[2022.4] CFA SOCIETY JAPAN NEWSLETTER April 2022, No.57
Introducing CFA Society Japan’s Book Club
CFA Society Japan’s Book Club is a monthly event which has been running now for over two years. The Book Club was founded in 2019 by CFA Society Japan Board Member, Moet Shigeta, CFA, who identified the need for hosting casual networking events aimed at society members. The main goal of the Book Club is to give members the opportunity to connect, network and casually exchange opinions with other industry professionals in a friendly environment. The organisers aim to pick books and movies which are relevant to modern financial topics but more importantly, topics that result in interesting and enjoyable discussions. The event was originally hosted at Café Salvador in Kayabacho, however, due to COVID, events have been hosted online since March 2020.
How is the Event Organised?
Having tried a variety of structures since the club was founded, we have arrived at the following format which not only allows us to provide a thorough explanation of the book/movie but also maximises discussion opportunities for attendees.
19:00 – 19:15: Introductions, Housekeeping
The moderator will go through housekeeping rules and there will be a short introduction session for participants.
19:15 – 19:25: Book/Movie Summary
The moderator will give a general summary of the book/movie; this is done so that attendees who haven’t read the book or watched the movie have the necessary background to join in with the discussion.
19:25 – 20:15: Free Discussion
Some discussion prompts will be shared, however, members are also free to share any discussion topics; our goal is to promote free intellectual discussions among society members.
20:15 – 21:00: Event Close & Casual Networking
At 20:15, we conclude the session and announce the book/movie for the following month. We still keep the session open to given attendees the opportunity to network and to have discussions which might not be related to the book or movie.
Since the Book Club was founded, the following books and movies have been covered:
|
#
|
Date
|
Title
|
Author / Director
|
|
01
|
03 Oct 19
|
Intelligent Investor
|
Benjamin Graham
|
|
02
|
22 Oct 19
|
Libra Whitepaper
|
Libra Association
|
|
03
|
07 Mar 20
|
Flash Boys
|
Michael Lewis
|
|
04
|
25 May 20
|
Factfulness
|
Hans Rosling et al.
|
|
05
|
28 Aug 20
|
Principles
|
Ray Dalio
|
|
06
|
25 Sep 20
|
Four, The
|
Scott Galloway
|
|
07
|
29 Oct 20
|
Poor Economics
|
Abhijit V. Banerjee et al.
|
|
08
|
26 Nov 20
|
オレたちバブル入行組
|
Jun Ikeido
|
|
09
|
23 Dec 20
|
Margin Call
|
J. C. Chandor
|
|
10
|
27 Jan 21
|
Too Big to Fail
|
Andrew Ross Sorkin
|
|
11
|
24 Feb 21
|
Modern Money Theory
|
L. Randall Wray
|
|
12
|
24 Mar 21
|
Founder, The
|
John Lee Hancock
|
|
13
|
28 Apr 21
|
Thinking, Fast and Slow
|
Daniel Kahneman
|
|
14
|
26 May 21
|
Becoming Warren Buffett
|
Peter Kunhardt, Brian Oakes
|
|
15
|
30 Jun 21
|
Wall Street (1987)
|
Oliver Stone
|
|
16
|
28 Jul 21
|
Wall Street (2010)
|
Oliver Stone
|
|
17
|
30 Aug 21
|
How to Avoid Climate Disaster
|
Bill Gates
|
|
18
|
28 Sep 21
|
The Big Short
|
Adam Mckay
|
|
19
|
27 Oct 21
|
Bullshit Jobs
|
David Graeber
|
|
20
|
29 Nov 21
|
Planet of the Humans
|
Micheal Moore
|
|
21
|
28 Jan 22
|
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail
|
Ray Dalio
|
|
22
|
28 Feb 22
|
Boiler Room
|
Ben Younger
|
|
23
|
30 Mar 22
|
China and Japan: Facing History
|
Ezra Vogel
|
|
24
|
07 Apr 22
|
China and Japan: Facing History
|
Ezra Vogel
|
Voice of Regular Members
We interviewed a number of regular Book Club members who have kindly shared their opinions about past events.
Kenichi Araki, CFA
- What do you like about this club?
Freedom of voicing anything out.
- What was your favourite book/film that we covered?
FACTFULNESS and POOR ECONOMICS. These books were very eye-opening for me.
- Any messages for members thinking about joining this club?
Let’s talk about any books you like beyond generation, position or industry!
- What are the main reasons for you attending these sessions?
When it comes to reading books, I’m rude and can’t complete it by myself. Attending these sessions gives me great motivation. Moreover, it is also effective to widen the variety of books on my bookshelves.
- Are you a book person or movie person?
Relatively a book person, I think.
- Any other comments regarding our club?
Just keep it going!
Maksym Grinenko
- What do you like about this club?
It’s always exciting to hear a diverse set of opinions on a work you have already seen/read. In particular, the book club often has members with real-world experience in the topic that the work is covering, which always lead to an interesting insight.
- What was your favourite book/film that we covered?
FToo Big To Fail turned out to be a very interesting read for me about the financial crisis. I also greatly enjoyed Factfulness for its insights into the global standard of living and its comparisons with developed countries some decades ago.
- Any messages for members thinking about joining this club?
It’s fun and easy-going. Just give it a go.
- What are the main reasons for you attending these sessions?
For the interesting discussions.
- Are you a book person or movie person?
Both.
- Any other comments regarding our club?
Collaboration with CFA Society Hong Kong
Book Clubs are also hosted by other CFA Societies across the world. We recently organised a joint event with CFA Society Hong Kong where we covered the book “China and Japan: Facing History” by Ezra Vogel. This event not only gave members the opportunity to discuss and hear opinions from members of other CFA societies, but it also served as a good example to showcase how CFA Societies globally can create valuable networking opportunities. As a group, we look forward to cooperating with other CFA societies across the world in organising more joint events.
Join Our LinkedIn Group
The easiest way to get involved is by joining our LinkedIn Group (the group name is CFA Japan Book Club); we regularly share information about upcoming events via this channel. We also welcome volunteers who are looking to get involved in the organisation and hosting of the event. If you are thinking about attending one of our future book club events, why not give it a try? We look forward to welcoming you at future discussions.
Stefano Spillo, CFA
Vice Chair, Membership Committee