Welcome to the CFALA e-newsletter, a periodic publication with stories about noteworthy events and programs sponsored or hosted by the society, guest articles by members, book reviews, and other items of interest to CFALA members. Click on the headlines below to read the full stories. And if you’d like to contribute a story suggestion or, even better, write an article, we’d love to hear from you. Please email Executive Director Laura Carney at laura@cfala.org.

*Please note that the content of this e-newsletter should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of  CFA Society Los Angeles.

In this issue ...

• Career Mentorship Program Enters Third Year of Assisting with Career Goals

• Two billion people lack access to a bank account. Here are 3 ways blockchain can help them

• Money & Millennials: Q&A With Barbara Stewart, CFA

• Rich Thinking White Papers

• Female Wall Street executives expand nonprofit to help girls get started in asset management careers

• Will big data create a new untouchable business elite?

• An Arab thinker invented economic theory 400 years before Adam Smith did

Career Mentorship Program Enters Third Year of Assisting with Career Goals

Volunteers are very important to the success of the various programs offered through CFA Society Los Angeles (CFALA), and the Career Mentorship Program is no exception. After Ryan Buckmaster, CFA and Akiko Hayata, CFA created the program in 2015, Evan Hunter, CFA and Roxanne Cheng, CFA have generously stepped forward to take over as Co-Chairs of the Career Mentorship Program Committee. Serving the community appears to be in the blood of both Hunter and Cheng as both have experience in other volunteer roles within CFALA.
“I was inspired to become involved with the mentorship programs because of my own journey in pursuing the CFA designation,” Hunter said. “After passing level 3, I felt compelled to turn around and return the favor by helping as many other candidates be successful in their pursuit of the Charter as I could. After serving for a few years as a mentor in the USC/CFALA CFA ® Review Program, I was extended an invitation to serve as a career mentor.”
Cheng added, “I got involved with the Career Mentorship Program since I'd previously worked on the Career Expo and wanted to continue helping our members achieve their career goals.”

The Career Mentorship Program is focused on assisting with career goals since there is a separate program dedicated to CFA exam guidance. While it is not designed to be a job placement program, Hunter noted, “The mentees that we feel we can help the most will be looking for guidance in helping navigate the industry - their current segment or a related one - and their respective careers. Additionally, we have found that the mentor/mentee relationship is most effective when mentees feel they are unable to answer their own questions themselves and desire entering into a relationship that offers them objective insight and judgment-free feedback in order to move forward in the pursuit of their goals.”
The class of both mentors and mentees changes annually and the relationship between the two is designed to last a single year, but the participants are encouraged to stay in contact beyond the one-year mark. Hunter said, “It is all about finding the right fit in order to really establish a successful foundation for a mentor/mentee to move forward from. CFALA is blessed to be made up of truly exceptional people that are always expressing interest in serving as mentors. We have been very fortunate to be able to match them with mentees for the past two years.”
While the program continues to grow, the advance in the number of mentees has outpaced the growth in available mentors. Consequently, the committee continues to recruit mentors to meet the growth of the program. Hunter and Cheng said that often when speaking with members, they ask about becoming more involved. Clearly one way to contribute to CFALA is to volunteer as a mentor, and it’s generally agreed that it’s been a rewarding experience for both sides. The time commitment is quite reasonable. After a kickoff meeting that provides a clear framework on how goals are set and the relationship rules, contact is mostly via phone calls and is encouraged around once a quarter.
Members can get involved by submitting an application to become a mentor. The online application is for both mentors and mentees, but participants may approach the program chairs anytime they would like via email. Hunter said, “We are incredibly invested in making sure that both mentors and mentees have everything they need in order to be successful in achieving their goals. Sometimes questions or speed bumps arise in the pursuit of that and we encourage mentees to let us know as soon as they need some assistance.”
While mentors may simply have a desire to share experience and help others in their career path, Cheng said that mentees should make other considerations. “Before you apply, please spend some time thinking about what you want from your career and from this program. By doing that, upon applying, we will be better able to understand your goals so that we can determine whether we can match you with an available mentor.”
For more information, contact the Mentorship Program Committee Co-Chairs:
Roxanne Cheng, CFA - Rchengmp157@gmail.com
Evan Hunter, CFA - evanhuntr@gmail.com
Tom Derse, CFA Back To Top ^^

Two billion people lack access to a bank account. Here are 3 ways blockchain can help them

According to 2014's Global Findex database and IMF Financial Access Survey, two billion people lack access to a transaction account. Joining the financially connected world is a challenge for them and this exclusion places a ceiling on their standards of living. In this World Economic Forum piece, Bluzelle Networks CEO Pavel Bains suggests three ways blockchain can be used to accelerate financial inclusion. Read more...  Back To Top ^^

Money & Millennials: Q&A With Barbara Stewart, CFA

Researcher, writer, speaker, and CFA Institute Enterprising Investor contributor Barbara Stewart, CFA, shares with Equities.com her experience with and thoughts on the state of female and millennial investors today. Stewart was one of CFA Society Los Angeles' featured speakers in 2016. Read more... And more...  Back To Top ^^

Rich Thinking White Papers

Here are two of Stewart's seven Rich Thinking white papers. Her 2017 installment takes a qualitative look at how more than fifty "accomplished but diverse" women manage their money and why they manage it that way. Her 2010 installment presents the results of the quantitative online survey-based study that launched the series. Read more... And more...  Back To Top ^^

Female Wall Street executives expand nonprofit to help girls get started in asset management careers

In this eFinancialCareers article, Editor Dan Butcher tells us about a nonprofit organization led by female Wall Street executives (and sponsored in part by the CFA Institute) that is taking action to provide education, networking opportunities, and internships to promising young college women interested in a career in asset management. Read more...  And more... Back To Top ^^

Will big data create a new untouchable business elite?

Check out this thought-provoking piece by Nicholas Barrett, journalist and social media writer at The Economist. Will big data create an "unstoppable inequality of innovation?" Who are the winners? Who are the losers? And should there be measures to keep the inequality in check? Read more... And more...  Back To Top ^^

An Arab thinker invented economic theory 400 years before Adam Smith did

Adam Smith was the father of modern economics. Or was he? In this Quartz article, Weekend Writer Olivia Goldhill provides an overview of recent thinking regarding the work of 14th century North African scholar and politician Ibn Khaldun. Read more...  And more... Back To Top ^^