CFA is good for one thing. If you are an "account executive"/financial adviser trying to sell clients financial products, they want to think you know wtf you're talking about. It's a comfort license ... giving client's a perhaps false feeling of security that their financial affairs are being prudently managed. Does the CFA really make for better financial decisions? Can having a CFA help one beat the S&P 500 index consistently? Like you said, dubious value.