Master of Applied Finance/CFA

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myreturn008

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Hi Guys,
I am new to this forum. I am seeking your advice about the Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University which covered 70% of CFAI CBOK. Do you think this is a good choice to prepare for CFA examination?
Thank you if you can give your comments.
Best regards,
myreturn008
 
I think getting a masters degree so that you can pass the CFA exam is weird. So if I’m interviewing two candidates one of whom completed the self-study CFA program on the train and on weekends and the other required the hand-holding and expense of a masters degree, which do you think would impress me? There is no chance I would hire the person who needed the hand-holding of a program like that.
 
I mean the Master of Applied Finance may add weight to the CV besides it is part of CFAI initiatives to work with universities.
I think students still have to do their own studies because it only covered 70% CBOK.
Thank you and I hope more people can comment on this intiative.
 
There is no chance that adds weight to a CV. Honestly, I would laugh at you if you said those things at an interview. I suppose it depends where you want to end up..
 
Then you should laugh at CFAI. It was them to start this so called University Partners Program. What’s wrong if people taking these courses.
 
I’ve never heard of Macquirie University, but a masters degree could possibly help you in the job search.
 
If this university is respected it will aid you in your job search as companies will come there to recruit and will respect your degree
However, I agree with the others in that there is no point doing a Masters degree solely to help you for the CFA exam. You are better off taking an intensive Stalla/Schweser prep study session and it wil be a lot cheaper as well !
 
hi myreturn008,
I presume you mean Macq Uni based in Sydney - and I assume you are in Aust or HK, Singapore, Japan (?)
I have hired several Macquarie MBAs and sent a few staff to do the MBA there. One of the best MBAs in Aust.
But the MAF looks very different - looks to me like a VERY expensive prep course for the CFA. I wouldn’t give it much/any weight on a CV - it’s like saying you’ve done Schweser. My guess is that CFAI is getting a nice licence fee out of the hefty course fees.
So, without the CFA, a MAF is very little value to Aust firms - and nil overseas probably.
Pesonally I would much rather see an extra couple of years good experience + CFA, rather than MAF + CFA. Once you have CFA, you wouldn’t bother putting MAF on resume - probably a negative, imho - better to get real experience.
Second best option would be to do CFA + MBA from Macq at same time. That would be good on CV for most Aust firms. But remember - good experience/achievements/runs on the board will always beat formal quals.
 
myreturn008 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Then you should laugh at CFAI. It was them to
> start this so called University Partners Program.
> What’s wrong if people taking these courses.
Good point.
 
further to my last post,
just looking at the web-site for the Macq MAF program (it’s a slow day here and I’m bored!) I notice that only 1 of the 40 professors/lecturers is a CFA charterholder (or only 1 chooses to include it in their bio). Btw the faculty looks fairly impressive - includes Princeton, Wharton, Cornell, Stanford, etc and some good practical experience in the markets - but only 1 CFA among them.
Looks strange for a program that markets itself as a CFA prep course.
 
Thanks guys.
Macq MAF is considered one of the best in the Asia Pacific region though some of you from other regions may not know Macq. The quality of teaching is good.
I suppose if the degree is from London Business School or Oxford Said will help most. I agreed with the above suggestions. I don’t really need Macq for preparation based on my background in accounting, finance and stats.
 
Why MBA + CFA? Can MFE + CFA is much better?
Stalla/Schweser prep notes are good enough for the exam preparation?
Thanks.
 
Mez Wrote:
——————————————————-
> myreturn008 Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > Then you should laugh at CFAI. It was them to
> > start this so called University Partners
> Program.
> > What’s wrong if people taking these courses.
>
>
> Good point.
Laugh at CFAI for what - making lots of money by convincing people to spend tons of time and money on the designation? If someone needs that level of hand-holding to get this designation why would anybody want to work with them or hire them? Are you going to send someone back to school every time you decide to trade some new derivative or there is some change in accounting rules? At some point you have to learn how to learn without being spoonfed. Now if CFAI wants to team up with people to make money, far be it from me to object to it.
 
i was talking about value to you getting a job/learning about business. For that the MBA + CFA is valuable. (But most employers still value good experience/achievements much more highly)
For passing the CFA exams, MBA probably won’t help much.
What extra prep services you need will depend on your background. If you already have good quals and background in accounting, finance & stats, then you should be off to a good start.
cheers
 
Even CFA holders do not agree with CFAI about the University Initiative program.
Thanks for the input.
 
With all due respect Joey, stop this academic nonsense already.
As someone of your experience should be knowing, there are several things in the real world that are highly irrational, yet exist and will continue to exist : why is the market value of MBAs much higher than most/all MS/PhDs out there when the intellectual caliber of the MBA is akin to 1st undergrad ? Do you really need to attend school fulltime for 2 yrs to learn an undergrad curriculum ?
Based on your argument, the above wouldn’t hold in the real world, but both are very true.
As someone mentioned above, there are other benefits to attending MS/MBA programs.
As far as the CFA-MS combo, most of the top MS Finance programs in the world have signed up, including Oxford and LBS.
http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/media/Press+Releases/CFA+Institute+partners...
JoeyDVivre Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Mez Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > myreturn008 Wrote:
> >
> ————————————————–
>
> > —–
> > > Then you should laugh at CFAI. It was them to
> > > start this so called University Partners
> > Program.
> > > What’s wrong if people taking these courses.
> >
> >
> > Good point.
>
> Laugh at CFAI for what - making lots of money by
> convincing people to spend tons of time and money
> on the designation? If someone needs that level
> of hand-holding to get this designation why would
> anybody want to work with them or hire them? Are
> you going to send someone back to school every
> time you decide to trade some new derivative or
> there is some change in accounting rules? At some
> point you have to learn how to learn without being
> spoonfed. Now if CFAI wants to team up with
> people to make money, far be it from me to object
> to it.
 
It is a good school and a good program. Take it, get a good job, work hard, make a good living and be happy, don’t bother with the CFA.
 
Vince Mancini Wrote:
——————————————————-
> With all due respect Joey, stop this academic
> nonsense already.
>
I’m sorry, but if I stop spouting academic nonsense I will feel rudderless.
>
> As someone of your experience should be knowing,
> there are several things in the real world that
> are highly irrational, yet exist and will continue
> to exist : why is the market value of MBAs much
> higher than most/all MS/PhDs out there when the
> intellectual caliber of the MBA is akin to 1st
> undergrad ? Do you really need to attend school
> fulltime for 2 yrs to learn an undergrad
> curriculum ?
>
I’m not a big buyer on MBA programs except that my Dad is an MBA and a brilliant man, so I cut them some slack. I agree that most of the stuff taught in business school is undergraduate stuff (in particular, at Carolina the MBA stats book they used was a more junior book than was used for the undergraduate business majors and I have never gotten over that). As for an MBA being more valuable than a Ph.D. - I spent 5 yrs busting my butt amidst uncertainty to get a Ph.D. and I can’t even read my own dissertation now., Then my first job offer (teaching at a small college in VT) was for $23K. If I had gone to business school I would have been done in 2 years with job prospects of at least $50K. So I completely utterly demonstrated that I have no business sense by my own choices. If you’re trying to get a business job, it takes a long time to live that down.
> Based on your argument, the above wouldn’t hold in
> the real world, but both are very true.
> As someone mentioned above, there are other
> benefits to attending MS/MBA programs.
>
And I have lots of respect for some of the MS finance programs. That MS (or whatever letters they give) in mathematical finance program at Columbia gets 5 stars in my book, for example.
> As far as the CFA-MS combo, most of the top MS
> Finance programs in the world have signed up,
> including Oxford and LBS.
>
Yes, and how should I respond to someone who says they went to Oxford for two years to learn something that I learned commuting on the train and in weekend study?
> http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/news/media/Press+Releases/
> CFA+Institute+partners+with+the+Sa%C3%AFd+Business
> +School.htm
>
Edit: Lots of the value in the CFA program is that it is self-study and entrepeneurial. If people are going to school for two years to learn this material, they need to make it a lot harder. I can take anyone with a 3-digit IQ and a college degree and get them through the CFA program if they will study with me for two years. So what’s the value in that?
 
It is pointless to argue whether should we self-study or taking the Combo course.
I think the Combo course does have its values. It does not mean someone going through the combo course is naive or you called it spoon feeding. It is irrelevant in this case.
If someone has no finance experience or come from other field, the combo course is useful. If you are in the finance field already, probably doing the CFA alone is just good enough.
I think the OXford or LBS combo course will definitely add weight. Macquaries Uni has the best finance program in the Asia Pacific region. I think the program itself is comparable to Oxford and LBS except the university is not yet well positioned and its history.
 
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