CFA in the business card?

I’ve heard several times that HFs don’t care about CFA, but recently a guy told me it is actually even negative. Like people in HFs see it as a youngster thing or something that only those who couldn’t make the transition get.

I have to renew my business cards and was wondering if I should keep the Xxxx, CFA or just erase it.

Thanks

14 Comments
 

What would you think of someone who had a CFA or a MBA mentioned in their email signature. That is this person clearly thinks very highly of his/her education 

 

I mean not sure you should put it on a business card or anything. But I have always hear they like CFA's there is a PM for a hedge fund I know around here who told me to get one if I wanted to work for them in the future. I do not see how it could be a negative although on your card I think it could come off as pretentious. 

I have a friend and his whole family went to Ivy leagues and all have there doctorates and wont shut about about it when they meet someone. Only one of them is successful in any real way and that does rub me the wrong way for sure.  Its like if you are smart I will notice, no I am not going to put you in the smart category just because of your Doctorate. 

 

I've seen other threads on this topic as well...in an industry where everyone is constantly flexing their target schools and even at times creating whole slides outlying the various prestigious degrees on the team, is this even a question?

When this industry becomes modest....which it never will...then please take the CFA off your business card. Until then, no need to downplay your achievements when everyone else around you is acting like a fucking peacock.

 
Most Helpful

I think you are not getting the point.

It is not about bragging. I would never write xxx, MBA. But xxx, CFA is an industry standard. I always used it when I was in the Long Only world.

My question comes because I’m starting to feel that people in the HF industry look down on CFAs as if they thought “this guy couldn’t do the usual IB->HF route, so he had to take that shitty certificate”

 

I agree to some extent.  I myself bifircate the respect for a CFA.  If someone passed all three levels before having a real industry job, I don't see that as big of a success. If someone has a long career during which they still carved out time for a CFA, I have a lot of respect for that.

However, how does one discern this from a business card???  You basically can't.  You don't know how that person broke in. Maybe something you can find out from a resume where the CFA would be of course posted.

If you see CFA on their business card and you are assuming that they didn't break in through the regular channels or don't have experience, you're kind of the idiot honestly because that's a lot of assuming based on little to no information. 

 

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