Big 7: Which order should you take these? CFA, FRM, CFP, CMT, CQF, CHfC, CAIA

If it is like FASA, it means you are someone really important who contributed a lot. A fellow, I believe.
For whatever reason, business valuation people have the most designations out of any group I’ve ever seen. Maybe it’s because they do litigation work sometimes and want to look super legit in front of a jury, I dunno.
 
CHfC is a complete was of time. Very easy to pass, and you won’t find any jobs posted for it. Anything offered by the American College is worthless.

CAIA….the only reason people know that this license even exists is because Schweser makes study guides for it. Very few job posting for it. Very few people in the business even heard of it. Exams/fees are over priced. And if you do see a job posting it will say “CFA or CAIA”, which really means CFA.

CFP….if you want to go into retail sales, get a Series 7 and Series 66. That’s all you need. Sales Reps, aka “Financial Advisors” who are in the industry for more than 5 years will get a CFP in an attempt to convince their sales prospects that they are more than just a salesman. CFP is a waste of time.

CMT…been around forever, and is for charts. If you put something that lame on your resume, you’ll probably won’t get the job.

CQF….super expensive. You’ll be better off studying C++ and calculus, then applying to a real Masters program in Financial Engineering.

FRM… only get this if you already work in Risk Management.

CFA is really the only one worth your time. It won’t guarantee you a job, but I guarantee that most employers expect you to have it, assuming you are applying for an analyst position, or a position with a hedge/mutual fund, or private equity. In my opinion, the CFA is worth more than the other 6 put together.
 
CamdenBeer wrote:
CAIA….the only reason people know that this license even exists is because Schweser makes study guides for it. Very few job posting for it. Very few people in the business even heard of it. Exams/fees are over priced. And if you do see a job posting it will say “CFA or CAIA”, which really means CFA.
Click to expand...
This
 
former trader wrote:
CamdenBeer wrote:
CAIA….the only reason people know that this license even exists is because Schweser makes study guides for it. Very few job posting for it. Very few people in the business even heard of it. Exams/fees are over priced. And if you do see a job posting it will say “CFA or CAIA”, which really means CFA.
Click to expand...
This
Click to expand...
agreed
 
^Agreed.
There are only a few “real” qualifications in finance/accounting. All the others are just “add-ons” or duplicates of each other.
There’s MBA (a good one, not a hacksaw one), JD, CPA, CFA, ASA/ABV/CVA/CBA (valuation), and CFP/ChFC (personal financial planning).
All other designations are peripheral in nature, such as the “Certified Internal Auditor”, which is peripheral to the CPA, or the “Certified Retirement Planning Counselor”, which is peripheral to the CFP.
 
Greenman72 wrote:
^Agreed.
There are only a few “real” qualifications in finance/accounting. All the others are just “add-ons” or duplicates of each other.
There’s MBA (a good one, not a hacksaw one), JD, CPA, CFA, ASA/ABV/CVA/CBA (valuation), and CFP/ChFC (personal financial planning).
All other designations are peripheral in nature, such as the “Certified Internal Auditor”, which is peripheral to the CPA, or the “Certified Retirement Planning Counselor”, which is peripheral to the CFP.
Click to expand...
What about the CMA? They have some pretty impressive salary statistics on their website
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top