THE REAL FINANCE MENTOR PODCAST

Successful. Young. Emirati. Woman. And oh yes, she was refreshingly honest, delightfully engaging and impressively articulate as well. Now that’s a combo (and an interview) I could not pass on! Souad has gone through a lot personally and professionally despite her young age. Hence we covered a LOT in the podcast- overcoming shyness, graduate employability, the importance of teachers and mentors, why parental support and direction are invaluable, battling (and killing) depression, how to be a good public speaker, career tips for youngsters etc. Souad’s energy and positivity are contagious and her story is a powerful reminder that we can transform ourselves and change our destiny if we are talented, optimistic and, very importantly, have the right support system. Listen. Learn. Grow.

Insight and inspiration come from various places. I usually invite mostly practitioners (CFA charter holders) and candidates to my show. But I also value different informed perspectives. Hence my guest in this episode.

John Perry is a published author, professor, and a good friend who has thought deeply and written about mental toughness (the concept, not the phrase) and how you can improve your game. In this episode, John and I have a wide-ranging conversation on sports and psychology, psychometric tests (the good and the bad), confidence among youngsters, employability, selecting your career, the impact of COVID, etc. And of course, the invaluable 3 career tips for youngsters! And don’t be fooled by John’s aw-shucks, down to earth, calm manner. Dr. Perry is a remarkably self-aware brilliant young psychologist who has already made his mark in a few fields. So do listen carefully to what he has to say. Enjoy!

Yep we are now in Episode #15 (how time flies!). My next guest is a bright young finance hotshot who’s also a really nice guy and remarkably clear sighted and mature. So this podcast is about the lessons and skills, both personal and professional, learnt by a CFA charter holder in a fascinating journey from engineering graduate through passive/index investing to behavioural science and applied statistics in a global financial services firm. It’s loaded with tips and perspectives that will be of interest to anyone starting a career and not just in finance.

I am a big believer in the theory that happiness (or disappointment) happens when reality doesn’t match expectations. This mismatch, if it happens too often or too severely can affect your performance and even derail careers. Hence I am here in this solo episode to talk truths, to create awareness and to set the right expectations (NOT “low” expectations) about careers and the occasional downsides. So that you are insulated from these pesky mismatches. The reason I highlight these truths is because what is sold to everyone are only the positives of careers. Of course “downside” depends on your mindset and perspective. In any case, I’d urge you to learn quickly from any negative episodes and move on. Welcome to Reality.

This show was created to deliver insight and inspiration for finance careers. And nowhere is Insight more critical than when things get complex and technical. Such as the brave new world of the future, the world of artificial intelligence, machine learning, coding, automation etc. Investment professionals must grasp the impact, education and opportunities to stay relevant. Episode #13 is Karima Rahali’s interesting personal story of a career over many domains as well as an articulate expert’s take on this new world. Listen, learn and grow.

Enter the Final Frontier. So you’ve fought hard and won your way through two major battles (Level I and II) and you are almost there. Except that you’ve one more battle before you win the war. Level III is a weird level. How weird? To find out more I talked to three Level III candidates- Mark Gadalla, Vikas Gupta and Margarita Chirukova. Listen as we have a frank and detailed talk on, inter alia, the lessons from Level I and II, the unique challenges of Level III, study strategies and how to stay motivated. A must listen episode if you are writing the final level of the grueling CFA program.

Attention CFA exam takers – this episode is for YOU!
Level II is probably the most feared level in the program. I still vividly remember my Level II journey (I almost didn’t make it!). How hard is it these days? Better to hear from the horse’s mouth. So I interviewed Samina Burhani and Ameen Saada, two Level II candidates who I like a lot and who are also my students. We cover, inter alia, the lessons from Level I, the unique challenges of Level II and of course, their solutions. I hope you pick up some tips. Listen, learn, grow.

Wow RFM has now reached its 10th episode! So, I decided to make this special. Because you’ve to make an exception for exceptional people. Alan Mathew and Priyanka Awatramani are fresh graduates who have zero work experience. So why on the RFM? Because they recently nailed something noteworthy. Remarkably mature and resilient for their young age, they were part of the amazing Middlesex Uni Dubai team that won the UAE version of the 2020 CFA Investment Research Challenge, a project that Yours Truly managed. They even made to the EMEA finals, the first EVER team from the UAE to do so and one of the 8 teams (out of 45 from all of Europe, Middle East and Africa) to make it….

One of the coolest things about my role as a Podcast Host is that I often end up having a brilliant chat with extraordinarily successful people who are also fellow CFA charter holders and good friends. I also learn a lot about people, companies, and industries. On The Real Finance Mentor’s 9th episode I corner Fadi Al Said CFA who is a big boy with Lazard Asset Management, and we chat about a raft of topics….

Yes! Finally, we have an episode dedicated to the big questions. No, not in life but in education. I tackle some common, important questions that many students don’t know the correct answer to, resulting in them signing up for courses without knowing the HOW or WHAT. Like what careers are CFA meant for? Equally importantly, what careers CFA does NOT prepare you for? What are the pros and cons of CFA vs MBA? How do you get into investment banking? How to pick a career? Etc. This episode is dedicated to anyone curious about certain finance careers and courses. It is a short, frank, and unbiased analysis that will be of most value before you start your journey. Real talk. From the Real Finance Mentor.

The perfect episode to engross you and teach you a variety of valuable lessons during this lockdown time is here. Interviews in comfy five-star hotel rooms can make the toughest guest open up! Like this one which is probably my longest yet.

Is it better to be a specialist or a generalist? What are the three skills that many youngsters in finance don’t have yet are essential? Why is it essential that a CFA charter holder or CA should have at least a basic idea of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning? How is AI/ML transforming private banking? How does one get over the fear of public speaking? Why is that one skill that can save you in tough times in any company? All these and more are answered in my sit down with Vaibhav Jain CFA. From analyst to investment banker to private banker, he’s learnt a lot (and is still learning!) and is full of insights. Listen, learn, and grow.

Ok, so we cover a lot in today’s episode #6 of RFM because I am talking to someone who has achieved a lot at the young age of 28. Surabhi Chauhan is an asset manager based in Mumbai, a role she reached after experiencing the realms of equity research, private banking and investment banking. We, of course, talk about how to crack CFA despite a hectic work schedule and how the qualification has helped her. Then, we talk about careers. India is a big but tough market and she shares her hard-earned tips for success in all the four areas she’s worked in. Mentoring is invaluable in shaping a career and we talk about how she picked a mentor and what she learnt. Women in finance have always faced challenges; she is explicit about these, but we also talks about how she’s successfully tackled them. Before I let her go… Surabhi shares her top three career lessons. SO MANY EXPERIENCES. SO MANY TIPS. Listen, learn, grow.

From humble beginnings in a small town to massive steel stockyards to banking IT project management to the heart of Investment Banking in London and now back home making an impact in education with CFA Institute, our next guest has gone through a LOT. How does being an engineer change your way of thinking? What can a MBA from a top global school teach you? How do you jump from IT to IB? How IS it working in investment banking in the City? How do you survive an onslaught of layoffs? Why quit corporate life when you are doing so well? What are the issues holding back youngsters in finance, particularly women? Why should you learn to spiral bind (!!) documents? All this and more on this episode with Amit Chakrabarty. I pick my guests because they have a unique story to tell. And this is yet another saga. Listen. Learn. Grow.

At The Real Finance Mentor, we will continue bringing you interesting stories and insights from some of the most experienced people in the CFA space. In episode #4 of our podcast, we have Femina Huddani. I have huge respect for working women who succeed despite multiple challenges. And this lady has reached where most CFA students aspire to be – a portfolio manager! Femina left India for the US when she was a teenager. She competed her degree, fought biases, got into research, transplanted to the UAE, struggled her way to the top and oh yes raised a family and nailed the CFA charter along the way. Classic narrative of sheer ambition and persistence, a story I’ve seen at close range for a decade.

Listen and be inspired.

We are back with Episode #3 of The Real Finance Mentor podcast by Binod Shankar. In this episode, we chat with Mr. Biharilal Deora, otherwise known universally as ‘BD’. BD is someone you must listen to. Chartered accountant. CFA charter holder. Credit analyst. Private banker. Academic. Mentor. Asset manager. CFA board member. I’ve known him for nearly a decade. BD is super versatile and very clear in his thinking and he has an authentic and compelling story to tell, full of practical, valuable tips. Anyone planning a career in finance will benefit enormously from this episode. Listen. Learn. Grow.

We are back with Episode 2 of The Real Finance Mentor podcast by Binod. No, this episode isn’t directly about finance or CFA, BUT you better listen if you’re in finance! In this episode, we have Mira Raley, an indifferent student who somehow wandered into hospitality and is now an expert in the psychology of work.