Editor
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KYC
Know Your Client. If you have ever participated in a Private Placement or opened an investment account then this concept is no stranger and is self explanatory. But it also works in reverse! Know all about who you are getting your investment advice from! Our writers include CPAs, lawyers and Investment Advisors. These are professionals with a fiduciary duty with credentials that are the platinum standard. Although our content never provides investment advice and is strictly an awareness or educational tool this is a level of comfort second to none.
Do not get fooled by letters behind a name and never assume that letters behind a name are backed by a code of ethics that meets your expectations. Your source of information must realize that you are their client. You have invested your time and in some cases perhaps your money as well. If someone has a few large industry companies as their client then it is unreasonable for someone to perceive that it may be difficult to provide unbiased investment advice? You may be surprised to learn that some designations have a lower equivalency then you may have first
thought and their governing bodies may have no limit to the number of attempts a student may have at any given exam as per this Huffington Post blog.
After reading that article I went to the institution’s website and confirmed that all one needed as a pre-requisite was four years of industry experience and/or four years of combined industry experience and qualifying post high school education. Personally, I found the Huffington Post refence that the CFA is a “scam” to be harsh. This link showing CFA equivalency is a more useful tool and most countries recognize a CFA as having an equivalency to formal university education such as either a Bachelor’s Degree or, in some cases, a Master’s Degree. Other sources refer to it more as a career progression tool than a true educational equivalence and this CFA resource shows the advance standing a CFA affords towards a partial waiver or exemption towards additional accreditation.