CFA® and Exit Opps for Long Only
I am starting at a 200B+ AUM long only firm as a buy side equity research analyst out of undergrad. Should I be looking into a CFA® or focusing more on recruiting? I'm thinking about possibly joining a L/S (due to background) or event driven fund. What are the names I should be looking into?
I'd focus on your current job before you start worrying about moving to another role. Long only equity at a big shop is a good gig (and a career gig for a lot of people). CFA is going to be almost 100% needed to move up in the long only world, less so in HFs but still won't hurt. I'd recommend doing it now and getting it over with because you have a good job and it'll help you progress where you're at. If you're in NYC or another HF populated place I'd occasionally network with some to keep your options open.
Bear in mind that in major cities the CFA society is in itself a strong network. You don't get a lot of respect as a Level I candidate but that won't stop you from attending events. Once you get to II and III not only are there a lot of strong people there, but you have an easy topic to talk about with people.
You can also easily study 4-5 days a week if you are serious on those days and still get out and network the other 2-3, and most people only study for 3-4 months per test. It is a massive commitment, but it only took over my whole social life for April and May. Outside of those two months there is still some balance. And you will definitely see more opportunities long only at least with the CFA.
Working at a long only firm as well CFA is very important. Get Level 1 ASAP and follow through with Levels 2 and 3. It's more important than MBA even though all PMs/RAs at my fund have MBA from HWS. Stay at least a year or two before recruiting for a HF role to gain experience.
How long do most people take to complete the CFA from start to finish? 3-4 years?
L1 is offered December & June and L2/L3 are only offered in June. So the quickest way to do it is L1 December, L2 following June, L3 year later (which would be 1.5 years from when you take L1 to taking L3. This is assuming you pass all your first try and you'd obviously start studying a few months before you take L1. I know quite a few people who have done this path and from initial date of study to completing L3 is about 21 months. So assume that is the bottom of the range and I'd say 3 years is about the top of the range for the "average" CFA person. Though technically, the average CFA candidate never finishes.
Thanks for the advice everyone.
I'm in NYC so I have a fair amount of flexibility to network in NYC and Greenwich. Still unsure if I want to go the hedge fund route. Not sure what my risk appetite is at this point. It's hard to generalize, but what is the job security/pay comparison for AM to HF?
I'm also thinking about finishing up studying for L1 in undergrad then taking it in December when I start working. If I take the CFA in June before I start working, does anyone know if firms generally sponsor the exams?
If you have the formalized offer and start date upon graduation and they want people to take the CFA exams, reach out to them and let them know you're interested in starting before you graduate. They might not pay for it until you start working but worth a try. If firms want it they will usually pay for it when you work there. If you have any professors that have the CFA charter, talk to them about applying for the CFA scholarship they may be able to sponsor.
Echoing what people said above, focus on your first role out of undergrad, and see how your early career progresses before planning to jump ship before you even get on.
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