CFA Salary

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Odepius

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Hello All

I'm curious, what is the median salary for a CFA (few years exper) in any industry.....Hedge Funds, Invest. Bank, etc, etc?


Thanks

Odepius
 
The current guidelines require 4 years of acceptable work experience for the CFA charter. Are you asking about a few years post CFA or a newly minted charterholder?

I'm guessing the median for newly minted CFA is 90k and the median for a few years post CFA is 130k; both numbers all in. I don't think CFA has much to do with your salary and I believe the mean will be higher than the median.
 
Those numbers are low. Here is the 2005 CFAI survey:

https://cfainstitute.org/aboutus/press/pdf/05exec_sum.pdf
 
Hi All


Thanks for responding to the question. It's quite low compare to MBA grad.
I think i will be taking the GMAT......oppose the CFA1. I'm hoping the score close to 800 on the former.......my GPA is only 3.5 and i want to attend Columbia Uni. Any advice on prep school?


Any opinions?

Odepius
 
Odepius,

I believe if you do a full comparision (analysis) on the two alternatives. You get more bang for your buck with the CFA. If capital is unlimited then you should do both.
 
Odepius, best of luck with scoring close to 800...always impressive to call a score before writing the test.
 
Turkish

I did sample GMAT exams and i did excellent. The math on the GMAT is High schll. Critical thinking is joke. Read comprehension is junior high. Data Suff is lil tuff. With hard work, i think i can score close to 800: for few reasons. 1. i know my capabilities., you don't. No pun intended. 2. You can achieve almost everything with hard work. 3. I'm somewhat(has a girl) single and stress free, and i can study 40 hrs a week. HAVE SOME FAITH.....AT LEAST WITH OTHER PEOPLE. 4. I post these question because i want positive feedback, not negative.

Thanks
Odepius
 
I've seen better trolls, but Odepius has potential.

"1. i know my capabilities., you don't. No pun intended" - nice
 
"1. i know my capabilities., you don't. No pun intended."

For someone who thinks they're getting an 800, you should probably brush up on what a pun is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Tuesday, September 26, 2006 at 03:20PM by caspian.
 
Odepius...i am not sure how telling you best of luck is not positive feedback?
 
Total Compensation, all in USD and based upon the most recent survey:

180k for the average Charterholder
240k for the average Charterholder with 10 yrs of exp.
482k for the average Charterholder with 10 yrs of exp and working in Port. Mngmt.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at 02:39AM by jamespucyk.
 
Danny Boy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've seen better trolls, but Odepius has
> potential.
>
> "1. i know my capabilities., you don't. No pun
> intended" - nice


HA!
 
i honestly hope those figures are correct...........i havne' t gotten the first exam written yet, but i know of a few who have CFAs that aren't making anywhere close to that.......i sure hope that is right...........
 
Keep in mind these are median amounts first of all. This is very middle person on the CFA spectrum. Second of all these are for CFA Charterholders, that would be, the majority of the individuals would have 3 yrs, now it's 4 yrs of experience is now required. Experience, however is a relative term, especially as the CFA institute guages it, in terms of teh spectrum of jobs that qualify under that banner. I.e. if you are doing research for an investment bank or if you are an associate portfolio manager, that is better experience than if you are a trading assistant for a broker or doing simple trade reconciliation for a trading firm, but these do count for experience. I do know two people who have passed all 3 levels and who are working just as investmnet representatives for a discount brokerage in their call centre. This isn't a bad job, but it's not what you think of people, who would pass all three levels would do; it's definatly under what they are capable of doing.

Also if you read the actual survey the amount made for a CFA charterholder with more XP is more important. The more experience a charterholder has the more money they make and the increase is impressive.
 
It's not the CFA that is causing the high salaries. It's the 10 years of work experience and the highly competitive field they are in.
 
One thing I found misleading was that the median salaries in the UK were considerably higher than in the US. If you look for the page from which the document is linked off of the CFAI website, it gives further information regarding the wide disparity between salaries in the US. The NY salaries are nearly 40% higher than the US average. If you're working in NY you're on par with or ahead of the UK average is what I observe from that.

Another observation that I think was mentioned here was that the median salaries are given for groups with 4+ and 10+ years of experience. This means that people with 20 years of experience are contributing to these numbers. The median is therefore not a likely goal just after 4 years of experience(which means by the time you're done with your CFA in the first place). It seems like the data is presented in a way that could portray the CFA designation being more lucrative than it actually is.

Is it true that they charge you every year to keep the designation? Seems like they make a lot of money on this thing.
 
I don't have my charter yet, but I did finish my MBA in May 2005 and it was a solid experience that I would highly recommend. I went to a top-30 state school (Georgia Tech) to keep costs down and I found that most employers knew the school and respected it. However, if you're dead set on going to an elite investment banking firm or some other exclusive club, you're going to need the best name you can get.

By the way, the CFA is something you can start on while doing an MBA. I see no reason why you couldn't finish your MBA in May and do L1 in June. Or do L1 in Dec and L2 the June after you grad. My school even had a couple of scholarships to pay the registration fees. (You might want to take it easy on the class load if you're studying for this though - unless you're an IQ stud.)

By the way, a 720 and an 800 are about the same to a top-10 B-school. That's only 5% of the equation. You need to demonstrate an amazing understanding of the world, have a pretty clear goal for why and how you intend to impact your environment, and well-articulated and unique experiences ... then you'll be a little closer to writing Wharton a $150k check.
 
zeroaffinity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't have my charter yet, but I did finish my
> MBA in May 2005 and it was a solid experience that
> I would highly recommend. I went to a top-30 state
> school (Georgia Tech) to keep costs down and I
> found that most employers knew the school and
> respected it. However, if you're dead set on going
> to an elite investment banking firm or some other
> exclusive club, you're going to need the best name
> you can get.
>
> By the way, the CFA is something you can start on
> while doing an MBA. I see no reason why you
> couldn't finish your MBA in May and do L1 in June.
> Or do L1 in Dec and L2 the June after you grad. My
> school even had a couple of scholarships to pay
> the registration fees. (You might want to take it
> easy on the class load if you're studying for this
> though - unless you're an IQ stud.)
>
> By the way, a 720 and an 800 are about the same to
> a top-10 B-school. That's only 5% of the equation.
> You need to demonstrate an amazing understanding
> of the world, have a pretty clear goal for why and
> how you intend to impact your environment, and
> well-articulated and unique experiences ... then
> you'll be a little closer to writing Wharton a
> $150k check.


how did u answer that question about how u will change the world?
 
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