Published on March 27, 2025
Tami Schroeder
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