TwitterFacebookLinkedInEmailRSS
logo

An editorial blog of CFA Society Minnesota

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
    • Compensation Survey Contact Form
  • Subscribe to Blog via Email

Tag Archives: Member Engagement

What Do CFA Charterholders Value? Giving Back

20th February, 2018 · Elizabeth Engel, M.A., CAE · Leave a comment
Elizabeth Engel, M.A., CAE

Following up on our last blog post about the member engagement project we’ve been working on for the better part of the past year, some of the key themes that emerged from Spark’s interviews with CFA Charterholders about your member experiences include:

  • Members universally recommend membership: “I would be hard pressed to identify any CFAs who aren’t members. I would be more likely to question anyone who is a CFA and doesn’t belong, particularly if they’re in the Twin Cities. There is so much good to be gained from the programs that not joining is doing your career a disservice.”
  • Volunteering of all types is very popular with those who are able. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, and it’s knocked my socks off.”
  • Members highly value the job board, and that popularity is confirmed by the fact that when you Google “CFA Society MN…,” it’s the first auto-complete option that comes up.
  • Members recognize what a major investment of resources Intellisight is and, although several noted that it is not appropriate for all members, they generally feel it’s a good investment. “[Our firm] supports the CFAMN annual conference. It’s been a great investment for us, and it has raised the profile of both the Society and the larger Minneapolis investment community.”
  • Members are largely aware of CFAMN’s “experimental mindset” and support it.

Looking to the quantitative data, the top benefits members identified include:

  • Networking opportunities, and many specifically called out that CFAMN is only responsible to provide the environment, and it’s up to individuals to take advantage
  • Job board (as noted above, Google analytics support this)
  • Luncheons
  • Participants like the mentoring program, both the formal one-on-one and the informal group mentoring
  • Senior professionals are looking to give back: speak, write, mentor

Volunteering and giving back to the profession are clearly very important to charterholders. As one interview subject said, “I want to be part of the group that takes the Society to the next level, wherever that is.” That is a common sentiment. People who’ve been involved in the CFA Institute Research Challenge are particularly enthusiastic. However, because of schedule concerns, members would like even more one-off or low-commitment options.

Several people also noted that they are aware that CFAMN has a small staff and said they would be okay being asked to volunteer for a specific task, not just come up with ideas. Staff members also know that passionate volunteers are the key to program success, so finding more volunteers – and finding out more about what they’re passionate about – is critical, and “smaller” volunteer opportunities are a good on-ramp for new volunteers.

Several members also noted that community-based volunteering activities should focus on things that use CFA skills, specifically financial literacy training, activities, or programming.

Of course, one doesn’t collect and analyze data as an end unto itself. The next question becomes: What are you going to do about what you learned? Over the next several blog posts, board and committee members will share their thoughts on that question, and the series will conclude with a roadmap post about where the Society and the Institute plan to go from here.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
Posted in Hot Topic Commentary | Tags: CFA Charterholders, Financial literacy, Member Engagement, Minneapolis investment community, Networking, Volunteering |

A Letter From Our Society President

1st March, 2017 · Joshua M. Howard, CFA · Leave a comment
Joshua M. Howard, CFA

Society Members –

The Board of Directors of the CFA Society of Minnesota has spent the last few years diligently improving our strategic planning and governance processes. This commenced four years ago with a review and restatement of our mission and vision, followed by the creation of a new 3-5 year strategic plan. I have shared the outcomes of those activities with you in the past, and I will be sending a status update on the strategic plan sometime in May or June.

We are now working on the next step in the process to improve how the Board functions. The Executive Committee and full Board are in the midst of revising our bylaws, which haven’t been updated in many years. Some of the changes are non-material, such as updating our office location, but some changes will have material effects on Board processes and committee structures. We are undertaking this revision to make sure we are adopting best practices in governance, as well as to better align with our current mission, vision and staff structure.

In late spring, we will be sharing our proposed revisions of the bylaws with the full membership, as well as highlighting the material edits. Changes to bylaws require a 75% vote from our entire membership, a very high bar, so I strongly encourage everyone to take a minute to review the changes and provide any feedback before we put the bylaws out for a vote. When the proposed revisions are released to Society membership, please take time to vote yes or no. We have more than 1,300 members, which requires us to get consent from almost 1,000 members before the new bylaws can be approved.

The Board and staff have worked very hard on making sure your local Society is operating efficiently while still providing value-add programming and fellowship. We also care deeply about putting in place proper governance procedures along with the right amount of oversight of staff and Society finances. The bylaws revisions, which may seem modest at first glance, will help us be an even more effective organization in the future.

Josh Howard, CFA
President, CFA Society of Minnesota

P.S. Please take a few minutes today to log in and update your CFA Institute profile – especially your email address, which we’ll need for voting.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
Posted in Society President Letters | Tags: A Letter From Our Society President, Bylaws, CFA Society Minnesota, CFAMN, Governance, Member Engagement, Mission, Vision, Voting |

A Letter From Our Society President

21st June, 2016 · Joshua M. Howard, CFA · Leave a comment
Joshua M. Howard, CFA

Last month the Board of Directors of CFA Society Minnesota met to discuss the status of our current three to five-year strategic plan, which has been in place for two years now.  We took some time to reflect on what we have accomplished, debated whether any goals needed revising, and brainstormed ideas on what we hope to accomplish in the upcoming year. I was once again impressed by the commitment of your Board of Directors, as 18 board members spent three and a half hours at the end of a work day engaged in strategic planning, which isn’t every analyst’s idea of a good time.

CFA Society Minnesota’s Mission and Vision, which you can find on our website under the About Us tab, guided us in the creation of our current strategic plan and continues to guide our thinking about how we run the Society.  Our Mission is “To promote and advance the professional excellence, ethical behavior and fellowship of our members through quality programs, educational offerings, and volunteer opportunities.” Our vision states that “We envision a CFA Society of Minnesota that is highly valued, well respected, and widely recognized by investors, academia, and the business community in our region.” Both our mission and vision were updated in 2013. They align with and compliment the CFA Institute’s mission and vision, recognizing that each entity (Society and Institute) has different capabilities and goals.

Our current strategic plan has three main objectives. They are:

  1. Member Engagement: Expand participation and involvement among Society members
  2. Industry Awareness and Involvement: Increase awareness of and involvement in the Society among professionals and firms in our local investment industry
  3. Operational Excellence: Improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the Society’s business processes

Each of these objectives is supported by 2-3 specific, measurable goals. These include finding ways to assist our members as they grow in their careers (leadership training, writing and speaking groups, etc.), building a brand campaign and adopting policies and procedures that will aid in long-term financial and organizational stability. If you would like to see a detailed strategic plan, please contact the Society office at executivedirector@cfamn.org and they would be happy to provide the latest version.  If one of these objectives or goals is an area you would like to support please let our staff know that as well. We are always looking for thoughtful, energetic volunteers to help us accomplish our strategic plan.

Joshua M. Howard, CFA
President, CFA Society Minnesota

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
Posted in Local Charterholders, Society President Letters | Tags: CFA, CFA Minnesota, CFAMN, Industry Awareness and Involvement, Joshua M. Howard, Member Engagement, Operational Excellence, President's Letter, Society President's Letter, Strategic Plan, Volunteer |

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Posts

  • Important Minnesota Financial Literacy Legislation Update 03/20/2023
  • New Financial Literacy Effort Launched for Minnesota Communities and Schools 09/30/2022
  • End of an Era 07/26/2022
  • Starting my Midwestern Goodbye 04/05/2022
  • Face-Off 10/18/2021

Submit your inquiry here

Categories

  • Compliance (3)
  • Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule (1)
  • Ethics (7)
    • Ask the Ethicist (2)
  • Freezing Assets Shout Out (34)
  • Hot Topic Commentary (177)
  • Intellisight (1)
  • Local Charterholders (88)
  • Member Spotlight (4)
  • Society President Letters (15)
  • Spotlight on MN Companies (1)
  • Valuation (2)
  • Weekly Credit Wrap (35)

Archives

  • March 2023 (1)
  • September 2022 (1)
  • July 2022 (1)
  • April 2022 (1)
  • October 2021 (1)
  • August 2021 (1)
  • May 2021 (1)
  • February 2021 (1)
  • January 2021 (2)
  • October 2020 (2)
  • September 2020 (2)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • February 2020 (1)
  • December 2019 (1)
  • November 2019 (2)
  • October 2019 (1)
  • September 2019 (1)
  • August 2019 (1)
  • July 2019 (2)
  • June 2019 (1)
  • April 2019 (3)
  • March 2019 (2)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • January 2019 (2)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • November 2018 (2)
  • October 2018 (3)
  • September 2018 (1)
  • April 2018 (3)
  • March 2018 (8)
  • February 2018 (3)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • November 2017 (5)
  • September 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (3)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • April 2017 (2)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • December 2016 (2)
  • November 2016 (2)
  • October 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (1)
  • July 2016 (2)
  • June 2016 (5)
  • May 2016 (2)
  • April 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (5)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • December 2015 (1)
  • November 2015 (4)
  • October 2015 (6)
  • September 2015 (1)
  • July 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (6)
  • April 2015 (2)
  • March 2015 (4)
  • February 2015 (2)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (7)
  • October 2014 (10)
  • September 2014 (3)
  • August 2014 (5)
  • July 2014 (2)
  • June 2014 (5)
  • May 2014 (9)
  • April 2014 (9)
  • March 2014 (8)
  • February 2014 (7)
  • January 2014 (8)
  • December 2013 (6)
  • November 2013 (7)
  • October 2013 (13)
  • September 2013 (4)
  • August 2013 (2)

Popular Tags

#memberspotlight 2015 Compensation Survey A Day in the Life BlackRock Board of Directors Carlson School of Management CFA CFA Charter CFA Charterholder CFA Charterholders CFA Institute CFA Institute Research Challenge CFA Minnesota CFAMN CFA Program CFA Society Minnesota CFA Society MN Changing Perceptions Chartered Financial Analyst charterholders Compensation Survey Diversity ESG ethics freezing assets shout out interest rates investment management Josh Howard Joshua M. Howard Member Engagement Minnesota non-GAAP earnings North Dakota Nuveen Asset Management President's Letter SEC Society President South Dakota Susanna Gibbons University of Minnesota Volunteer Volunteering Volunteers Weekly Credit Wrap women in finance
© 2021 CFAMN Freezing Assets - Please note that the content of this site should not be construed as investment advice, nor do the opinions expressed necessarily reflect the views of CFAMN, FreezingAssets.org or CFA Institute.
  • Home
  • Log In
  • RSS Feed