Question about C.F.A.

As a person who passed all three levels I disagree. The second level I thought was the most complex and actually invovled some out-of-box thinking. I was quite disappointed by level III's lack of depth, because I thought the first 2 levels would be generalist exams to the last one's 'portfolio management specialist'. CFA is like learning how to walk so you can go on to train to become an athlete, or learning how to speak a language so you can go on and live in a certain country.

Maybe the CFA designation has a higher Sharpe ratio (i.e. bigger bang for the buck) but the Ivy League experience has a lot more intangibles like building a network and potentially having a Nobel prize winner as your mentor. This has been discussed to death on this board but that's my take on it.
 
Quote from Batman28:

I hadn't heard of the CAIA before.. but I just had a look at CAIA's sample questions.. it's not really comparable to CFA. anyone with general securities knowledge can pass it with a little study..
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no its not comparable to CFA since its about Alternative investments not digging through financial statements....

i dont know what ?s you saw, but you are kidding yourself with that little study comment. level 2 CAIA is as hard as level 2 CFA.
 
You're pretty much writing your own ticket with a C.F.A. I would say it's just as good as an Ivy League degree. Guy in my office got his and he had to study like a psycho for the third level. He moved over to a reputable financial services firm as an equity trader overseeing a staff of several junior traders. Funny thing is he really never traded equities, he just basically phoned blocks down to a third market desk. The moral of this lesson is that the designation carries a lot of weight.
Of course, you'll probably have an employee trading policy and have to go to a lot of meetings where they talk about paradigms, scalability, and drilling down! No fun!

Good luck
 
Quote from JSL_Capital:

1) Yes, prop trading experience qualifies.

2) Yes (I fall in to this category myself, and some above), self-employed individuals, such as those trading their own account may have their work experience count toward the charter requirement. However, if you're self-employed, you need 3 sponsors with CFA rather than the usual 2.

As for whether the Charter expires like licenses - no. You are a holder of the designation so long as you pay the annual dues (and do not violate their rules blah blah). But ex-charterholders can reapply without having to write the exams again.

P.S. Copernicus, out of curiosity, do you have CAIA's charter? Or are you in any way associated with them? You seem to be promoting it quite often on this board.
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Hey JSL, got your charter yet?:)
Just want to point out that it is not right to refer the designation as "C.F.A.", and it should not used as a noun.
Imo, I think it adds the most value for people in the industry, given the fact you can work and study at the same time. Kinda tough but it is highly recognized, so it is all worth it at the end.
 
when can you take the tests for each level? I was planning on taking time off maybe six months and trying to cram it in. Is this possible? Or do you have to wait certain times to take the modules?
 
Quote from MyOwnBoss:

You're pretty much writing your own ticket with a C.F.A. I would say it's just as good as an Ivy League degree. Guy in my office got his and he had to study like a psycho for the third level. He moved over to a reputable financial services firm as an equity trader overseeing a staff of several junior traders. Funny thing is he really never traded equities, he just basically phoned blocks down to a third market desk. The moral of this lesson is that the designation carries a lot of weight.
Of course, you'll probably have an employee trading policy and have to go to a lot of meetings where they talk about paradigms, scalability, and drilling down! No fun!

Good luck
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getting a CFA after few years of day trading will do zilch for you, it might open few doors for interviews but it all comes down to networking and interpersonal skills.

bottom line CFA with no "real" work experience wont do much for u. And if someone is thinking of studying for 3 years just to have opportunity to interview he/she must have no life. Much better off trying to network and getting a job that way.
 
Quote from kwancy:

Hey JSL, got your charter yet?:)
Just want to point out that it is not right to refer the designation as "C.F.A.", and it should not used as a noun.
Imo, I think it adds the most value for people in the industry, given the fact you can work and study at the same time. Kinda tough but it is highly recognized, so it is all worth it at the end.
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Sup kwancy, it's been a while. I still need about 6 months of work experience so until next year's award cycle it's "Charter Pending" next to my name and yes, the noun vs adj thing is stressed to death during candidacy but try explaining that to people who couldn't carel any ess about it :p

Lasner, an ordinary person with determination can pass each level with about 3 months of concentrated effort. 2 months would be pushing it though.
 
CFA is very industry specific and has limitations. It can add value in areas such as mutual funds, equity research, but out side of this space it's pretty useless. I worked in one of big five I banks' risk management dept. and worked with a number of CFA charter holders. I wasn't impressed. If your goal is to be a trader, CFA is waste of time. Maybe better route is to get CAIA, which is big with alternative investment space like hedge funds, fund of funds, etc.
 
Quote from lasner:
I heard the CFA carries as much weight as an ivy league MBA. Is that true? It seems like it's the way to go:
(1)less expensive.
(2)No b.s. in the application process
(3) NO STUPID GMATS
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In the investment industry that is true.

Suss
 
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