Seems like less time commitment than CFA or CAIA but more interesting (focused exclusively on derivatives trading). That said it's fairly new so I'm not sure what weight it carries. Anyone have experience or opinions on this certification? Thanks.
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The only certification that carries weight is the CFA, and even that's seeing downward pressure as time goes on. Everything else might as well be an online course from Udemy for all most people will care. Save your money, there's nothing it can teach you that you can't learn on your own for free.
I hear you, it seems that the CAIA, CQF, CFOA, and others don't carry nearly the weight of the CFA. But I guess what I mean it, if you had two candidates with similar resumes, one with the cert and one without the cert, surely the one with the cert would have a minor advantage as they're signaling more genuine interest in the field, right?
I mean sure I can see why it might help 1 person edge out another if all else is equal. But that's the only scenario where I can imagine it's useful. Like if you were already a borderline candidate for whatever filters the hiring firm is using, the CFOA is not going to make anyone jump out of their seats and say "oh we gotta give this guy a shot". Maybe these AM/HF-type of certifications get a little more attention given "passion for the job" is generally a requirement, but in PE/IB nobody ever cared about seeing the industry equivalent certifications or gave anyone extra credit for having them during recruiting. So in fairness, I'm perhaps biased against spending time/money on these things in lieu of trying to maximize the other areas where you can be competitive.
I'd say it's as worth it as most good Finance certifications, ie useful to show that you know the space you're being certified in, and that you passed those certification requirements.
I once talked to a PM who said that degrees and certs were just a way to filter people by ambition and skills. Meaning that if they put in the time preparing for it and succeeding it was at least a sign that there was ambition and talent. That's how I look at this now.
The short answer is that between two similar candidates, one with the CFOA and one without it, it's more likely the one with that extra element will be chosen for the role. So if you're interested in options and futures and want to work in the space it could definitely be helpful, especially nowadays where everyone is looking to have an edge in a pool of very similar candidates.
Well it's more niche than the other two as it's focused on options and futures. But if that's what you're dealing with it's hands down a valuable certification.
I actually think these focused certifications are much more useful than the generalist ones. In recent years a LOT of people have the generalist ones so you're competing with a much bigger pool of candidates. If the firm you want to work in focuses on derivatives trading having the CFOA could actually be more attractive as it would make you standout as the specialist.
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