Corporate Finance vs Equity Research

S

saurya_s

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Hi all,
I am looking for pro and con from some veteran and their thoughts in terms of work-life balance, money making potential, exit routes, final destination etc. And the value of CFA and MBA in Corp Fin vs Equity Research.
Thanks for your much needed help.
S
 
hm…an “MBA vs. CFA” post in disguise! (nice try)
 
Not intentional Numi,
Since I have recently completed MBA and making more progress on Corp Fin job as compared to ER job (level 1 candidate as well), I was thinking is it worth doing Cfa. . Shed your opinion on other parameters that I have asked if that is not much of hassle.
Thanks
s
 
saurya_s –what kind of Corp fin job are doing right now? which industry of your company is? I’m a corp fin analyst and wondering if CFA can help in my career. thanks!!
 
I am a a career switcher . I have just completed MBA from Oxford Univ Said B School. Had tough time with ER interviews in London. There are surplus people, since I lack experience I am always behind them in job Q.
Level 2 frmLA- I doubt value of CFA for Corp Fin but I know most analyst who don’t go to B school try to complete at least Level I.
MBA will help you as I know all my mates who were analyst are now associates. I don’t think anywhere in CFA curriculum they teach selling- how to do deals, raise capital, beauty contest prep etc.
But I have been interviewed by a VP at a bulge bracket M&A who had a CFA charter but he was not aware why research side and M&A don’t communicate! Perhaps he forgot his CFA ethics contents.
S
 
saurya_s and level2frmLA,
i am in a similar situation too….i also dont see myself to be in sales and trading, asset mgmt…i’m a corporate financial analyst myself. my work does involve business valuation and i guess eventually will involve IPOs, M&A…
so i m also trying to decide whether CFA will worth it….but considering i had done my undergradute in Business Administration…i dont think MBA will make much of a drastic change in my skills and knowledge unless it is indeed from top universities which i dont see happening….so i am inclined towards starting CFA…
besides i like that CFA would allow me to work full-time along with it, so i can apply whatever i learn as soon as i can….
 
I’ve been having some serious doubts about ER as a long-term career. Recently someone posted this article about the “Top ER Analysts”. So I read through it and saw that most really successful analysts got there by keeping a very narrow focus. The list was filled with people whose whole lives were dedicated to things like “Mid-Cap dry bulk cargo” etc…..I don’t think I would be happy being that way and I’m not sure if theres much room in the biz for generalists.
Corporate Finance seems to be a good alternative that pays less but is also less time-consuming.
 
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