Why do EU Investment Bankers Often Have More Certifications than their American Counterparts in Investment Banking?

This is a question which is haunting me for a long time. Why do many of the EU investment bankers likely to have heavy certifications like CFA level 1 or 2 in fact some end up passing CFA level 3 and working in IB. I know many of them don't but on LinkedIn, I found many who have these certifications done(at least CFA level 1) and most of them are from Asia or India in general and did a master's either from HEC Paris or LBS. On the other side, the IB scenario in the USA is quite different and rarely anyone ends up taking any core finance-related certification such as CFA. As far as I know M&A transactions or general activities around investment banking are quite the same around the world. Be it the EU or the USA why their culture differ so much? 

I am specifically talking about those who completed their bachelor's from their homecountries but completed their masters from either LBS or HEC. This tendency of completing certifications is common among them (again not  everyone)

4 Comments
 

I'd love to give you an explanation. But it is simply not the case.

Considering that the people you've found are mostly from two business schools and Asia-heavy, it might be the LinkedIn algorithm that misguides you. Most people I know are from a diverse set of target schools: Oxbridge, LSE, LBS, HSG, HEC, Bocconi, SSE, Mannheim, etc. And very few are from Asia. Sure, you have those who lateraled from the India office to London, but overall, I feel that our NY colleagues have a much larger proportion of Asians. 

 

I was specefically searching for those who did their undergrad their home countries but completed their masters in either HEC or LBS. I should have mentioned that 

 

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