Situation update

In early March, I decided to focus on study for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level Two exam. My job wasn’t taking me in the direction of being a market analyst, although it did give me some insights into the corporate debt market. I saw the huge scale of corporate debt issuance and how that has increased in recent years. I also saw that interest rates for corporates were creeping up. This is something that I read has continued, which could become a problem down the line.

I used the time up to early June constructively but it wasn’t enough, it is a very tough exam. I’ll have a head start should I take it again next year.

I also took the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) Level One exam in late April. This was easy enough, it is something I could have done years ago. I passed the Society of Technical Analysts’ (STA) exam years ago but the CMT programme seems to have greater employer recognition. I will take the CMT Level Two exam in October.

I have posted my first article on seekingalpha.com. Although I’ve built a good track record on this blog, enjoyed writing it and learnt plenty, it hasn’t put me out there enough, even with use of LinkedIn and Twitter. I also get a small payment for each article.

My first article covers consumer discretionary stocks. I will post links to the articles from here but I’m not allowed to duplicate the content. I may still post other articles here that I can’t or don’t want to put on seekingalpha.com.

The short position in the NASDAQ 100 from 29 April was stopped out at 4,600 for a loss of 6.0%. This still leaves a gains to losses ratio since the blog started of £3.05 gained for every £1.00 lost.