Michelle Connell, Owner and President of Portia Capital Management, LLC, is a CFA charter holder and has vast experience in finance, as well as the public and private investment markets. 

As a CFA charter holder, Ms. Connell is held to the highest fiduciary standard in finance.

 

While these facts do not provide a guarantee to financial success, they may help give you a comfort level that your investment counsel is putting your needs first.

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CFA Designation

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In order to obtain the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation, a candidate must have completed the following:

 

• Acquired an undergraduate degree.

• Passed all three levels of the CFA exam in succession. While a candidate can pass all three levels within two years, on average, it takes four years.  A candidate typically commits over 1000 hours of study to complete the CFA.

• Obtained four years of professional experience in a relevant field.

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Only one in five candidates succeed in obtaining their CFA charter.

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Question: Is your investment professional a CFA charter holder?  Do they have a similar level of experience and education in investments and managing client portfolios?

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Fiduciary Requirement

 

CFA members and candidates must adhere to the strictest code of ethics in the industry. Included in this code is the following section on loyalty, prudence and care:

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“(CFA’s) have a duty of loyalty to their clients and must act with reasonable care and exercise prudent judgment. Members and Candidates must act for the benefit of their clients and place their clients' interests before their employer's or their own interests. In relationships with clients, Members and Candidates must determine applicable fiduciary duty and must comply with such duty to persons and interests to whom it is owed.”
 

Question:  Is your investment professional required by a code of ethics to act in your best interest?  In other words, must they act as your fiduciary or face significant consequences for acting otherwise?

  

For more information on the requirements for the CFA designation and its standard of ethics, please review https://www.cfainstitute.org/ethics/Documents/code_of_ethics.pdf

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