CFA, FRM .......... and CAIA?

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ab04

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I’ve completed L2 CFA and L2 FRM and I’m considering CAIA L1 after writing CFA L3 in June 2012.
Does anyone have (or is completing) all 3 designations? With the competitve job market and a lack of actual financial analysis experience, I feel the need to obtain some more letters to seperate myself from the pack.
If anyone has an opinion on pursuing the CFA, FRM and CAIA please respond. I dont know how much the CAIA would benefit me in addition to the CFA and FRM and whether or not its worth the time and money.
At this point in time I feel like I’d need a PhD just to get an interview for something decent…. Brutal!!
Thanks All,
 
I was sort-of in the same position; I got both my CFA and FRM charters in 2011, and I’m writing CAIA Level II in March 2012. Here are my thoughts:
The CFA is definitely worth getting, it is widely recognized and respected across almost any branch of finance. Though it takes several years and is hard work.
The FRM is worth getting too, but doesn’t have the broad recognition of the CFA (except in the field of risk management, where it is well respected). On the plus side though: the FRM material is intellectually challenging, the exam fees are moderate, and you (currently) don’t even have to pay annual dues to use the FRM designation.
In contrast, the CAIA is probably not worth getting, for the following reasons:
* The CAIA pass rates are very high, so the designation does not have the reputation for rigor that the CFA, FRM, etc has.
* The exam and registration fees are very high.
* The annual dues are very high, and mandatory.
* You won’t learn very much, because the majority of the material overlaps either the CFA or FRM curriculum.
* Even among people in finance, 90% have never heard of CAIA.
To me, doing the CFA and then the CAIA is kind of like completing a masters degree, and then doing an undergraduate degree. If I could go back in time, I probably wouldn’t bother with the CAIA.
 
Knowing people who have both CFA and CAIA, this is their advice to me. You only need CAIA if you want to go into hedge funds outright. Especially in Canada, 95% of companies and HR depts don’t know what a CAIA is.
But the CAIA networking events are A+ if you are the mingling type. Bring business cards. If no job, make some of your own at vistaprint.com for $10-15 including shipping.
With a CFA, you should be able to get an analyst job at any big Cdn bank. If not, you need to find better networking events and work it.
Hope that helps…
 
I’m in the same boat as you, although a seat or two behind. I’ve just passed Part 2 FRM and am sitting CFA II in June, I intend to sit CAIA I in September, and assuming all goes to plan CAIA II in September 2013, after CFA III.
I would tend to echo toHFanalyst. Unless you’re going into Alternatives you’re probably wasting your time. I work in Geneva and have been in HFs for 7 or 8 years. Most analysts here want the CFA a few (very few) would take FRM, more would take CAIA, but mainly because we’re in the business. It really doesn’t have the reputation for rigour that the FRM or CFA do. I’m going to do it because a large part of the business done here is in HF and because for me idle hands are not a good thing. I’m at least partly using CAIA as a filler to keep me busy, as I find restarting study after a long time off (more than 3 months) a pain in the…
 
Hi,
Does someone know if there is any training course for the CFA level 2 in Sydney Australia?
Thanks.
Sebastien
 
If you have a CFA charter the CAIA won’t do much for you. I think a CFA charter is not for everyone and a pretty big commitment. Bigger then it needs to be in my opinion. The CAIA is more or less attainable. But yes, unless you already have the job, why bother? I don’t get people studying this stuff in some sort of hope that its gonna get them in.
 
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