Centenary grad earns prestigious financial certification
SHREVEPORT, LA — Joshua Scott, a 2013 Centenary College graduate, recently passed the Level III Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program exam and has become a CFA charterholder. The CFA designation is the highest distinction in the investment management profession and the process is extremely rigorous, with candidates usually taking at least four years to complete the three-exam series.
Scott joins an elite group of only 167,000 worldwide CFA charterholders and less than a dozen locally, many of whom have Centenary connections. In addition to Scott, local CFA charterholders include Centenary alumni Jay Binderim ’05 and Dick Seale ’69, along with Dr. Barbara Davis, professor of accounting and finance at the College’s Frost School of Business.
“Most people agree that the CFA designation is the most widely known and respected qualification for finance and investment professionals,” says Davis. “Having another Centenary alumnus receive his CFA charter is a testament to the tremendous talent of our students and their determination to excel in their professions and career goals. Josh is joining a very small, prestigious group of finance professionals.”
Seale, Binderim, and Davis were all present for a ceremony and luncheon in October 2019 to recognize Scott’s achievement along with fellow Shreveport-Bossier CFA charterholders Tanner Murphy, Rob Basham, Lloyd Brown, and Steven Langley. Dr. Walter Neeley, a CFA charterholder from Mississippi, was also on hand for the ceremony. Neeley, a retired finance professor from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, was instrumental in founding the Jackson CFA chapter that includes the Shreveport charterholders.
The CFA charterholder program stresses professional ethics and global connections, preparing candidates to lead the constantly evolving investment profession with integrity and creativity. The CFA program is also committed to diversity and inclusion and has worked actively to improve gender balance in the investment profession as well as increase the geographic accessibility of its exam centers for candidates around the world.
Scott is originally from Houston, Texas, and earned a degree in economics and finance from Centenary in 2013. After graduation, he qualified for the Management Associate Program (MAP) at Regions Bank and spent six months at the company headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Scott has spent his entire career at Regions, starting as a commercial banking analyst in Shreveport and then moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, to work in investment banking. He is currently a portfolio manager in private wealth management, a role that allows him to leverage skills from his education at Centenary, the CFA program, and his diverse work experience.