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- Topic: Career advice in Vancouver
| Author | Topic: Career advice in Vancouver |
|---|---|
| stevelaz @2007-01-03 07:36:43 |
Hi, I have been a financial analyst for a number of years in the UK and moved to Canada 3 years ago. My work has mainly been calculation based - redress calcs/comparative calcs/actuarial etc and I have been a contractor for the last 6 years doing work for Assurance companies/actuarial firms /Pricewaterhousecoopers etc etc. Since being in Canada I have taken (and passed) the Canadian Securities Exams as follows: Canadian Securities Course (CSC) Investment Management Techniques (IMT) Portfolio Management techniques (PMT) Awarded the Canadian Investment Manager status Technical Analysis Course (TAC) Conduct and Practices Handbook (CPH) Ethics Module (Institutional Clients) And have been awarded the Felloship of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI) I am aged 39 and want to get into a research analyst or Portfolio/Fund Manager role and wondered if with the above and experience and with studies for CFA (L1 in June) will I be OK I have also run my own financial consultancy business for the past 6/7 years and been Director/CEO etc of it. I live just outside Vancouver BC and would apreciate any advice on companies/agencies/firms that I should be approaching and what I should be pushing as my main area of skills. Many thanks for your help in this matter Kind regards Steve |
| stevelaz @2007-01-06 18:53:47 |
Anyone have any advice. I hoped that the wealth of expereince on these boards would have some advice. Regards Steve |
| ncfa @2007-01-08 22:28:41 |
dear stevelaz udont need to have such queries at this level . i dont think so u need ant such tho after havg workd giants like Pwc, etc and havg passed other local canadian exams as with case myself.all u need to do is just spend time in canada as it isnt ezy to find fund related jobs when u r constantly moving around world i . all uneed to do is just apply and ofcourse employees "SHOULD" RESPECT U now . u can also do cfa if u ike but i dont think so it would be required as long as u r in job . thx |
| stevelaz @2007-01-08 22:58:00 |
Hi ncfa, Many thanks for the posting. I have now settled in Canada (just o/s Vancouver) so I am looking for either contract work (like I have done for the past 6/7yr) or a good full time position. I hope that with my past experience and CIM and FCSI that a company will allow into a research analyst of Porfolio Mgr position. Where are you based and what position do you hold at the moment?....What CFAexam are you taking? I need some list or portal of suitable exmployers or agencies. I would like CFA as it adds more credibility Regards Steve |
| ncfa @2007-01-09 21:56:26 |
steve i m not a canadian ri8 now but may move may not , i m currently attcahed to a assurance firm outside canada basically in asia and will continue my career in assurance or tax field. i think U should drop ur cv to big 4/10 firms in canada they definitly will help u when seeing ur history. can u share what kinda "consultancy firm " u have been operating in past? thx |
| stevelaz @2007-01-10 01:37:40 |
Ncfa. Many thanks for your posting. Which firms would you suggest I send my CV to (who are the big 4/10)..... With regards to my consultancy firm, I set up the business in 2000 and I have been doing financial analysis with regards to the mis-selling of financial products. The main roles were to do comparisons and valuations on pension schemes and endowment contracts etc. I have worked for life assurance companies, actuarial businesses and investment firms. It was mainly calculation based work, however I also ran a project with 35 staff meeting tight regulatory deadlines. |
| ncfa @2007-01-10 14:58:27 |
ye as u said earlier PWC,e&y etc are all ranked according 2 their work load and grouped into top 4/10 firms worldwide. u definitly should forward ur cv for any roles u like to have or even just get into any job first then into portfolio. u working now? its the prob when we keep on relocating . n e ways good luck .by the way y u closed consultancy ? thx |
| stevelaz @2007-01-11 18:32:00 |
Ncfa - I still have my consultancy business - for the last 8 months I have been concentrating on my studies. I now intend to love for future/additional business as being a student is nice, however I still have to pay the bills !!! |
| ncfa @2007-01-12 13:29:28 |
obviously , same here , i asked that bcz i m also looking 4 some extra income meanwhile ,but means its just to canada. , do keep applying ,gud luck |
| stevelaz @2007-01-19 19:26:04 |
Are all of the good jobs in Toronto or are there some in Vancouver? Any help here would be apreciated. Regards |
| Arash @2019-06-23 15:20:30 |
Hi Steve I hope I can be helpful, although I think we're kinda on the same boat. I live in Van too and currently am half way through a specialized MBA program at SFU; also I just passed CFA level 1. Now as for your questions, I think it all depends what areas you're interested to apply for. Vancouver relative to Toronto, Calgary or Montreal offer far less opportunities in the investment mgmt arena, however if you're interested in accounting, you might find all the major firms( PWC, KPMG...) having offices here. Also there are few major fund management firms(mostly independent) that I name some but they all have very low turnovers. Phillips Hager and North (PH&N), Connar Clarke and Lunn, Leith Wheeler, Ethical funds, North growth, bcIMC(pension fund manager in Victoria with $80bil AUM) and few more hedge funds that might not be of interest to you. Also if you're interested on the brokerage side, all the major banks have extensive activities in the market here (RBC Dominion Securities, TD Waterhouse, BMO Nesbitt Burns, CIBC Wood Gundy, Scotia McLeod and Edward Jones etc) I just recently found out about some IB shops (Macquarie ...)and also a few bank related ones who have just started their operations in Van and are mostly active in mining and forestry industries in a small scale. However I'm actually getting convinced that I have to move to Toronto a year from now as the difference will be definitely tangible in terms of the opportunities available. I think it might be a different case for you as I don?t have the extensive amount of experience you have and I've no intention of considering Accounting firms but still it?s a BIG challenge to find desired jobs here than back east. Hope this helped, although my learning curve is not complete yet and I?m still wondering around trying to know if I can find something here. Oh I forgot about insurance companies( major ones are Sun life, Manulife and Great West Life, Industrial Alliance, Standard life and Desjardins) I?m not sure about the extent of their activities here though. |
CFA Discussion Topic: Career advice in Vancouver
I passed! I did not get a chance to tell you before the exam - but your site was excellent. I will definitely take it next year for Level II.
