CFA Content

I know it has been asked a million times if the CFA is worth it but my question is slightly different.  Is the knowledge learned through the CFA process valuable?  I am not concerned about having letters after my name or how interviewers will perceive it.  I only want to know if I will learn information that would give a good foundation for someone who has aspirations for a macro level fund whether in AM or a hedge fund.  If you think the answer is no, would you please provide resources that you think would be better time spent?  You may think no because you will learn it better on the job but I do not have a job that will learn the foundations of financial analysis currently.  Cost is not an issue as my current employer will pay for it.  I have seen some say that its focus on things such as EMH has been debunked making it worthless but I would assume understanding that theory and why it is wrong has value and would allow you to build from there.  Thank you for any insight.  

3 Comments
 

Hi cadmus333, whoops, looks like nobody chimed in here.... maybe one of these discussions below is relevant:

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If those topics were completely useless, don't blame me, blame my programmers...

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Some of the knowledge is quite useful. Across the program, I'd say 20%-30% was new-ish to me and worthwhile. Around 70% (I'm looking at you L2 FRA) was content that I already knew or immediately forgot afterwards. The answer as to whether or not a CFA is worthwhile depends on what you want to do. If you want to be buy-side AM then yes, it's worth it. Otherwise, get an MBA and/or Masters in Econ/Finance.

 

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