CFA Society Australia

Happy new year and welcome to 2026! 🎉

This year, CFA Society Australia marks 30 years of impact. Three decades of proudly advancing the investment profession since 1996 and supporting members, candidates, employers, and industry partners across the country.

We’re excited to celebrate this milestone with our community through year-long events and initiatives, so keep an eye on our events page for more details and follow our LinkedIn page for regular event reminders: https://cfas.org.au/events/

Here’s to a meaningful and inspiring year ahead 🥂

🚀 Kickstart your finance career in Brisbane!

Join CFA Society Australia’s Finance & Investment Career Event. Connect with top employers, network with industry leaders, and explore your future in finance.

📅 Thursday, 9 October
🕒 Careers event: 3:30pm – 6:00pm | Research Challenge final: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
📍 voco Brisbane City Centre
🍽️ Food and drinks provided
🔗 Register now: https://cvent.me/4db0yO

🎁 Bonus: All attendees go into the draw to win a 1-hour career coaching session with Jack Brown from Keegan Adams Recruitment.

Stay afterwards to watch the CFA Institute Research Challenge final and see university teams present to a panel of senior finance professionals.

QLD Chapter | CFA Society Australia Finance & Investment Career Event 2025

It was a pleasure to have Christopher Schade (CFA Society Australia volunteer) speak at ACU’s Melbourne campus last week 💡

Chris shared insights on equity and fixed income valuation, career paths across the buy side, sell side and corporates, and the skills employers value. Students also appreciated his practical career and investment tips.

They discussed the role of an equity analyst, explored valuation methods in practice, and highlighted the benefits of the CFA Program. Thank you, Chris, for an engaging and inspiring session! 🌟



Australian Catholic University (ACU)

🌱 Impact investing panel discussion: Aligning capital with purpose

Join us for a thought-provoking session where leading voices in the impact investing space will explore how capital can be aligned with purpose to drive meaningful change. Our panellists will unpack what impact investing looks like in practice, how success is defined across organisations, and how funding sources shape outcomes.

📅 Thursday, 25 September
🕐 12:15pm - 1:30pm (lunch is included)
📍 Perpetual Group, Sydney
👉 Register now: https://cvent.me/zqzXP2

Why attend:
🔹 Understand how different organisations define and measure success in impact investing
🔹 Explore how public vs. private funding influences capital allocation
🔹 Gain insights into the long-term goals of impact-driven organisations

🎤 Panellists:
Bhanvi A., Portfolio and Partnerships Manager, Snow Foundation
Ben Smith, Head of Impact Investing, Paul Ramsay Foundation
Biljana Nikolova, PhD GAICD, Executive Director, Social Impact Initiatives, Social Ventures Australia

📣 Whether you're new to impact investing or already engaged, this session will offer valuable perspectives on aligning financial returns with social and environmental outcomes.

🌍 Exploring the future of retirement income systems

Join us for an insightful session on the growing importance of private pension provision in an era of ageing populations and increasing retirement risks. We will examine how governments and the pension industry can help de-risk defined contribution pension systems to ensure better retirement outcomes.

🎤 Speaker Dr David Knox, Retired Senior Partner at Mercer and a leading voice in global pension reform

📅 Wednesday, 17 September
🕐 12:15pm – 1:30pm (lunch is included)
📍 Aware Super, Melbourne
👉 Register now: https://cvent.me/33PEOQ

Why attend:
🔹 Gain expert insights into global pension challenges and solutions
🔹 Discover practical approaches to strengthen retirement outcomes
🔹 Enhance your knowledge of policy and investment innovations that support dignified retirements

📣 Don’t miss this opportunity to deepen your understanding of the evolving pension landscape.

Take your Python skills to the next level 🚀

Join a high-impact, half-day interactive seminar designed specifically for finance professionals ready to take their data analysis game to the next level. Whether you're gathering financial data for due diligence, pricing comparisons, or advanced business insights, this Python course by Training The Street will empower you with cutting-edge web scraping tools and techniques.

📅 Friday, 5 September
🕘 9:00am – 12:30pm (AEST)
📍 Online via Zoom
👉 Register now: https://cvent.me/myoGQZ

In just one dynamic morning session, you'll learn to:
✔️ Automate the retrieval of online data for corporate research and financial analysis.
✔️ Build real-world web scraping programs using popular Python packages like Requests, Beautiful Soup, Urllib, and Selenium.
✔️ Extract valuable data from Yahoo Finance, ASX, and a wide range of websites including HTML, XML, JSON, and even PDFs.
✔️ Gain hands-on experience building scripts for competitor analysis, market monitoring, and automated user interactions with websites.

💡 Secure your seat to take control of the data that drives your business decisions.

📌 Note: If you've already completed Python 1: Basics and Data Manipulation and want to unlock powerful data automation capabilities, this is your next essential step.

📣 NSW Chapter | Managing a decumulating portfolio – A risk-focused approach

This presentation explores the complexities of managing portfolios during the decumulation phase, where the dual goals of sustaining income and preserving capital present unique challenges. With sequencing risk and market volatility front of mind, we examine risk management techniques specifically tailored for this stage.

Topics include:
✔️ Dynamic asset allocation
✔️ Proactive liquidity management
✔️ Downside protection strategies

🎤 Speaker Charles Wu, CFA, Chief Investment Officer at State Super (SAS Trustee Corporation) shares real-world case studies and stress-testing frameworks that will demonstrate how these approaches can help navigate uncertainty and support more resilient retirement outcomes.

📅 Wednesday, 3 September
🕧 12:15pm – 1:30pm (lunch is included)
📍 Dexus Place, Sydney
👉 Register now: https://cvent.me/PMo11e

📌 Note: This event has limited seating. Admission is on a first come, first serve basis. Don't miss out!

What a fantastic evening reconnecting with our members and candidates in Brisbane last week at the QLD Chapter quarterly drinks! 🥂

We truly enjoyed sharing drinks, delicious canapés, and great conversations filled with stories and laughter. It’s always inspiring to see our community come together, and we’re grateful for the connections we continue to build.

We wish everyone a wonderful week ahead 🌟

📊 Webinar | Advanced excel skills for financial modelling

In partnership with Financial Modeling Institute (FMI), join us for a FREE webinar to learn advanced excel skills that will elevate your financial models. Ian Schnoor, CFA, CFM, will share essential techniques to build structured, intuitive, and scalable models that support confident decision-making.

🗓️ Tuesday, 9 September
🕛 12:00pm – 1:00pm (AEST)
📍 Online via Zoom (link provided upon registration)
👉 Register your attendance: https://cvent.me/LManP2

Can't make it live? Register to receive the recording via email to watch at your convenience ✔️

🌟 Special offer: Advanced Financial Modeler Accreditation Program 🌟

Take your financial modeling skills to the next level with the Advanced Financial Modeler (AFM) Accreditation Program, offered by the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI) in collaboration with CFA Society Australia.

📌 Exclusive CFA Society Australia member offer
20% off AFM’s standard price
Select CFA Australia and enter your CFA ID number when registering here: https://fminstitute.com/afm-for-cfa/

📌 Non-member offer
10% off AFM’s standard price
Use code COR-AFM-10-CFA-A-10 at checkout here: https://fminstitute.com/afm/

📊 Sharpen your financial modelling skills with this FREE webinar!

In partnership with Financial Modeling Institute (FMI), join us for a highly practical session led by Ian Schnoor, CFA, CFM, as he shares proven techniques for reviewing and auditing financial models. With over 20 years of global experience, Ian will guide you through common pitfalls and best practices to ensure your models are clear, accurate, and decision-ready.

🗓️ Date: Tuesday, 12 August
🕛 Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm AEST
📍 Location: Online via Zoom (link provided upon registration)
👉 Register your attendance: https://cvent.me/oyydGK

🔍 Key takeaways:
Practical techniques for auditing financial models
Structured methodology for error detection
Real-world pitfalls and how to avoid them
Boost confidence in your modeling outputs

✔️ Can't make it live? Register to receive the recording via email to watch at your convenience.

📢 Calling all CFA Institute Research Challenge participants!

Join us for an exclusive Insights Session designed to elevate your performance in the 2025 CFA Institute Research Challenge.

📅 Date: Wednesday, 13 August
🕠 Time: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM AEST
📍 Location: Zoom

This essential training webinar features three seasoned professionals who will guide you through:
✅ How to prepare an Equity Research Report:
Learn how to structure your report, analyse key financials and present investment recommendations clearly and professionally.

✅ Effective presentation techniques:
Get expert advice on how to build a compelling presentation and deliver it with confidence.

✅ How to present your research:
Practical tips for communicating your findings to judges, handling Q&A and standing out.

🎯 Whether you're new to the challenge or looking to sharpen your edge, this session is not to be missed!
🔗Register now: https://cvent.me/ZMwWe0