CFA: worth the time and money?

Quote from elstontrader:

I'm an undergraduate studying Economics and am considering pursuing a CFA in order to work in the financial sector as trader or financial analyst?
Is there any CFA's our there willing to share input?
Pro's and Cons?
Master's in Finance vs CFA?

BTW: I'm open to anybody with experience in the financial sector, not just CFA holders.
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Being a Level II CFA Candidate and having taken Level II before, this credential is the gold standard in finance. You will not learn as much practical knowledge for finance studying anything else. It is a massive commitment of time and energy, but well worth it.

If you have trouble studying on your own, this program is not for you. Though not through Level II, my BS in Financial Economics was a wonderful foundation and the CFA curriculum has revealed finance to me in a way I didn't get from my classes at Centre College.

Don't let people tell you it is impractical or not worth the time. If you are serious about a career in finance, this is all the financial knowledge you'll ever need. On top of that, it has gotten me interviews for every financial company I've applied to, but none that wanted to buy my services when they could get a ten year Wall Street veteran that had been laid off months ago.

It will take you at least 2 years but more likely 3 to pass all of the levels. In terms of opportunities, the CFA charter will open up doors for you in a way even our most prestigious institutions cannot.

Only an uninformed person would tell you there is no value to this credential. You will master finance with the CFA charter. The corporate finance sections especially are particularly useful for "high finance" and upper echelons of companies, including CFO.
 
Quote from bwolinsky:

In terms of opportunities, the CFA charter will open up doors for you in a way even our most prestigious institutions cannot.
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This might have been true 5 years ago when there was a lot less competition amongst CFAs, but it's not necessarily the case today with 3 bulge bracket firms defunct (along with countless thousands of now deceased hedge funds). Some of my CFA friends went back to grad school after it did nothing for them career-wise. I'm not knocking the CFA in the least, just saying I would refrain from all-encompassing comments.
 
Quote from bwolinsky:

On top of that, it has gotten me interviews for every financial company I've applied to, but none that wanted to buy my services when they could get a ten year Wall Street veteran that had been laid off months ago.
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They didn't desire your "services" because of your attitude and ego. There are many people who look good on paper, i.e. have a decent looking resume and ok education. Usually, the problem boils down a combination of the below:

1. Does not communicate effectively.

2. Does not listen, or, accept criticism well.

3. Does not work well with others.

4. Thinks of him/herself as "too good" or "too smart".

Unfortunately Beau, 2,3 and 4 all apply to you, and, any interviewer worth his/her position in the Co. will see that right away. You have a lot of growing up to do.

That said, a CFA is an excellent credential.

Mike
 
Quote from cfelicio:

It also helps to be in a good location. In Vancouver, my Wife got the CFA and a MBA, still pretty hard to get a good job. :(
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Finance...in Vancouver...just about sums it up.

No offense to you and your wife.

Willie Sutton: "Why did I rob banks?...Because that's where the money was."
 
What part of a cfa helps with trading? Don't banks hire people with phd's in hard sciences as traders. Wouldn't a degree in statistics be better than a cfa? Who knows more about trading, a phd in finance from a top school or someone with a BA and a cfa?
 
Quote from veritas007:

What part of a cfa helps with trading? Don't banks hire people with phd's in hard sciences as traders. Wouldn't a degree in statistics be better than a cfa? Who knows more about trading, a phd in finance from a top school or someone with a BA and a cfa?
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A CFA will bypass the Series 65 requirement for investment advisors.
 
Hi,
maybe I can help you. I do have the CFA and I passed all exams without failing.
I started for a very simple reason : to find a better job.
I paid Level 1 and 2 with my money, got a new job where I wanted, then my actual employee paid for Level 3.
I am also one of the very few (actually the only one I know) who never used the Schweiser material (the compendium) but only the original books to study and did this just because it suits me better to do my own summary than study someone else's.
Having said that, the CFA is very useful to get a job, especially when you do not have a foot in the door. At the same time it looks like everyone in the US has one, while here in Europe is a bit less common so it depends where you intend to work as well.
It has zero use for practical things (like managing money) but it is a good course if you want to know the industry.
As someone else said before, it also shows that you have the discipline to go trough it. I have been involved in the hiring process and people look for it, even if sometime for the wrong reason.
It is not "difficult", in the sense that there is very little advanced math and I had much more complex courses at university but it is extremely long. We are talking about 2k-2.5k pages of stuff to read and at the exam you can get a question on anything, especially at level 3.
To conclude I believe the main thing is that it teaches you to organise yourself, identify what you need to know and use it. It is a skill that is useful in a field like finance where you are constantly bombarded by useless information and you have to choose what to focus on.
 
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