Claritas

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LukeBBC251

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I just saw that they are adding a “certificate” program called Claritas. It sounds more like an allergy medication than anything, but here’s the info:
http://www.cfainstitute.org/about/vision/professional/Pages/claritas_inv...
What are people’s thoughts on this? As long as people who get it don’t advertise it as “passing the CFA exam”, then it should be ok, but we all know how people like to do that kind of stuff…
 
Interesting: there was talk about a “CFA lite” designation for people from a much wider audience. Here are some things from their fact sheet. I added the bold formatting.

HOW IT WILL WORK
People will be able to build their understanding at their own pace online before sitting for the exam.
The Claritas Investment Certificate is being designed as an easy-to-use online self-study program including reading materials and an exam. It will involve up to 100 hours of self-study. People
are free to study at their own pace – fitting their learning around their work and home lives. When they’re ready, they can sit for the multiple choice exam on demand at test centers around the world. Everyone who passes will be awarded a certificate by CFA Institute.

===

I’d say that 100 hours for the Claritas certificate is way below the 750-900 hours estimated to pass all three levels of the CFA exam. They better make sure Claritas doesn’t get mixed up with CFA Charterholder.

I wonder if one has to become a member of CFAI. Now THAT’s a way to increase revenue. However, since it’s a certificate, probably not. Certificates are papers that say you did something. Charters are things that give you the right to do something (in this case, say you are are a charterholder).
 
Sounds like the Diploma in Financial Management by ACCA (UK accounting body). I’m guilty of sitting for it and obtaining it - did the whole thing in 3 days.
Shame that this is spreading to CFA Institute.
 
It may be good for people who want to test waters before applying to the CFA.
The possibility that people may misrepresent it is a little bit worrying, but then again professionals who want to misrepresent don’t really need that - they can just flat out lie and hope to not get caught. We’ll see what happens.
 
bchadwick wrote:
They better make sure Claritas doesn’t get mixed up with CFA Charterholder.
Click to expand...
This is my only concern since I would never consider this qualification. It might almost be like saying, “Hi, I couldn’t care to put in the time to pass the CFA!”
 
The CFA should work on making Level II 2x a year before pumping up Claritas. It’s ludicrous how they still haven’t done this. Offering Level II twice a year would bring in much more revenue than this new charter.
 
I can just see the deluge of folks “creatively” referencing this certificate on their resumes to make it look more like the real thing.
 
I think this is meant for employers who want to send their support staff for some light training in capital markets. It’s unlikely that aspiring FO people will pursue this credential.
 
If I am not mistaken, in the UK they have something called the IMC..which is like a stepping stone to the CFA for the uninitiated…perhaps the point of Claritas is for CFAI to crowd out these ‘stepping stone certificates’ and keep the profit pie for itself…
 
In the CFA Institute 2010 member survey, 75% of respondents said that people throughout their organization could benefit from the kind of understanding our certificate will deliver.
That just is a blatant lie. From a small survey done here on AF, 100% of the charterholders said no to the CFAlite certificate
 
MissCleo wrote:
The CFA should work on making Level II 2x a year before pumping up Claritas. It’s ludicrous how they still haven’t done this. Offering Level II twice a year would bring in much more revenue than this new charter.
Click to expand...
I am completely against the thought of adding a December Level 2 exam. That would greatly dilute the designation, in my opinion. I could care less about how much revenue it would bring the CFAI. If it devalues my charter whatsoever, I am adamently against it….
 
I would fully support offering L2 in December and don’t think it would dilute the charter at all.
 
ATH wrote:
I can just see the deluge of folks “creatively” referencing this certificate on their resumes to make it look more like the real thing.
Click to expand...
This possibility concerns me a bit. Kind of like those folks who indicate that they attended Harvard because they took an executive seminar there.
 
LukeBBC251 wrote:
MissCleo wrote:
The CFA should work on making Level II 2x a year before pumping up Claritas. It’s ludicrous how they still haven’t done this. Offering Level II twice a year would bring in much more revenue than this new charter.
Click to expand...
I am completely against the thought of adding a December Level 2 exam. That would greatly dilute the designation, in my opinion. I could care less about how much revenue it would bring the CFAI. If it devalues my charter whatsoever, I am adamently against it….
Click to expand...
You do realize pass rates went DOWN once they started offering level I twice a year right? When did you get your charter btw?
 
MissCleo wrote:
LukeBBC251 wrote:
MissCleo wrote:
The CFA should work on making Level II 2x a year before pumping up Claritas. It’s ludicrous how they still haven’t done this. Offering Level II twice a year would bring in much more revenue than this new charter.
Click to expand...
I am completely against the thought of adding a December Level 2 exam. That would greatly dilute the designation, in my opinion. I could care less about how much revenue it would bring the CFAI. If it devalues my charter whatsoever, I am adamently against it….
Click to expand...
You do realize pass rates went DOWN once they started offering level I twice a year right? When did you get your charter btw?
Click to expand...
I got it in 2007, for what it’s worth. If they did offer L2 in December, then it would be possible for someone to clear everything in June/December/June. Not counting the study time for the first exam, that’s only one calendar year. How does that not devalue the process of attaining the charter? Pass rates aside, I don’t see how this would be a good thing for the designation.
 
LukeBBC251 wrote:
I got it in 2007, for what it’s worth. If they did offer L2 in December, then it would be possible for someone to clear everything in June/December/June. Not counting the study time for the first exam, that’s only one calendar year. How does that not devalue the process of attaining the charter? Pass rates aside, I don’t see how this would be a good thing for the designation.
Click to expand...
True, but you still need the 4 years of qualified work experience to get the charter, regardless of how fast you pass the exams.
 
The value in the charter comes from the mastery of the material, not the speed at which candidates pass the exams. If someone can pull of a June/Dec/June, more power to them.
 
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