For those who are anti-CFA®

Recently, I have heard people and posts (such as Mergers and Inquisitions) attempt to downplay the CFA®. That's fine as long as the facts are straight. Having a CFA®(I am not a CFA®charterholder yet) is very beneficial.

Here is a recent(2007)salary survey. There is also a study which I can't seem to find, that shows the difference in pay between a CFA® and a non-CFA in areas such as HF, PE, ER, IM, PM, etc. The overall difference is around 20-25%.

http://www.cfainstitute.org/memresources/career/p…

I am biased, but the evidence speaks for itself.

6 Comments
 

100% wrong. In fact, CFA is more beneficial to those that attend a non-target. The relevance of the designation depends on your field, not your school

It is not very (if at all) useful in IBD. Very useful in AM or investment consulting or ER. I don’t care about “sample of 1” surveys; the designation helps you get jobs. In some shops, you its required to move up – or enables you to get promoted without an MBA.

If you are trying to trade or do IB, don’t waste your time with it.

 

agree w/ buyside cfa guy. a cfa charter holder is like a 10th degree blackbelt in finance, ninja status. this is the impression i got from people i talked to at the local cfa society chapter. i work in real estate, and people in my field know and respect the cfa. my cousin went to wharton ug and failed level one, tnen gave up.

a couple of things ive heard first hand: 'the cfa WILL increase your salary.' - finance professor (emphasis on WILL) 'we hire cfa's over mba's' - guy from blackrock 'the cfa offers more value than an mba' - guy from pimco these conversations were in the context of AM careers only, not ib.

i would suggest anybody thinking about taking level 1 to talk to guys in their local cfa charter society to get an idea for what the charter has to offer.

but, i do think the increase in interest in the cfa will lead to more random cfa guys in the job market, which could then decrease the value of being a candidate, but not necessarily for charter holders. maybe. i dunno. i could be wrong.

--- man made the money, money never made the man
 

M&I and others aren't exactly anti-CFA per se.

They just think that if you're going to devote 500 hours to something, you should choose networking for the full-time job as opposed to studying for an exam. I'm inclined to agree...once you have the job, you can always worry about the CFA and other certifications later. Besides, you need a certain amount of work experience to even have the designation (assuming you pass all 3 levels), so if you're getting your first full-time job, then time (a nonrenewable resource) may be better spent getting to know others in the field who can vouch for you for a job.

 
Best Response

Mollitia et quis consequatur. Nostrum vero optio ut non ad magnam modi.

Voluptatibus ex nihil autem ipsa deleniti laborum iure. Necessitatibus maiores est ad sit iure praesentium quaerat. Dignissimos corporis soluta nisi non aut velit eos. Qui impedit excepturi aliquid ut eius.

Consequuntur minima sequi enim dolores. Illum illum et quos sit et quo veniam qui. Quo itaque sed iusto consequatur eligendi sint quam possimus. Impedit perspiciatis quibusdam facere nemo eaque magni.

Expedita inventore sequi dolores. Alias occaecati unde in consequatur sunt recusandae. Labore quo sit aliquid saepe facere et alias. Accusamus vel fugiat sunt eum facilis. Repellendus qui suscipit dolorem rem aliquam sint esse delectus. Placeat et quod odio a dolores aut eos. Optio sit necessitatibus expedita est vero.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”