Should I take the CFA?
I am an incoming IB analyst but know I want to do some sort of investing later on. I am wondering if I should plan on becoming a CFA over the coming years or if it is not worth it. I have a light semester, should I try and prepare for level 1 before I start full time? Do IB's pay for prep or exams regarding CFA or usually just FINRA exams (obviously)?
The very last thing you'll want to do after a 14 hour day in IB is learning how to bootstrap forward rates. You can do level 1 if you have the time now but 2 and 3 are a slog and is not really accretive to a career in investment banking. If you have HF aspirations, it'll for sure help but also something you can do once you start there.
Unless you're in Canada, where the guy in mid office risk management has a CFA, nevermind the bankers.
What's with Canada? It is that competitive?
yeah, the proportion of finance jobs to applicants is very low. To give you an example, I work for one of the larger banks in Canada and we took 3 MBA associates in 2019 across the entire country. That includes Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary offices.
Bro IBs don't even pay for dinner anymore
No, don't do it unless you want to work in asset management or at a HF. It's a huge time drain and tbh you don't really learn a lot of the material, you mostly memorize it just well enough to pass the test. That's due to the sheer amount of stuff you have to study and the fact that you have to do that after working 12+ hours everyday, so you prioritize outcome optimization (passing the exam) over actually digesting the material, which takes a lot more time than what you have at your disposal.
I'm a charterholder and I'll probably stop paying the fees next year and drop the letters, it's pretty useless in IB. I took it as I worked in asset management before and we were highly encouraged to get the charter
No, the answer is always no. Anyone worthwhile can get through his or her HF/AM interview without cfa on their resume.
Yes, but do you have a better chance of getting the interview with CFA?
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