As a part of CFAAP’s tradition, the Annual CFA Charter Awards Ceremony was held at The Sheraton Hotel Karachi, on November 3, 2007, to honor and acknowledge new Charterholders from Pakistan. Despite the political turmoil that unfolded that day, the ceremony saw a decent gathering of about 100 people. Mr. Khalid Ghayur, CFA, CEO Westpeak Global Advisors, Colorado was the chief guest and the keynote speaker at the event. Khalid is no stranger to both CFAAP and its members. The management of CFAAP is indebted by the unconditional support offered by Khalid in every aspect of the society’s activities. Previously, Khalid has also served as the MD and Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley Capital International. He also has the honor of being the first non-North American to be appointed to the CFA Council of Examiners and has also served on the CFA Institute Board of Governors for 6 years.
The Ceremony started with the recitation from the Holy Quran. Zaheeruddin Khalid, Secretary and Continued Education Chair, CFAAP, was the Master of the Ceremony. Welcome note was given by Mir Mohammad Ali, Vice President, CFAAP.
Khalid Ghayur gave a very informative presentation on ‘Myths & Truths about Hedge Funds’ and ‘Attracting & Retaining Talent’. He informed the audience that hedge funds are basically loosely regulated investment pools, open generally to institutional and accredited individual investors. Hedge fund managers implement complex investment strategies by employing leverage, derivatives, and short selling. Hedge funds charge a management fee and a performance fee, typically 2% plus 20% of performance over a pre-specified hurdle rate. Hedge funds also require long lock-ups or commitments. He deliberated on various myths versus realities of Hedge funds. A copy of Khalid’s presentation is available for all our members who missed the ceremony.
Khalid also gave a very enlightening talk on ‘Career Management’ which enthralled the audience. He said that careers do not just evolve with time they have to be carefully managed, and that career management is now the explicit responsibility of each individual. He gave a five-step dynamic process of career management, including:
- Discovering and / or building a true passion
- A self evaluation of core values and individual strengths and development areas
- Identification, analysis, and understanding of various career choices and alternatives
- Setting of explicit and tangible career goals, and
- Creating a plan to achieve career goals
He stressed that passion is THE key to success. Being passionate is important because it gives one the natural ability to be committed and motivated; willing to learn and acquire higher levels of technical expertise throughout one’s career. He quoted various successful people during the course of his presentation. He also gave the three most fundamental principles of career management, which are:
- Choose a profession that links closely to your passion
- Choose an employer whose core values are similar or compatible to yours
- Choose a job, role, or function that leverages your strengths
The presentation was stimulating and got everybody assessing their careers. Khalid’s talk was followed by the distribution of Charters and later dinner.