CFA Worth It??

I will preface this by saying I'm not a charterholder. I passed level 1, and would have sat level 2 if it wasn't for getting covid just before my exam. I have decided not to continue with it given the massive time sink and minimal return for RE roles. In some markets (Canada for example) it seems to be sought after and may give a leg up in recruiting, but in my market it makes negligible difference. If I see it on someone's resume, I have respect for the willpower to stick with it / balance it around a demanding career (dependent on what they were working at while sitting it) but I don't place much more value on their investing skillset. Transaction experience obviously far outweighs your knowledge of put-call parity or option adjusted spreads of bonds, i.e. largely irrelevant material given vast majority of RE is private transactions. If you're in a markets focused role, it may offer some help but I wouldn't consider it worth the time required to pass it.

Before anyone chimes in with "you could spend 300 hours networking instead" line, they're not mutually exclusive. I still networked around study, and most of my study was done during times when people typically don't network (before work / on the weekends). I wouldn't factor this in as an argument against it sitting Level 3 OP.

For REPE? Really doesn’t matter. When i see people who have it, all it tells me is that they’re good at studying and have good work ethic.

Those traits can get you hired at the junior level, but at your level, you’re looking to transition into a sales role. Not a number cruncher role

I don't think it's worth it at all in real estate unless you're trying to move into a RE-focused hedge fund.

I don’t think level 3 was any harder or required more studying then level 2.

Well, it depends. 

Chick-Fil-A is easily one of the highest quality fast food places in America. They have a really poor track record when it comes to LBGT rights, stemming undoubtedly from their evangelical founders, but food-wise they are certainly worth the $10-$15 you'll spend on lunch, especially since you get your food in 5-10 minutes. 

The Chartered Financial Analyst program states "you can pay anywhere from $2,100 to $3,600 USD total to take all three levels, assuming that you pass each exam the first time. Add the $450 or $350 USD enrollment fee, and the total CFA exam fees range from $2,550 to $3,950 USD." I don't even want to know how long that process takes nor the hours upon hours of studying required. For a real estate career, this is beyond a doubt not worth it. 

Here's the short answers

Do you need it to make money and be successful in RE? No

Does it impress people you meet in RE? Some, if not most.

Is it worth it? Depends on how much free time you have and how good you are at studying

If you're doing it to help you advance in CRE - nah. 

If you're doing it out of interest and to become a more well-rounded finance pro - sure. 

I passed level 1 and probably never gonna finish it, don't see how it would benefit my career. 

I am a charterholder and I honestly think it was 95% a waste of my time. I went to a no-name undergrad and only a semi-target MSF program (if that tbh) so really the CFA I think just added a little bit of juice when I was networking for some of my jobs to narrow the gap between my more pedigreed peers. After the years of experience I've got under my belt though, pretty much no one cares about it. Went through a corp dev interview process at a large public recently and they run their corp dev group like a true IB (so had the whole super day, case study, BUNCH of technical interviews, etc.) and of the 10ish people I talked to only one person asked me about the CFA. Did it help from an HR perspective when screening resumes? Maybe? I'll never really know. But I'm definitely not better at my job for it, nor do I think anyone in any of the workflows I am a part of think of me as any better because I have it. 

Sitting level 2 in November. I don't understand why you'd pass the first two only to skip out on acquiring the final certificate. The effort you are going to put is expected to be in-line with levels 1 and 2. I narrowly passed Level 1 within the margin of errors on 285 hours, now looking to do 350 on Level 2 and around the same for Level 3. The number I generally hear people refer to are either 300-330-360 or 300-350-400, depending on how you look at it. 

The bigger question is do you have any sort of reasons as to why you wouldn't be able to do it? I.e. how feasible is it to put in 2h/day for 6 months straight when you have to balance that with relationships, health, and hobbies? Personally, I like to think I am benefitting from having effectively none of those currently outside of my gym sessions.

Edit: And just to reflect on what others have said in this thread. Yes - The value of the charter will vary a lot by employer and market. Yes - real estate is probably one of the last areas where it has a value-add. But again, and to agree with several other posters, you are already in so deep that finalizing is more of a formality. 

If you already passed 2, then absolutely get it. I’m studying for L3 right now and it’s waaaaay easier Vs 2 (at least on the multiple choice). Essay section is a bit of a curveball but certainly doable 

Nope

Oof. This drudges up some serious nightmares...

I was in a similar boat a while ago. However when I entered REPE I was already on Level 2 and ultimately decided I couldn't quit after coming this far, so I finished it. Learning a completely new business while having to study on top of that during my very limited free time was easily the darkest period of my working life, and I certainly can't say I've noticed it helping me much at all job-wise... but I think the stubborn, prideful side of me is still glad I did it.

Unless your firm has expressed encouragement (i.e. in the form of increased $$), it's likely not worth the time you could be spending enjoying life on the weekends (because we all know the early years in the industry robbed us enough of that), attending more industry functions after work on weekdays, or just generally focusing on whatever you need to do to get to the next step. I mean, alternative investments is what, only 10-15% of the curriculum? It really has little demonstrable benefit to REPE, unless maybe you're investing across the capital stack or working more with credit strategies. You'd probably be better served doing the CAIA if you really wanted an industry specific designation.

Otherwise, the only support I can see here for finishing it is simply due to the fact that you're on L2 (and you know how much effort you've already sunk into getting to this point), so might as well see it through.

I know i'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth here, but would I stick through it today, 5 years in, established in my career, and making over $200k? :|

As much as a dislike some aspects of the program, such as lack of transparency and big swings in passing rate, I think if your time allows it, its worth completing. I passed L3 recently, and despite probably not giving too much extra to my CV, it just really feels good to be done with it, and something that you can be proud of for life!

Hmm.... interesting post and range of feed back... First personal disclosure with CFA, then I'll give my "recommendation" of sorts to the OP (I think unique circumstances matter a lot, to anyone reading... as I thought this was a general CFA worth it question, not a finish Level III or not question, very different overall..)

My CFA experience, I got a scholarship to take Level I during grad school (a long time ago now...), took it and passed it. A few years later, had an employer willing to pay for me to take Level II (including buying the books and stuff), took it and passed it (amazed given how much I actually studied lol). Next year, registered for Level III (same deal, on employer's dime), did less study and found that material severely boring and unless for my life/career, and failed it (barely by the score report given). I never went back to repeat Level III, career and life was only getting busier and frankly, I saw less and less possible career benefit as I was getting more and more senior anyway (and farther from analyst/associate world). Since I really didn't want to be a "finance" type in any hard-core sense (life started there, veered away by choice), I have ZERO regrets, plus if I ever get bored enough, I can still go finish it I guess.

To the OP.... In your situation.... as an associate with ~5 YOE at a major private equity firm.... I would 100% go and do Level III next year! You are in a very "high finance" environment, and you may benefit from the ability to move around it and a CFA can totally help (some say it carries some weight like an MBA, I'm personally very dubious on this to be all that true, but the fact there is even a "MBA vs. CFA" line of questioning says something). You are presumably still young, so fuck your personal life now and get these things over with. Not sure if you have a grad degree or want to get one at some point, but all these are most beneficial earlier in a career, that is when they could be a difference maker! 

Will totally agree/concede... in the "real estate" world.... a CFA is "nice" to have but some will think it is a chicken sandwich (like CRE lol), or really have no idea how hard it is to get or why it matters. To those that know.. it matters. As personal FYI, having passed Level I before graduating with MBA was very very useful for me getting a job at a boutique real estate DE type shop (that also did some principal investing), one of the partners (it was like one of those 5 people shops) was totally impressed (he had a CFA...) and it 100% landed me the job. OP has a good job it seems, so it won't make near the same difference (if any tbh), but I was a state school graduate with no institutional background, so it was absolutely a difference maker for me (like literally just passing Lvl I). 

Appreciate the feedback. Still debating for August 2023 given the markets have taken a quick turn and everything has slowed dwon.

I am in the exact same seat as you but got my Charter a few years ago prior to my current role. If it were me, I would go for it. Most of the hard work is already behind you and with the way deal flow is headed in the near term you may have some free time. You already know what you're getting yourself into with L3, it sucks for a few months and then its over.

Some people will understand the value but most will have no clue, you may run across a few that really value it, you just never know. I personally did it for my own knowledge and find that it has allowed me to be a much better generalist than my peers. I find it useful when it comes to the qualitative and strategic side of the business and being able to talk to executives about conceptual things rather than just understanding asset level underwriting and return targets. I went to a no name school so wanted something that would help me if I decided to try and raise money in the future and felt it was a better time/money trade off than a full time MBA. Hard to know if having it will ever impact your career in a measurable way so that's why I focused on the learning. I personally have directly benefitted in my career in the form of getting a job partially due to having it, or at least a foot in a door I didn't belong in.

To answer the question on whether the actual Charter is worth it vs is the knowledge worth it, "should I finish" vs the typical "should I start"; There are always people that come out of the wood works saying they passed L1 or L2 but the CFA is really one of those things that only counts if you do the full thing. If you argue that no one in RE cares about the CFA, they care even less about passing half of it. It checks a box for some capital allocators or hiring managers, and in the competitive world we're in it could be something to differentiate you even further, I work with a ton of people from top schools that put a good amount of value on it. To the outside, Investments in REPE may be a monolith, but obviously when you are there you see the stratification of the individuals.