CFA® Level 1 v. Modeling Training Course

Hey guys, can you help me win an argument with my little brother. He is currently a Sophomore in college and wants to go into equity research after school, while I am a junior PM at an asset manager and have my finished level 1 of the CFA®.

I told him that while he is in school still he should focus on his modeling skills, learning corporate structure, and developing an accounting base as this would be more beneficial to helping him land an ENTRY level role in equity research rather than starting to study for level 1 of the CFA® which he cant even take for another 2-3 years.

Needless to say me being his big brother he refuses to listen to me on this subject. Any chance you guys can weigh in and help him hear the voice of reason.

Thanks!

 
Best Response

the cfa level 1 is basically what you study at the undergrad level in any case so he can read the CFA casually just to get an idea what the curriculum is like but no real need to study it right now or watch the Kaplan or Elan videos ... the material in the cfa will be more useful later on specially the Lvl 3 material .. some good undergrad degrees even cover sutff in level 2 for economics, FRA, equity valuation ... he should buy a modelling course like BIWS or WSP (I will lean towards BIWS - currently the BIWS material is way more in depth) and start with it so that he will learn skills that he will NOT learn otherwise during his undergrad

another reason why he should not spend too much time on the CFA right now is because even if you finish it you do not learn actual work, you learn concepts... whereas making models, reports, stock pitches, learning about industry differences for example RIETs, Banks, Oil&Gas for valuation/analysis/channel checks is way more important and modelling programs provide with that, additionally with modelling programs you learn concepts in any case and in a very intuitive manner and the material is not light it is sufficiently detailed for example the valuation concepts you read Lvl 2 of the CFA are covered and APPLIED (the key difference) and the accounting concepts are detailed enough, there are interview tips, etc ... he should start now so that he becomes good at giving interviews

I really do not understand why business schools do not use these programs .. the cfa is important but it can be postponed till either the last year of his undergrad or immediately after his undergrad

tell him to check all the links in the link below and ER AMAs (ask me anything) on WSO http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/how-to-prepare-for-bb-er-summer-i…

 

It's my second gig...graduated last spring, did an offsite tech consulting gig (awful) for a small company for 9 months before my current F500 role, which I've now been at several months now. Comp is alright. Nothing like IB or MC, though. It's a corporate finance gig doing analysis of the financials of potential upcoming projects (consulting firm). Company is large enough that I could maybe move internally, but I'm not sure if there will be openings/if I'll have enough connections to make the move with a year or less of experience at the firm. Hence, passing L1/L2 of the CFA will potentially make my move easier.

 

Why not focus your time on the GMAT? With the free time you have I'm sure you can manage scores well above 700 which might make you competitive for MBA business schools">M7 if you spin your story well. Corporate development is a great gig actually and I'm quite sure adcoms will look upon it favorably. You probably have an advantage cause you won't fall in the IB/PE bucket.

Honestly the modelling courses won't really add much value and you can learn most of the stuff on the job anyways. I'd say CFA is more valuable if you're looking to enter IM, but otherwise it's a shit ton of work for very little reward. I'd much rather do some volunteering work to boost my B school app, meet new people and do some good rather than bust my ass for weeks.

Take my advice with a grain of salt, I haven't actually started working yet but this seems like the most logical thing to do.

 

Mainly because I'm at least 2-3 years away from attending grad school, so I won't be taking the GMAT for another 1-2 years. At this point I don't actually plan on passing all 3 CFA levels before grad school; just 1 or 2 to boost the resume/job prospects.

I already do solid volunteer work (financial coaching for low-income individuals/families) for a couple hours every month, so I already got that on my plate. I would like to spend more time networking, however, that's tough to do since I don't currently live and work in the city where I'm going to end up in 9-12 months. And the CFA studying takes up mainly weekend time, which isn't really prime networking time anyways. I'd like to pad the resume a bit and then hit the networking hard.

But I get what you're saying. The entire CFA program can be a real drag and it might not be directly relevant to what I'm currently doing or will be doing. But I'm of the opinion that while I have the time to go for it, I might as well try. It can only help my career.

 

Agree that modelling should come first. I'm CFA Lv 1 and I'm about to do an advanced modelling course because it would actually enhance my firm's productivity.

The retention rate for 60-80% of CFA is 18 months max. If your brother could even remember the ethics sections after two years then that would impressive. As a little brother, I support his non-compliance, but you are right to suggest modelling/data handling before going CFA.

 

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