- October 24, 2017
- Posted by: annlin@india.cfasociety.org
- Category:Bengaluru, BLOG, Events, Volunteer
Contributed by: Shreyans Jain
The Bengaluru chapter of CFA Society India hosted the Volunteer Orientation Day at The Grand Magrath Hotel on 19th August 2017. The CFA Institute and CFA Society India (IAIP), thrive on the energy and contribution of member volunteers. They are at the core of all its activities and events. They find time from their demanding day jobs to give back to the Institute and Industry through volunteering. The event was organized to apprise its candidates and Charter aspirants of the benefits the membership to CFA Institute brings with it and the benefits of being a volunteer.
We could not have got a person better than Mr. Jayesh Gandhi, MIM, CFA and the present president of the IAIP, Indian CFA Society for this. An active volunteer & board member for over five years, Jayesh made us aware of the opportunities, responsibilities, and resources that becoming a member and volunteer brings. To complement Mr. Jayesh’s volunteering experience, we had on the dais Mrs. Aarti Porwal, Director of Society Relations in India at CFA Institute. Her presence was enough to motivate the budding women CFA Charter holders and Charter aspirants of Bengaluru chapter to put their best foot forward and make the best use of volunteering at CFA events.
Jayesh, after congratulating the Level 3 successful candidates, wasted no time to clear our ”Why” of joining as a volunteer and member of the CFA Institute India’s Chapter. He narrated inspiring tales of leading volunteers who got better professional as well as business opportunities by connecting with the extensive network investment professionals across the globe. He also highlighted how becoming an active volunteer has helped him as well as many volunteers across the globe to develop leadership, communication and organization skills. Few of the material benefits of becoming a regular member of CFA Institute highlighted by him are as under: –
• Connect with a global network of more than 145,000 investment professionals known for their expertise and integrity
• Gain access to outstanding financial publications, education resources, and specialized career services
• Obtain member discounts at our events worldwide
• Getting access to Career Center for job listings etc.
He laid out the benefits, the requirements and the checklist which one must adhere to before applying for the membership. He also informed the audience about the affiliate membership which candidates who don’t qualify for regular membership can opt for to enjoy similar benefits of regular membership. He also encouraged the audience to make the best use of reduced rates of Annual dues for getting membership of $150 against the regular/affiliate dues of $275.
Following the encouraging and in-depth speech of Mr. Gandhi, the audience had the opportunity to gain insights from the rich experience of Mrs. Aarti Porwal. As a Director of Society Relations in India at CFA Institute, Mrs. Porwal has been the responsible for membership growth and volunteer management, in addition to supporting university affiliation and prep providers in India. She narrated all the details related to the eligibility criteria for regular membership and affiliate membership. She addressed queries of the audience and addressed doubts which the audience had related to the membership criteria.
She explained to the audience various volunteering opportunities that were up for grabs for the candidates. Candidates could opt for the volunteering opportunity that best suited their skills set. If someone was good at communication and people to people engagement, he could get himself registered for communication and similar volunteering opportunities. In case someone felt he is better at connecting the society to speakers across new areas of study, then there were opportunities for that also. She also highlighted how one could be a member of the institute without pursuing the CFA program, like herself.
The success of the event could be gauged from the fact that most of the members of the audience who were present had signed up for volunteering event and Bengaluru chapter looked forward to a renewed energy and renewed bank of ideas from its upcoming volunteers and members.
-SJ