Private CFA Coaching

Before you begin. Through the exams. Across your career.

I coach people at every stage of the CFA Program: deciding whether to begin, passing the exams at the first attempt or after a setback, using a new charter as a career catalyst, and advancing in the years that follow. Few coaches can offer all of this. I am fully independent, so I can look at the decision objectively and tell you plainly if the program is not right for you. I know the official curriculum in depth and can guide you through any part where you need help. And with a global career in investment and finance, I know what advancement asks of a charterholder.

Investment management, private wealth and private markets are among the most competitive fields in finance. Most people I coach already work in them, with demanding jobs and full lives, and want experienced outside support for their growth and development. Many carry their decisions alone. A doubt about the program, a failed result or a promotion that is always coming next year is rarely discussed at work, and often not at home. Few have someone outside their firm who holds the charter and can be trusted completely. I aim to be that person. All coaching is one-on-one, online and in confidence, wherever you are in the world.

CFA Decision Coaching

The CFA Program asks for well over a thousand hours of study, and most who begin do not finish. Over the past decade, CFA Institute results show roughly one Level III pass for every seven Level I sittings. Starting at the wrong moment can cost years, and waiting when the time is right has a cost, too. A readiness review examines your capabilities, circumstances and goals, looks ahead to the Level III pathway that suits your career, and gives you an honest answer, including when the answer is no. I also work with accountants, actuaries, lawyers and physicians who already hold a demanding qualification and want the challenge of the CFA Program to match their ambition.

CFA First Attempt Coaching

Every failed attempt costs months of study, momentum at work and time with the people closest to you. I passed every level at the first attempt, and that remains the best route to the charter. On today's exam calendar, three first-attempt passes can take you from your first day of study to the Level III exam in about 18 months, though the pace suits only some candidates. Coaching sets a rhythm you can hold around your work and leads you steadily into the official curriculum.

CFA Exam Failure Coaching

Failing a CFA exam is common and rarely spoken about. In 2025 alone, nearly ninety thousand exam sittings ended in a fail across the three levels, and Level III pass rates have fallen from the mid-fifties before the pandemic to about half today. Most who fail are capable, hard-working people who did not lack effort. The weeks after a result matter, so we begin promptly, with a careful failure analysis that finds the real cause. At Level III, I set constructed response papers from my own library, grade each one myself and go through every answer with you.

New CFA Charterholder Coaching

A newly earned charter is a rocket that too many charterholders forget to light. Well-meaning people may suggest you slow down, yet the months after your result are when the achievement is freshest and most noticed. In the month I earned my charter, I was promoted with a large step up in pay, and that gave me the confidence to apply for and obtain international roles. I encourage the same bold action: a clear case for promotion, a move to a larger role, and becoming market ready.

CFA Career Coaching

Earning the charter is a beginning, and in many teams the people around you hold the charter too. What sets you apart next is how you lead, communicate and choose your moves. I coach charterholders whose careers are not going to plan, those planning a move between sectors, regions or roles, and those ready to advance. I also coach the skills the exams never test: presenting to a committee or board, speaking in public, and building a slide deck that makes the case. For a select few, the work continues across a whole career.

About Me

I have held the CFA charter since 1999, passing every level at the first attempt. I came to the program as a Cambridge graduate and earned my work experience in my first job, as assistant to the CIO of a pension plan, weaving what I was learning in the curriculum into the job each day, an approach I still encourage in young investment professionals. After working as an investment consultant in London, I turned to teaching in 2002. Over the years I have looked closely at other credentials, yet none matches the CFA charter for instant recognition, a passport that travels across borders, and ongoing learning through CFA Institute resources. My work today is helping others quietly become the professional they have dreamed of.

Since 2002 I have taught the CFA Program to thousands of candidates across several countries, and served as the in-house CFA instructor for one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. I now work with a small number of people, one at a time, and many of those relationships continue long after the results are in.

Getting in Touch

If any of this sounds familiar, I would be glad to hear from you. Please write to me through the contact form with a little about where you are and what you hope for. I read every message myself and reply within a few days, and then we can arrange a phone or Zoom call to talk things through, including fees.

What you share with me is held in confidence. I am fully independent, with no referral arrangements and no institutional ties. If you would like to speak with a past client or verify my charter before we begin, just ask. Firms are also welcome to sponsor coaching for their people.