Meet the next president of the CFA Society SA

STANLIB’s head of strategic investments and manager research, Jennifer Henry, has been appointed the next president of the CFA Society SA. She spoke about her new role to MoneyMarketing’s editor, Janice Roberts.

What does it mean for you to be president of the CFA Society SA?

Becoming president of such a prestigious organisation raises a range of emotions, but the two that stand out are feeling humbled and challenged. It is humbling to lead a board of well-experienced and respected individuals that elected me to be their president. I am also humbled by the global and local recognition from fellow CFA Charterholders and colleagues, and by the support I have received from the STANLIB Executive. Our society has a great reputation among its members for delivering member value or candidate preparation, and it will be a challenge to take the society to new heights.

It’s been said that the CFA is the most brutal exam in the world of finance – fewer than 50% of people pass the first level. Would you agree with this statement, and how much did you personally have to give up to pass these notoriously gruesome exams?

Exams that are credible must be challenging enough to ensure candidates acquire a deeper understanding of concepts. ‘Brutal’ may be too harsh a word to depict the level of difficulty of the exams. I believe that if you put in the work and engage with investment professionals to help you fully understand the concepts from different perspectives, you stand a better chance of passing. After completing the first two levels before I had children, I wrote the third level when my second child was just eight months old. I had to

sacrifice a lot of personal time, for example by waking up at 4am to study, because evenings with kids are chaotic. I also had to learn to study in every spare moment, even if it was just for 20 minutes.

For many students, parts of the CFA Program exams that commonly cause the most trouble are those covering Fixed Income and Derivatives. Was this part of your experience?

Derivatives definitely! I think it is challenging because the questions are a lot more varied, and technical derivatives are used most often in daily portfolio management. I found the Fixed Income exams manageable. My real nemesis was the Level II accounting. I think most Charterholders who don’t have a background in accounting would have the same experience.

The CFA Society SA will this month be part of the International Day of the Girl Child, by providing a free online workshop focusing on careers in the investment industry. What do you plan to tell these female Grade 10 and 11 learners about the CFA qualification and how do you plan to encourage them to embark on a career in the investment industry?

First, we are going to provide these young female learners with insights and context on why the investment industry exists, and what types of jobs are available. Next, we will give guidance on subjects, qualifications and the personality

traits that will help individuals not only to succeed, but also to enjoy a job in finance. Then we will explain more about the CFA programme and showcase the increasing availability of support, across the world, for women in investments and finance from organisations like the CFA Institute.

The CFA Society South Africa 2021 Annual virtual Investment Conference is coming up in November and its theme is Redefining Finance in a Post- Pandemic World. Tell us a bit about this topic.

The pandemic has opened our minds to new ways of working and creative solutions. Africa needs to use this opportunity to rethink access to finance, SME acceleration, development of women in finance and promotion of innovation. Financial institutions are going to have to redefine how they measure success and re-evaluate their strategies, so that there is joint value creation and finance becomes fit for our future society.

Our country was hit by the coronavirus pandemic at a time when the economy was already struggling, and in July we had the riots in KZN and Gauteng. How do you feel about South Africa’s future?

The true north that has emerged from the pandemic and the riots is that South Africans are resilient and our sense of community shines through. I believe in SA’s future because of this culture. I have seen this resilience in many investment professionals, Charterholders and candidates, which fills me with confidence that we will rebuild SA to be stronger and more sustainable.

Jennifer Henry, Head: Strategic Investments & Manager Research, STANLIB