CFA Charterholder No Golden Ticket?

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tyler4040

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In almost every other topic posted on AF, there will be at least one mentioning of the fact that the CFA program is no golden ticket. I am hoping for a little clarity on it though. I know it’s all a matter of opinion, but is that statement geared towards people who actually attain charterholder status with experience or those who have no experience at all but have passed all three levels? To elaborate if someone in an entry level position currently, will being a charterholder open up doors for promotions both in firm outside the firm? Or does the old “no golden ticket” adage still apply? I’m interested to hear opinions.
 
If you are entry level in a financial capacity and are interested in investment management/portfolio managment. CFA will definitely help you rise faster, as well as feel you have a better grasp of the things you ought to be doing and communicating.
The “no golden ticket” is mostly for people currently outside of finance or in operational roles who think that someone may hand them $50MM or more to manage simply because they passed these exams. If that is what those people are gunning for, then the CFA makes sense to do, but it won’t be enough on its own - it needs to be combined with a lot of networking and a not-so-small dose of luck. But it will help.
 
Couldn’t Agree more with above opinion.
Disclaimer:- I am a Level 3 candidate, not a charterholder and am looking to break into the industry.
 
I can speak as someone who doesn’t quite have the 4 years of experience yet, and as from someone who does not work in finance. After passing, the only comments I’ve ever received from colleagues were either “Good job!”, “Wow you’re smart” or “Why are you still working here?” No raise, no promotion, no bonus. Not that I was expecting any of those. That’s just my experience, though.
 
CFA Charter is basically a feather in the cap in mid-career finance, sorta like continuing education. For someone outside of Finance looking in, passing L3 may grant an interview over others who do not have it. Beyond that, it’s just a certificate program that says you know something about valuation and portfolio management, nothing more. It’s amazing how oversold it is.
 
The perceived importance of CFA is mostly just effective marketing…the same kind of marketing that made families believe that the best way to start the day is by ingesting cornflakes that are actually oversugared snacks that give kids a sugar rush…
 
Trying another analogy: If getting a job is akin to winning a fight, the CFA simply gives you a bigger gun. It does not enable god mode, which some candidates think it does.
But yeah, bchadwick nailed it.
 
^ I like the gun analogy, but I would edit it to this:
Passing the CFA exams is like upgrading to a larger handgun. It looks more intimidating and it is more powerful, but a marksman with experience will still destroy you even if they have not upgraded, and employers will always hire the experienced shooter.
 
There’s been a lot of posts on this subject, personally I don’t see the CFA as a golden ticket, more an economy ticket.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy and is valuable it’s just that nearly every job description I see these days has CFA in the profile section. Whether this is wishful thinking on the recruiters part or ont I don’t know, but I do get the impression that the CFA is close to becoming a necessity.
Certainly guys advancing into front office where I work are pretty much expected to go for the charter if they don’t have it or something similar.
 
How about a situation where someone is the financial industry, but not in the IB/AM side? What about financial services? Would you agree that level 1 or level 2 under your belt should be a good ticket to making the lateral transition, but if you haven’t made the transition by level 3 you’re probably stuck in financial services? Thoughts?
 
pdub wrote:
How about a situation where someone is the financial industry, but not in the IB/AM side? What about financial services? Would you agree that level 1 or level 2 under your belt should be a good ticket to making the lateral transition, but if you haven’t made the transition by level 3 you’re probably stuck in financial services? Thoughts?
Click to expand...
“front office people logic” - back-office people are idiots
  • either because they work in operations
  • or because they accepted a job, to work in opeartions
you basically have an incurrable STD and no matter what you do to turn your life around, you will never get there level of sophistication/ intellect.
honestly you are better off removing any reference on your resume from working in operations.. kinda like not including a summer job in high school where you worked in food service.. back office is not relevant and will be used against you
 
dvictr wrote:
pdub wrote:
How about a situation where someone is the financial industry, but not in the IB/AM side? What about financial services? Would you agree that level 1 or level 2 under your belt should be a good ticket to making the lateral transition, but if you haven’t made the transition by level 3 you’re probably stuck in financial services? Thoughts?
Click to expand...
“front office people logic” - back-office people are idiots
  • either because they work in operations
  • or because they accepted a job, to work in opeartions
you basically have an incurrable STD and no matter what you do to turn your life around, you will never get there level of sophistication/ intellect.
honestly you are better off removing any reference on your resume from working in operations.. kinda like not including a summer job in high school where you worked in food service.. back office is not relevant and will be used against you
Click to expand...
I think those back office positions are even hard to get nowadays. I’ve applied for so many operations roles and haven’t received any call backs. At best, I can obtain a similar salary; at worst, I take a 10-15% pay cut. The primary motivator for me is not having to travel 80-100% of the time. I even started applying to admin roles. At this point I’ll take whatever I can get because I know I’ll be local until September. After that, who knows where I’ll be sent….
 
All finance positions are hard to get these days. Which is why you have people in finance in all sorts of roles doing the CFA program
 
bchadwick wrote:
The “no golden ticket” is mostly for people currently outside of finance or in operational roles who think that someone may hand them $50MM or more to manage simply because they passed these exams. If that is what those people are gunning for, then the CFA makes sense to do, but it won’t be enough on its own - it needs to be combined with a lot of networking and a not-so-small dose of luck. But it will help.
Click to expand...
Agree. There are lot of funds especially in the kind and old UK which are managed by people who have not got even basic economic underground - not mentioning professional financial education. So, the promotion (or entering into) is just a matter of luck. However, if you are lucky enough to meet smart people who are interested in obtaining appropriate human capital to manage their money - you will be certainly chosen provided your CFA background.
 
There is no single golden ticket.
The closest I can think of is:
- Strive to be the best in your field, this includes pursuing the CFA and other useful certificates
- Work hard but don’t stress your self out completely.
- Keep up to date.
- Keep networking and meeting new people in the field.
- Practice what you preach: Keep your own finances in order, pay off debts, live within your means, invest your own money at the same high standards you’ll treat a client’s money.
 
There is a golden ticket! What if you are George Soros’ son? Or what if you have $1 billion to throw into a VC fund? These circumstances are just very rare - much more rare than the CFA.
 
i can speak from experience….after getting the CFA, I was chased after by the HR department at Goldman…however, sensing that GS was on its way down and losing its culture (something I picked up while doing the CFA) I decided to start my own firm…..
After advertising my CFA to a group of institution salespeople, I managed to raise $500 million dollars in AUM….key here was that I mentioned I passed the CFA all 3 levels on the first attempt….once you tell them that, they know you’re a select few….
If you have passed the CFA and have not been offered a job, there might be something wrong with you….
 
I am not looking for a golden ticket…I would be happy with just finding some purpose to it all…maybe a silver ticket will do
 
ua_bender wrote:
Agree. There are lot of funds especially in the kind and old UK which are managed by people who have not got even basic economic underground - not mentioning professional financial education. So, the promotion (or entering into) is just a matter of luck. However, if you are lucky enough to meet smart people who are interested in obtaining appropriate human capital to manage their money - you will be certainly chosen provided your CFA background.
Click to expand...
if youve seen this in the UK, you wont believe the idiots managing money in Brazil
 
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