CFA...?

avg cfa holder is 31 when they get charter. However, this is not the place to ask. Most people on here are in banking,pe,hf,trading or students.

If you plan on working in any of those fields then you can count the CFA as useless.

If you plan to work in IM,AM research then it will help a ton.

Use this board as a resource but not as a replacement for your own research. http://www.cfainstitute.org/

A CFA can help you in asset management, trading, and HF. A CFA cannot hurt you and does add to your credibility as a job candidate and/or prospective b-school student. I would double check your facts as some of them seem innaccurate.

come play at analystforum.com

I am currently pursuing my CFA and have found it to be extremely useful in my position in PE and IB. Furthermore, many HF we work with in PE hold their CFA and/or have several in their office. I would encourage you too look at the job qualifications of some of the positions you hope to one day apply, undoubtedly you will see quite a few asking for a CFA or MBA-equivalent.

You are correct about the time line in getting the designation. And yes the exams are very difficult. On average they recommend about 280 hours of study time prior to the test, I studied well beyond that on my level to be safe. I only wanted to study for it and pay for it once. The level one pass rate for 2007 was 40%.

According to the CFA Institute, the total median compensation gap between those with and without the charter is 35%. This varies by country.

The charter has come under some fire as of late because so many people are taking it and pass rates are higher, there is a concern the "eliteness" is being lost. The Institute is taking steps to restore some of the prestige.

Some also see it as an alternative to business school that does not require the opportunity cost associated with leaving your job to attend a top program.

this years scores were much lower then 40% not much lower

please give me some explains?

I gave a very dry reply but it was not bs

i think people were referring to when you said the CFA was completely useless in banking/pe/hf/trading

Is CFA useful for the risk management division of an ib?

I recently passed level II of the CFA, and I can tell you without a doubt that it helped me reach my current position. I come from a credit background, which is typically not a target background for PE positions. However, I feel that the CFA gives you a certain amount of credability with regard to general finance knowledge (i.e. modeling, capital markets, economics, financial statement analysis) that allows potential employers to overlook the modeling experience that might otherwise be missing. I just started work at a large asset management firm/hedge fund that has recently moved into the PE arena. Without the CFA background, I would never had a shot at this position.

It might be less useful if you are already working in a corporate finance position, but for those of use without that background that are looking to break into PE, it is invaluable. Either way, it is never a bad thing to have on your resume.

I have passed CFA L3.
I work in I banking now.

CFA is not directly relevant to ibanking per se but it

i. does have a good signalling effect
ii. i wish i had payed more attention to FSA on Level 2 - it helps with the work i'm doing now with all that consolidations, pension stuff...
iii. potentially helps with exit ops (though I haven't tried it yet).
iv. I reckon if you get the charter it will help in the long run. Now that's different from simply passing Level 3. Getting the charter entails having 4 years relevant work experience... a bit of a chicken and egg situation eh?

There's no modelling involved with CFA. Just pure finance theory...

Risk -> I thought FRM was more relevant to that?

Anyone who says that a CFA is not useful in a HF is retarded. If you will ever or dream to be a manager of money at a HF you need a cfa, end of story.

CFA is the premier investment management credential....And that's Hedge Fund IM, mutual funds, PWM, etc. Many places give 5-15% raises to new CFA charterholders.