What a lovely summer we're having. One should be out and about, having the occasional Pimm's to relax, and possibly taking in the gorgeousness of the English countryside while one's at it. Instead, one is sitting at home surrounded by thick books on regulation, accountancy, large-and-small-economics, and basic statistics.
After around 5.75 years in the financial industry, I have finally decided to take the test that is the basis for certification by the Financial Services Authority as an Approved Person. Whilst I was a lowly Quantitative Person, I had no real need for this qualification: I wasn't directly managing anyone's money. Pension funds, in other words, woke daily with tra-la-las on their ledgers, and central bankers congratulated each other on having, in me, a swot who could do them no harm.
Now, though, I'm expected to shoulder the burden of investment responsibility. I am no longer only a mathematical number-cruncher. I am to be an asset manager. I need to be Approved.
And so, in the midst of the finest summer London's had in years, I am behind closed doors, mumbling annuity formulae and pondering the differences between preference and ordinary shares. Before the middle of August, I will have acronyms coming out of my ears, and I'll be able to tell you the difference between a Lorenz curve and a pie-chart.
Woe, that is to say, is me.
After around 5.75 years in the financial industry, I have finally decided to take the test that is the basis for certification by the Financial Services Authority as an Approved Person. Whilst I was a lowly Quantitative Person, I had no real need for this qualification: I wasn't directly managing anyone's money. Pension funds, in other words, woke daily with tra-la-las on their ledgers, and central bankers congratulated each other on having, in me, a swot who could do them no harm.
Now, though, I'm expected to shoulder the burden of investment responsibility. I am no longer only a mathematical number-cruncher. I am to be an asset manager. I need to be Approved.
And so, in the midst of the finest summer London's had in years, I am behind closed doors, mumbling annuity formulae and pondering the differences between preference and ordinary shares. Before the middle of August, I will have acronyms coming out of my ears, and I'll be able to tell you the difference between a Lorenz curve and a pie-chart.
Woe, that is to say, is me.
2 comments:
Good luck! Rather you than me, although I probably won't be thinking that when I look at my bank statements...
Thanks, CB. Years yet before my bank statement doesn't cause me to wince...
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