Train to Busan, Fund Exam, and the Exit of Big Players

I took the Fund Practitioner Qualification Exam on September 25th, and it felt like my whole body had been drained.

Every question looked familiar, but I just couldn’t decide which one to choose. In the first half of the exam, no one was absent, but by the second half, half the candidates had already left.

The exam was held at Zhejiang Highway Technician College, a prestigious vocational school logistics center. The exam setting was unique—first you board the machine, then you ask the seasoned drivers for help.

This time, unlike the April exam which had stars like Huang Jiaozhu, Hu Haiquan, and Quan Ling involved, the entertainment factor dropped a lot. However, the exam was still packed with people—private equity moguls, financial industry big shots, and beautiful faces from the finance world, creating quite the lively atmosphere.

The reason so many people take the exam? It’s simple—watch Train to Busan, and you’ll know the world could end at any moment.

Last time, many private equity moguls complained that the exam focused too much on the secondary market, which had nothing to do with private equity. This time, the Fund Association kindly added a third subject—Private Equity Fund Exam.

However, during the exam, two private equity moguls experienced a “lost connection” with their computers, and in a fit of anger, they walked out.

Apart from the big players in private equity, who else was taking the exam? According to data analysis from Baidu, here’s a breakdown:

The exam was primarily held in regions like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Zhejiang, which aligns with the economic development of these areas.

The main age group was between 30 and 40 years old, typically mid-level employees in companies or those who have recently transitioned into finance from other industries. I spoke with two candidates—one was from Ping An Securities, and the other was a small business owner from a local lending company in Wenzhou.

As for the gender ratio, big data and on-site observations were consistent—men and women were equally represented.

Well, I guess you can just look it up online yourself.