Is Modern Portfolio Theory flawed ???Is CFA material used in real world by portfolio managers?

Incoming freshman studying MPT, CFA and Investing. Q1- why is variance and standard deviation used for risk .If a security is more volatile ,how does it mean it has more risk.Never understood the concept.Having read the book by Howard marks the most important thing I think that this concept is untrue. Q2-is all this CFA and modern portfolio theory correct regarding in real investment world. many of its concept such as effiency are useless in the real world for PM's. Q3-Is quant and financial engineering used mostly for derivatives purpose and complex strategies and not for normal long only AM/HF?

5 Comments
 
 

I'll take a stab at this.

Q1- Using standard deviation as measure risk basically means stocks that move 5% are riskier than those that move 0.5% per day. Think of Tesla vs a utility company. It's not perfect but it's a good general indication.

Q2-I'm unsure what you're asking.

Q3-There’s lots of AM/HF the provide quant products, think Blackrock, AQR, Two Sigma, DE Shaw. Etc.

 

Dolores similique incidunt ut veniam enim. Nesciunt veniam quia corrupti et sed. Omnis illum nobis nulla. Tempora quia aperiam blanditiis ducimus ut repellat atque. Asperiores enim officia tempora vel tempora ipsum voluptas. In aut natus et labore excepturi nisi.

Natus consectetur voluptatem rem mollitia. Officia voluptatibus recusandae similique natus. Ducimus minus eum maxime. Facere suscipit totam amet dolor debitis accusantium.

Accusamus sit aut corporis fugiat qui. Dolor quae quia qui magnam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”