Jason Leder CFA is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder. The CFA charter is a globally respected investment credential awarded by the CFA Institute. The CFA charter is considered by many to be the most prestigious and rigorous investment credential. The three levels of the CFA Program test a proficiency with a wide range of fundamental and investment topics including ethical and professional standards, fixed-income and equity analysis, alternative and derivative investments, economics, financial reporting standards, portfolio management, and wealth planning.
To pass the CFA charter, candidates must:
- Pass three sequential, six-hour examinations (successful candidates report spending on average 300 hours of study per level or 900 hours in total)
- Have at least four years of qualified professional investment experience
- Join CFA Institute as members and
- Commit to, abide by, and annually reaffirm their adherence to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
The CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct require CFA charter holders to: place their client interests ahead of their own, maintain independence and objectivity, act with integrity, maintain and improve their professional competence, and disclose conflicts of interest and legal matters.
Jason is honored to currently serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the CFA Society of Houston and as a member of the Board of Directors for CFA Societies Texas. Previously, Jason served as the President of the CFA Society of Houston, before that served as the VP Programming for the CFA Society of Houston, and before that as Treasurer of the CFA Society of Houston.
While not a certification per se, I earned an MBA at the Columbia Business School. The Columbia Business School is rigorous, is widely viewed as a leading institution in the field of investments, and is globally viewed by many to have the quintessential value investing program. I was fortunate to have many wonderful professors, and I studied investments, equity investments, fixed income investments, international accounting, international economics, equity arbitrage, Economic Value Added (taught by Joel Stern, the founder of EVA), quality control (taught by W. Edwards Deming, one of the leading lights in the field of quality), and other areas. I was fortunate to hear Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers, Lee Cooperman, Mario Gabelli (a former boss of mine), Chuck Royce, Roger Murray, Michael Price, and other great investors speak at the Columbia Business School.