02 July 2021

Written by Jamela Hoveni - Milpark Business School Senior Lecturer: Investment Management.

The South African investment management industry has over R2 trillion in assets under management, making it a powerhouse industry in South Africa. It is an attractive industry from an employment point of view, with many finance students dreaming of landing their job with one of the big firms in South Africa. A finance degree or postgraduate qualification is in fact a sought-after skill in South Africa, with finance graduates earning twice as much as graduates from other fields.

I first joined the industry over 14 years ago as a young analyst and in many ways, my experience in the industry is what many of our students aspire to. Over the years I have worked in various roles, which include Emerging Market Debt Analyst and Economist. Since then, I have joined Milpark Business School as senior lecturer in investment management responsible for the Postgraduate Diploma in Investment Management (PG Dip in Investment Management). At Milpark Business School, we are passionate about Investment and therefore have developed a unique programme, the PG Dip (Investment Management), to prepare students for a career in investment management.

The PG Dip (Investment Management) aims to prepare students for positions in investment management, which include analyst, portfolio manager and business development executives. In my role as a senior lecturer at Milpark Business School, I try to integrate practical and theoretical aspects of investment management because I believe that it enriches the educational experience. To prepare students for a challenging and exciting career in Investment Management, our PG Dip (Investment Management) focuses specifically on practical analytical skills and immersing students in current business problems.

My experience in the industry has shown me that senior executives at investment firms want graduates who are ready to hit the ground running, and at Milpark Business School we prepare our students to do just that. To deliver on this promise, we work with adjunct faculty which consists of experts from the investment industry and academia to deliver a curriculum that is relevant and focused on contemporary business problems.

Part of that challenge is producing ethical graduates who can navigate everyday ethical practices in investment management. This is important because ethical decision-making and the skills to navigate ethical dilemmas are core business skills. In the investment management industry, we have seen how unethical conduct on the part of investment professionals, market participants and those who service clients can impair the proper functioning of capital markets and the sustainability of the industry. To prepare graduates for navigating these ethical issues within business, we have developed a curriculum that is aligned to the CFA code of ethics and standards of professional conduct[1].

This not only prepares graduates for the South African context but also produces high quality graduates who are familiar with trends in global financial markets.

[1] This program is not affiliated with, sponsored, or approved by CFA Institute.