Addo Boadum was already an experienced wealth manager – and was studying for a PhD on the impact of robo-advice – when he embarked on our Certified Fintech Practitioner (CFP). He tells us what makes the CFP course exceptional and how the learning is helping him in his new role.
I was just about to finish the latter part of my research when I saw the Certified Fintech Practitioner course advertised. I thought it would give me added insights and information on what I’ve been working on over the last few years.
I also wanted to meet a few more people who are thinking about issues in the fintech space and find out their views on key issues.
What was your favourite part of the course?
The beauty of this course was learning from industry professionals and experts. These guys weren’t just academics. They were from start-ups or had been working in the field for years.
They had a professional, practical hands-on approach and when they answered a question, they answered it from a point of knowledge and reality.
There are text book answers and there are practical solutions. The tutors on this course had both.
If you’re thinking of advancing your career – either in academia or in finance – CFP will give you insights into specific areas where you may want to focus. It’s good for the practical and for academia.
What was the biggest challenge of CFP?
Apart from balancing work with study – the key challenge was watching all the video case studies. Some were very long and you had to absorb the case studies in the videos to write your journal.
But that was a challenge worth having, because it helped me come up with some of the best journals I’ve ever written.
I got into the habit of including the videos in my day. Over the course of each week, whenever I sat down with cup of tea I’d have my laptop in front of me and just press play. I wanted to become familiar with the storylines, so listening to each case study a few times helped me make a concise summary.
Have you been able to apply your learning to your work?
Yes. I finished working for Barclays Wealth Management in March, after 14 and a half years.
Now I’m doing some work for another private bank and financial institution that used to be based in the UK but moved to Riga in Latvia because of Brexit. They’re looking to passport back into the UK and I’ve been taken on as one of the key leads to look at that and digitising their current way of onboarding.
So my fintech experience and CFP is really coming to life. I’m drawing on everything I learnt and using it in this role.
What do you love about your job?
A true banker is a customer-focused person. Because it’s not just about a product or service, it’s about walking customers through their financial journey and making sure they think it through. It’s about steering them in the right direction and helping them solve issues.
Making a difference in a customer’s life is the prime reason why I love working in banking and finance.
Related content
More about Certified Fintech Practitioner on the Centre for Digital Banking and Finance website