Understanding Investment Management Professionals: Skills & Qualifications

A professional investment management professional is a licensed and trained individual who through education and experience understands how to balance risk and maximize returns for their clients. An investment manager is trained to look at the market as a whole and evaluate various securities and investment in a way to determine where investment opportunities lie and to take advantage of certain market movements.

Minimum Qualification

At a minimum, a qualified investment management professional has passed the various levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam. This exam is administered by the CFA Institute and has 3, 6-hour qualifying examinations that need to be passed before the certification is granted. A CFA also must agree to a Code of Ethics standard that governs their behavior.

Investment Management Professional Skill Set

Possessing the requisite training and certification, a qualified investment management professional is able to make investment management decisions that help their clients meet their investment objectives and goals. Having a minimum 4 years of experience in investment management prior to attempting the CFA means that an investment management professional should have a core minimum competency that is translated in a specific skill set. This skill set differentiates the investment management professional from other practitioners who guide decisions regarding a client’s portfolio.