Smith Finance Students Visit CFA Institute

On March 31, 2017, a score of finance students from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business travelled with David Kass, clinical professor of finance, to Charlottesville, Va., to visit the CFA Institute. The students received a brief overview of the global association, whose mission is to set “the highest standards of ethics, education and professional excellence in the industry.” The CFA has close to 150,000 members around the world. Brian Stype, director of Research Challenge, urged the students to “learn best practices in equity research” by participating in the CFA’s global competition, which draws thousands of students from more than 800 universities in 55 countries.

During their visit, students were presented with several real-world situations that might arise in the business world and were asked to defend their chosen course of action.  The exercise reinforced the fact that decision-making in business is often challenged by complicated and competing issues.

“Understanding a few examples of ethical dilemmas we might face in our career was very valuable,” said Scott Clifford ’17, a senior in finance and accounting.

“The CFA Charter is an invaluable asset for a professional in the investment industry, so it was very valuable to gain insight into how the institute structures the program and how charter members have benefitted,” said Jacob Biedronski ’18, a junion in finance and information systems.

“Hearing about the many benefits members receive, it only made me more likely to pursue accounting,” Gary Ascher ’17, a senior in finance.

Matthew Lindheim ’17, a senior in finance, added, “The CFA visit provided good insight into what the CFA requires…I will be registering to take the CFA exam.”

Ben Mathew John, a 2018 master of finance candidate, said: “The CFA visit was good.  It was an interactive session and has inspired me to take the exam.”

Kass currently teaches Advanced Financial Management and Business Finance, and is the faculty champion for the sophomore Wall Street Fellows Program. Kass has accompanied MBA students on trips to Omaha for private meetings with Warren Buffett, and this May, will lead a group of Finance Fellows to Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting.

- Claudia Donnelly, Smith Undergraduate Program