Fairly certain this has been discussed, but if you wouldn't mind:
(1) CFA® for corporate development/strategy/industry roles. Is it useful? I know the CFA® doesn't really matter for the buyside, and it matters less for IB, but what about corpdev?
(2) Business school. Do adcoms view this favorably, or does it not matter?
(3) How difficult is the test, specifically Level I? I've heard it's reasonably straight-forward and the material is fairly basic, but just trying to gauge.
Thanks for the help. Realize this is not specifically IB, but wasn't sure where to put it and the IB forum is the most active. Cheers!
1) CFA doesn't really matter for the buy side?? Dude... read up on it. Either that or read up on the buy side. The charter is very much geared towards the buy side. As far as Corp Development, I can't see a cfa hurting, but an MBA is much more apppropriate for that type of role if you ask me. 2) How tough? really depends on your background. I wouldn't call the material 'fairly basic' unless you have a very strong background in accounting and reading financial statements. I thought level 1 was... I guess a mile wide and two inches deep. Gotta know a lot of material and know it well. I spent a solid three months studying and passed. Level 2 is the bear, I hear.
As far as its usefulness, a charterholder can easily earn as much as a top MBA. That said, it costs about 6k including classes, start to finish. Most firms pay for it once you're in, if it applies to your job.
Thanks for the info. I meant getting in to the buy side - and by buy side, I mean PE. I know it's very relevant to HFs, but I was specifically talking about PE. Apologies for the lack of clarity.
I do have a strong background in accounting and financial statements, so the material probably wouldn't be too bad (for L1 at least). Is a class totally necessary, or is it possible to purchase books and prep on your own?
from experience, most buy side with exception of PE look favorably on CFA. it is less important for PE as most of the material covered is geared towards the public markets, however it can't hurt you.
i have a strong background in econ and acct and passed with a little less than 1 month of studying, so if you are solid in acct and financial statement analysis, level 1 should not be too difficult. level 2 is much harder due to depth, had to make more than twice the effort.
The CFA is always going to get you a few extra points no matter what the profession is: PE, IB, HF, etc... Of course it holds more water for ER and Asset Management positions. You could never say that any industry looks down on the CFA.
I took Level I last June and passed with around 200 hours of study. Level I is a difficult exam for those who have minimal exposure to finance/econ/acct. Most people find the accounting portion of the exam to be the most difficult. I would use one of the condensed study guides like Schweser instead of the CFA curriculum.
(1) Not sure. I can speak for IB and PE. As I may have mentioned before CFA will not get you a job but is always a good signalling tool and you can always spin it to your advantages in interviews. Can't hurt to have it but will not set you back if you don't have it.
(3) CFA L1 is not that difficult if you have done undergrad finance/accounting - it will essentially be revision for you. I suspect if you did say something non-finance related you would have a rather steep learning curve. When I did L2 it was a lot of Fin Statements Analysis - not sure what it is geared to now.
I been working for entertainment giant in nyc for past year or so after completing my bachelors in accounting. If I decide to go for my CFA, how useful that's going to be? Is it going to hurt me as I have to start at an entry level at some bank? what will be my career options? is it all worth it ?
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