Career conversations: Don’t let setbacks stop you achieving your goals

What got me interested in investments was around curiosity. I didn't want a desk job where I did the same thing every day. Investments was about variables. Every day in the macro environment, things are changing. My name is Frank Li, and I'm a Diversified Portfolio Manager at MLC, one of Australia's largest super fund and I am a CFA® Charterholder.

During my first year of university I failed many subjects because I didn't go to class. But, that setback doesn't stop things. I needed to demonstrate to my future employer my commitment and what I'm capable of. So I did my master’s, that was a one-year degree, it demonstrated my progress, but I needed more.

The CFA (Program) is one certificate that has a very high failing rate. To successfully pass that really demonstrates your commitment level, dedication to driving something and getting to your goal.

CFA (Program) to me is about breadth. It covers a wide range of topics in the investment space, to honing on your skills to prepare you for the investment management industry.

The CFA® Program is written by practitioners, people who work in the industry. So what that means is, you learn things on how you actually do things in the industry. One example is Level III CFA (Program), which is about portfolio management. You actually engage with clients on how to pick up what they want and put that into your portfolio.

When you manage a diversified portfolio, it's not (just) sitting behind a desk and allocating to asset classes. You have to engage with your stakeholders. Legal, risk, tax, operations, implementation. These are all other people you have to convince to help you to achieve the portfolio outcome.

Getting your CFA® Charterholder, I think the key thing is about perseverance. It's not easy. You have to dedicate time to it. I've got a colleague who's failed CFA Program Level II a number of times, but he never gave up. It's that kind of perseverance that really demonstrates to a future employer your personality and what you're capable of.