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Smith Earns Chartered Financial Analyst Designation
Quality Financial Concepts adviser completes three-level, multiyear program.
Maryville, Tennessee -- March 14, 2022 – Quality Financial Concepts, a Maryville-based wealth-management firm, announced that adviser Shane Smith recently earned the coveted Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
The CFA program is a postgraduate certification offered by the CFA Institute and recognized internationally. The program teaches subjects in advanced investment analysis as well as general knowledge in other areas of finance. It is one of the highest distinctions in the investment management profession.
Smith recently completed a multi-year journey by successfully passing the three examinations required for CFA designation. That, plus his years of qualifying service and education, now make Smith a CFA Charterholder.
“Fewer than 50 percent of those who take the Level I, Level II and Level III exams pass them,” said Doug Horn, a Certified Financial Planner who is the founder/president of Quality Financial Concepts and Registered Principal of Crown Capital Securities L.P. “In 2021, only 27 percent passed the Level I exam, so we’re proud of Shane’s accomplishment. We know his expertise will only deepen the trust our clients have placed in our firm and in his abilities.”
According to Smith, becoming a CFA charterholder was a goal he’d had since college. “It is considered to be the gold standard in the investment management industry,” he said. “I knew it would be extremely time-consuming, but when my son was born, that motivated me to get the ball rolling.”
In order to qualify for a CFA charter, candidates must have obtained a bachelor’s degree, pass all three levels of the curriculum and accumulate at least 4,000 hours of qualified work experience.
Smith has worked with QFC since August 2011. He currently serves as a financial adviser for the firm, having earned his Certified Financial Planner designation in 2014. In addition to helping clients optimize and manage their investment portfolios, Smith assists them in reviewing their insurance, tax-planning and tax-preparation needs. He is also the recommended financial adviser for two different credit unions in the state of Tennessee.
Although CFA Charterholders often go on to work for some of the nation’s largest and most influential investment firms, Smith says he prefers working with an independent, family-owned practice like Quality Financial Concepts.
“I was fortunate to find them when I did, right out of school, rather than going to one of the national firms,” Smith said. “Building a practice that way is rare in our industry. But I’ve enjoyed the long-term relationships I’ve been able to build with my clients over the past decade, from helping them plan for retirement to assisting them as they navigate their post-retirement years.”
A native of Tullahoma, TN, Smith graduated from Tullahoma High School and went on to earn an accounting degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He worked at two different banking institutions in Tullahoma, one as an accountant, before joining the QFC team in 2011.
“That’s when I began taking more of an interest in investments and personal finance,” added Smith, who resides in Maryville with his wife, Sarah, and sons Luke and James.
Founded in 1983, Quality Financial Concepts is a full-service, independent investment advisory firm located at 115 W. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville. Its team of Certified Financial Planners, financial advisers, accountants and assistants is able to offer clients a full spectrum of planning and wealth-management services.