I have a non-finance MS from a target. Looking at breaking into ER and AM specifically.
My guess is that for:
Equity Research - Yes, CFA needed Asset Mgmt - Yes, CFA needed S&T - No, its about P&L
Amirite? Correct me if I am wrong
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Yeah basically. With HF/IM obviously under AM. Most useful for Analysts, PMs and ER guys.
Anyone?
For ER, CFA or MBA, a lot of top guys have both. For HF, depends on the fund. More traditional Asset Management = Yes. S&T - Don't know to be honest
If you want to get into portfolio management, it is indeed necessary for you to get a CFA.
In my humble opinion, the CFA is needed if you really want to hone in on portfolio management. As SAC said, It's a fairly common designation in Equity Research.
Asset Management is a bit harder to define though. I know a ton of Portfolio Managers at hedge funds with a CFA, and I know a ton of guys without it. The CFA is a great designation, but it's less important depending on where you are and your role. I've also noticed that "debt focused" shops tend to have more CFAs for some reason. I don't know why, but that's what I've noticed. With respect to more "traditional" asset management, the CFA is fairly common at alot of money management shops - Think BlackRock, Fidelity, Janus, etc. - because it goes hand in hand with their particular focus of managing and "investing" money for long term growth. Same holds true for in-house AM groups that do portfolio management.
In S&T and IBD, I've known more guys who do FICC, LevFin and DCM to have this over the equities guys. I can't explain why, but that's what I've seen.
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