Interview assessment #3
Name: Christopher Lipper
Profession: Financial Advisor
Company: CFP Texas
Date of Interview: 3 November 2017
On November 3rd, I acquired an amazing interview with Mr. Lipper, a Financial Advisor of CFP Texas, who wonderfully assessed the difference between MBA and CFA examinations, values of his company, characteristics a professional must have in order to gain a better chance for a job, and discussed his story in finance.
To begin, Mr. Lipper did not begin as financial advisor. In college, he was studying law until he realized he needed a change. As the study of law was not accompanying his happiness, he began to study for his MBA that brought him to CFP Texas. Along with that, his girlfriend’s father had also happened to be in the field at the time which brought him even closer to finance. I related to this because my topic proposal plan was suited for this kind of situation. Creating a website that fully discusses MBA, CFA, and CPA degrees could help college students make better decisions towards what they want to pursue. I also agree with the idea that what you want to pursue in college should make you happy and not drag you down.
Further into the interview, I mentioned two most common degrees in finance, MBA and CFA, and questioned the difference between them. In his words, the MBA degree was the most common associated degree that most finance specialists have and they’re very common in today’s economy. He also mentioned that MBA degrees offered jobs such as accountants, bank positions, and financial advising. On the other side, CFA degrees offer more gradient jobs such as analyzing, investing, and consulting. In today’s economy, CFA professionals are more special towards companies and having both are an amazing skill that most companies love. However, the CFA exam is what kills most college students that requires over 150 hours of studying in preparation to taking it. Last year, the passing rate was 43 percent which reveals the challenge associated with this examination.
Next, he explained the values most financial companies would look for in a professional. He stated that professionals should carry traits such as honest, reliable, confident, and social. I agree with all four traits because companies want those type of people who they can rely on 24/7 who can complete the task with no questions asked. Also, I like to add that most companies want an employee who can be suited for any working environment. Being in the financial field means that you have clients. To keep the positive relationship with their clients, means their paycheck is good. What I mean from that is financial advisors need to keep their relationships with their clients as good as possible that way they know their clients feel trusted with somebody who is managing their money and the honesty plays a crucial role in managing one’s money.
Through this interview, I gained more knowledge of professional characteristics and he especially helped me with my understanding of both degrees. Only reading through articles gave me a brief description of each degree, however, interviewing a real-world professional gave me a better perspective of each degree and helped me side more with the CFA examination as a challenge to complete
