I think it is the wrong question to ask. The better one is how do we know this person is worth his salt? Hint: Usually has something to do with passing at least level I. Maybe the quantitative exercises. Maybe the knowledge of pricing options. Maybe how to read a balance sheet. Maybe knowing how to judge earnings manipulations. Maybe how to analyze a time series properly. Maybe how to manage a portfolio, which, after all, is what a trader does. Maybe how to assess risk. Maybe how to calculate NPV and make judgements when a company tells you how profitable their newest project is. Maybe how to do covered interest rate parity and arbitrage. Maybe to learn definitions of indicators, smart money and contrarian. In a word, everything in the curriculum except for ethics will make you a better financier and trader, but the entire curriculum collectively will make you a more ethical financier and trader. Only a certain group of people can succesfully pass. I was quite happy to find people that could converse with me the way my academic advisor could who was a PhD in Economics. Since college, I'd not met many people even in my profession up until that day that could connect on the financial level I was at after level I.
You all have great view points. From an outsider's perspective (non-finance guy, a planner/engineer by profession) I can see that all your opinions are strongly influenced by your experience. I am trying to switch careers after 8 years in city planning and civil engineering to money management, especially into equity research. I am currently enrolled in a top 20 US school part-time MBA program and planning to go through with CFA. Could you share your thoughts on my situation on whether if you think my expectations are realistic? Is there something else that will help me achieve my goals? Thanks.
the hard thing about breaking into the "stockpicker" or 'investment analyst" position is that there is a huge oversupply of people who want those jobs. There are nowhere near enough slots for even a small fraction of those who would like to have them. CFA is a good thing to do for these types of jobs. An mba is a good idea. Not all the firms look for Ivy league types. Some like to hire from select state schools or have feeder schools (often where the company founder went). If you are in a decent MBA program, try to find if they have any firms with a track record of hiring from your school and target them for employment. Just like any job those who are good at networking will have a large advantage.
I passed all CFA levels, 3 years relevant experience. I'm quite fresh, but I think whether it is "worth" or not has a different answer for different people bc we all have different backgrounds and goals. To be fair, CFA are series of exams , whose questions are designed in a way much more detailed, serious and somehow fantastic than those exams i took in my master and bachelor. So, passing the exam reflects you are able to handle the materials well, and you show your passion to engage in the industry (yes, and that's all). But the materials cover a lot of topics, not very deep details for each topic. So when you really work in one particular field, you would need to learn from scratch anyway.
Depends on what type of career you choose in finance. If you go the route of marketing yourself up the ladder on sell side, then yes. Your resume is a marketing brochure. If you intend on trading, no. Most of the great traders don't bother with this. I don't know of many great traders who ever took an exam past undergrad. Trading judged more on one's performance like playing sports. Basically you're good or not good at it.
CFA will be good for investment and analyst job.. will not help you to be becoming a successful trader at all...