Thinking Of Going For CFA -- Is It Possible?

H

HappyTrader

Hello all,

I'm seeking some sound advice and helpful suggestions here.

First off, I am *NOT* looking to get a job in a bank or prop firm or such. This is not really intended as a career move.

Why am I interested in it? Well:
1) I'm interested in the topic itself (I find it genuinely interesting)

2) Having a certificate/credentials for self-validation reasons.. okey, kinda vain. But at least if people ask what I do, I can at least back it up saying I am CFA certified (as opposed to wild man with a laptop)

3) In the future I may wish to start up a hedge fund or investment advisor firm and I think the CFA will help with local regulatory body.


Now, I know I can get CFA I/II, but not the full CFA (III) without at least having work experience. Given that I have none, and do not desire to work for someone else to get it, what does one suggest?

Should I give up before starting or does someone have a useful suggestion for me :)

Thank you kindly.
 
HappyTrader said:
Hello all,

I'm seeking some sound advice and helpful suggestions here.

First off, I am *NOT* looking to get a job in a bank or prop firm or such. This is not really intended as a career move.

Why am I interested in it? Well:
1) I'm interested in the topic itself (I find it genuinely interesting)

2) Having a certificate/credentials for self-validation reasons.. okey, kinda vain. But at least if people ask what I do, I can at least back it up saying I am CFA certified (as opposed to wild man with a laptop)

3) In the future I may wish to start up a hedge fund or investment advisor firm and I think the CFA will help with local regulatory body.


Now, I know I can get CFA I/II, but not the full CFA (III) without at least having work experience. Given that I have none, and do not desire to work for someone else to get it, what does one suggest?

Should I give up before starting or does someone have a useful suggestion for me :)

Thank you kindly.
More...

Here is a useful suggestion, do not seek opinions of others since this is not a career move just follow your gut. Highly unlikely you'll be able to raise money from others but friends & family given your age, you do not need a CFA to raise money from them.
 
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I'm not worried about raising funds. More interested in having qualifications for regulatory reasons (on top of just interested in having it).

But for me the sticking point is the requirement of actual work experience, which makes me wonder if its worth going for knowing I might never have that final requirement met.
 
HappyTrader said:
...This is not really intended as a career move.

Why am I interested in it? Well:...

2) Having a certificate/credentials for self-validation reasons.. okey, kinda vain. But at least if people ask what I do, I can at least back it up saying I am CFA certified (as opposed to wild man with a laptop)

3) In the future I may wish to start up a hedge fund or investment advisor firm and I think the CFA will help with local regulatory body...

...
More...

Vanity and trading don't go hand-in-hand I think.

If you are not thinking of it as a career move, at least not until the future, then why not wait until then to become one?

Seems like you would save many headaches by waiting until you NEED to become one, rather than become one to satisfy your ego.
 
There's no such thing as a CFA 1 or 2. There are 3 tests but no designation until you've passed the 3rd test. It's not a designation that has any regulatory impact

Don't get it. It's a waste of time under almost any circumstance.

Garachen, CFA
 
I have to admit when I came across the thread title I initially felt "another misguided person" as trading and CFA is such an extreme mismatch. But I have to admit your rational and logic flows and makes sense.

I started getting a CFA long time ago but stopped before passing the second part of the studies because I was fully immersed as bank trader then and just did not find any reason to motivate or convince myself to go further. I was completely captured by my fascination for trading and everything that surrounds this discipline.

If you are like that, if you simply know trading is not just a hobby or temporary fascination, if you don't trade for the income but would do it even if you were not paid for doing it then a CFA is utterly useless. Everyone measures you by your performance and a CFA can even confuse others when they assess you and think of hiring or funding a pure breed trader and risk manager.

But if you don't count yourself among this tiny group, described above, a CFA makes total sense and all your points, made, flow logically. I would then say, Go for it!

Re work experience you need to check the details of how they define it. If you are currently trade as main occupation perhaps you can form a company shell around it if that helps to count as "work experience". You already know from your CFA studies that the Institute is pretty rigid, in many ways outdated and very theoretical. I would say, strictly stick with what is absolutely legit and ethical, if you can't get the "work experience clock" going then simply delay your studies. But I don't recommend changing what you really wanna do for a certificate.

Good luck.

HappyTrader said:
Hello all,

I'm seeking some sound advice and helpful suggestions here.

First off, I am *NOT* looking to get a job in a bank or prop firm or such. This is not really intended as a career move.

Why am I interested in it? Well:
1) I'm interested in the topic itself (I find it genuinely interesting)

2) Having a certificate/credentials for self-validation reasons.. okey, kinda vain. But at least if people ask what I do, I can at least back it up saying I am CFA certified (as opposed to wild man with a laptop)

3) In the future I may wish to start up a hedge fund or investment advisor firm and I think the CFA will help with local regulatory body.


Now, I know I can get CFA I/II, but not the full CFA (III) without at least having work experience. Given that I have none, and do not desire to work for someone else to get it, what does one suggest?

Should I give up before starting or does someone have a useful suggestion for me :)

Thank you kindly.
More...
 
Has anyone observed whether or not CFA counts towards any regulatory standing (or meeting any requirements for applying for licensing)?

Or do I need to dig up specific licensing requirements that may have nothing to do with a CFA qualification?

I know about Series 6*/Series 7*, but I do not plan to open shop in the US, so do not see how they would apply to me.


As for why I would want to start now (rather than in the future when the time comes that I actually want to start a service), it's because I know the process can take years to complete. So if it turns out in 3 years I want to do this: I have the necessary paperwork. If not, well at least I had a good learning experience and something to backup my claim that I actually do know what I'm doing :)

Thank you kindly.
 
Well you need to dig out the CFA requirements rather than asking around. It's on their website. Plain and simple. All there for the grabbing.

HappyTrader said:
Has anyone observed whether or not CFA counts towards any regulatory standing (or meeting any requirements for applying for licensing)?

Or do I need to dig up specific licensing requirements that may have nothing to do with a CFA qualification?

I know about Series 6*/Series 7*, but I do not plan to open shop in the US, so do not see how they would apply to me.


As for why I would want to start now (rather than in the future when the time comes that I actually want to start a service), it's because I know the process can take years to complete. So if it turns out in 3 years I want to do this: I have the necessary paperwork. If not, well at least I had a good learning experience and something to backup my claim that I actually do know what I'm doing :)

Thank you kindly.
More...
 
HappyTrader said:
3) In the future I may wish to start up a hedge fund or investment advisor firm and I think the CFA will help with local regulatory body.
More...

I'm not aware of any regulatory requirement to be a CFA. Look, if you will enjoy the process and you are doing ALL that work for yourself, then go for it. But you are likely to be doing it just for you. I went to NYU Grad School just for me. I never expected to use it to get a job. I was on the Amex floor back then and most of the others around me never went to college.
 
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