Financial Times Europe - 19.08.2019

20 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES Monday 19 August 2019

It’s advice season. The time of year

when the older, allegedly wiser,

dispense advice — whether it is wanted

or not. These pearls are thrust on to

graduates hunting for jobs or taking

their first steps on the career ladder. In

offices around the world, it is dealt out

to those on work experience.

In the UK, a key date in advice

season fell last week. It was A-level

results day (exams for 17- and 18-year-

olds paving the way to jobs, courses

and universities).

There’s something about the

metaphorical ripping open of

envelopes containing exam results that

sends adults on a nostalgia trip. It’s a

collective opportunity to think back on

our youth — a time of fresh-faced

promise unencumbered by mortgages

and responsibilities. Like Proust’s

madeleines — but with more exams

and less cake.

Career and exam advice is (mostly)

well-meaning, in recognition that it’s

hard for young people to know how to

navigate the start of a career. Or let’s

face it, the middle, end — and

everywhere in between.

But advice is often not asked for.

Think of the scene in the filmThe

Graduate, when Benjamin Braddock

(Dustin Hoffman) finds his father’s

friends lining up to tell him what to do:

“There’s a great future in plastics.

Think about it. Will you think about

it?” They see it as helpful. He does not.

Worse perhaps, is the unsolicited

advice of strangers, usually on social

media. This often ranges from

humblebrags to straight-out brags. The

exemplar is Jeremy Clarkson, the brash

TV presenter, who every year boasts

that his dismal A-level results did not

stop him from acquiring a flash

car/villa/superyacht. This year, he was

joined by Virgin entrepreneur Richard

Branson, who reflected: “At times like

this, it’s more important than ever to

remind yourself that exams aren’t the

be all and end all. After all, the

alphabet goes from A to Z not A to E!”

This from a man who has made great

play of not following rules to the letter.

It can be hard to know what guidance

to give. (Note to my own mother:Don’t

worry andJust do what makes you happy

were not particularly helpful.)

The world of education and work

changes. When you recount your

professional greatest hits to someone

half your age, describing scoring your

first job from an ad in the Guardian,

you’ll see bafflement across their face

before they Google “classified job ads”.

Much advice-giving is fuelled by the

desire for an ego boost. You see

yourself transformed into a great sage,

with expertise and knowledge to

impart. No one needs to know that you

are winging it, making up your career

as you go. I once mentored a 15-year-

old girl in preparation for her GCSE

exams. In passing, she asked me what

grades I’d got. “Wow,” she said when I

declared my competent, unwow-tastic

GCSE grades. Yet despite myself, my

chest puffed with pride at my decades-

old achievement.

Such confidence boosts may even

prove productive. In a study last year

“Dear Abby: Should I Give Advice or

Receive It?” researchers looked at

people trying to save money, control

their tempers, lose weight and seek

employment. It found the most

motivated were those who gave —

rather than received — advice.

Robin Kowalski, a psychology

professor at Clemson University, who

has looked at advice-giving says it can

be a useful exercise. In a recent study,

she found that about one-third of

people think about the advice they

would give to their younger selves

every week, not just about education

and work but also relationships.

For those who rarely do it, imparting

advice to others is an opportunity to

reflect on one’s own life. Imagined

alternatives, she told me, might

motivate us to overcome certain

circumstances.

Egos can be pumped but also dashed.

I remember a young woman whose

face contorted with horror as I

recounted my career. Her expression

seemed to say: “Jesus, I hope I’m doing

better when I’m as old as you.”

Giving advice may also trigger regret

— as happened to a friend who

delivered a careers talk at her old

university. What was meant to be an

inspiring experience plunged her into

existential despair. A few moments

before she was due to speak she had a

full-blown panic attack over her life

choices.

[email protected]

Exam results day offers a

chance for adults to think

back on youth, a time of

promise unencumbered

by mortgages

Giving advice

to young

people benefits

only the old

CROSSWORD

No. 16,249 Set by ARMONIE

  

 



 

  

   

  

 

 

JOTTER PAD

ACROSS

1 Closure is imminent when

project leader goes (6)

4 Bill’s cast out but protected

(6)

8 This sly eccentric is

fashionable (7)

9 Place in which Callas

represented Norma, ultimately

(2,5)

11 Fondness for costly staff in

hospital department (10)

12 Enthusiastic backing for prima

donna (4)

13 The tongue can be somewhat

titillating (5)

14 Effort getting river sample (8)

16 Various ramblers initially

planted in the West Country

(8)

18 Clean river fish (5)

20 Brother rejected thanks from

unruly child (4)

21 Rich American follows

Shakespearean (10)

23 Businessman in drag faces old

complaint (7)

24 Person in support of leader (7)

25 Tedious wine type grabbing

attention (6)

26 Actually a river in India (6)

DOWN

1 Had a meal without beginning

to tidy up (5)

2 Slut led out the most boring

(7)

3 Torn signs repaired without

conditions (2,7)

5 Pick up tango showing

courage (5)

6 Children, taken aback, protect

rotter for ages (7)

7 Saviour of animals eating offal

(9)

10 Delivery contains record of

picture (9)

13 Inspect butcher’s routine (4,5)

15 Depict one variety of

chicanery (9)

17 It is tasty but can be

surpassed without a starter

(7)

19 Score runs in a series (7)

21 Electronic device for priest?

About time! (5)

22 Overturn somewhat

stupendously (5)

Mood swingometers

The start-up tracking mental

health at the touch of a button

ZCOMPANIES & MARKETS

Emma Jacobs

Business Life

In ‘The Graduate’

Benjamin Braddock

(played by Dustin

Hoffman) is given

unhelpful careers

advice by one of his

father’s friends— Alamy

* Europe, Middle East and Africa

Source: CFA Institute

Asia drives demand for

Chartered Financial Analyst

qualifications

Asia Pacific

China

EMEA*

Americas

Investment management

firms favour qualified

candidates

Share of surveyed firms which prefer,

or require, job applicants to be CFA

Executives

Senior

professionals

Intermediate

Required

Prefered but not required

Source: Aon McLagan

{ }

Financial markets roll and reel. The

number of analysts rises inexorably,

despite bank lay-offs. Entrants for

Chartered Financial Analyst exams

have increased 11 per cent this year

worldwide. Chinese applicants, up

almost 18 per cent, are driving demand.

Financial liberation of China’s

Communist-run economy is giving way

to spreadsheet tyranny. But what value

does CFA certification bring — to

successful examinees or capitalism?

For a jobseeker, CFA certification is

evidence of an understanding of

financial metrics and methodologies.

It is an entry requirement for all but the

most junior investment jobs at a swath

of financial businesses.

The ubiquity of the CFA makes it

hard to compare salaries with

unchartered analysts. Nevertheless,

Mercer, the job consultants, last year

found job adverts specifying CFA

requirements offered an 8 per cent

salary premium on average. It was as

much as a quarter for a US financial

adviser. On a median salary of $122,000,

such an uplift should soon repay the

$2,400 cost of three levels of exams,

plus annual fees of $275 to use CFA

initials.

In contrast, an MBA offers a much

bigger potential salary boost. But the

qualification can entail costs of more

than $200,000 and the return on the

investment is disputed. Entrants for

pre-MBA tests fell 3 per cent last year,

according to the Graduate

Management Admission Council.

Assuming a 50 per cent pass rate and

a few dropouts, CFA holders should this

year increase by 20,000 to 187,

globally. That is almost eight times the

estimated population of polar bears. It

is equivalent to four CFA analysts per

listed company.

What value CFAs bring to the

financial system is harder to judge.

A common qualification allows

investment houses to outsource

training. It does not guarantee

competence. Some 15 per cent of course

content is about ethics. That has not

prevented conflicts of interest. Critics

would prefer less free-market theory

and more on animal instincts or the

lessons of economic history.

Course content is drawn up in

consultation with the industry. But the

dominance of the CFA could encourage

groupthink. To survive, investment

professionals must beat the average.

Active managers face an existential

threat from cheap passive rivals.

Combating that will require more than

letters after their names.

The value of a CFA:

the dream to excel

AUGUST 19 2019 Section:Features Time: 18/8/2019 - 17: 23 User: simon.roberts Page Name: 1BACK, Part,Page,Edition: EUR, 20 , 1

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