What can a CFA do?

T

toufu

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Hi All,
I am 28 years old and graduated couple years ago in Business Adminstration (Major MIS) in the state. Then I moved to Hong Kong and worked as a real estate agent for couple years. As you may know the real estate market is very quite at the moment. I am planning to spend my time on some more eduation (may be MBA/CFA)
A friend of mine told me that i should consider CFA because I like Finance a lot, precisely I like to invest on stock, future, option etc , he told me that if I can get a CFA, i may be able to work in IBanks. Can any of you tell me that if that is true? To be honest, I am starting to feel tired to being a real estate agent, I am actually planning to switch my field. Can anyone tell me what can I do and who I can possibly work for if I pass the 3 exams of CFA? I know the experience requirement would be another question.
I am very confused now, I hope I can find the answer here… Thanks in advance
 
CFA is not going to get you a job as an investment banker. It may possibly help get into equity research. But your lack of directly applicable knowledge, combined with the fact that you’re not a fresh graduate will put you in a tough spot where you’re sort of caught between entry level and experienced positions, but not really eligible for either. So, your best bet is going to be an MBA. Sometimes CFA people successfully transition careers through the CFA, but this is rare. The CFA is more helpful for advancing when you’re in the industry rather than helping to break in, per se. A full time MBA with placement assistance is more geared towards career transitioning. You may want to think twice about moving into ibanking though. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
 
By the way, how do you like Hong Kong? Also, I’m could you shed some light on your comments about it being quiet in the real estate market over there? I’d be interesting on hearing your take on the real estate market in HK / China right now.
 
To be honest, I used to help the ibanker who relocated to Hong Kong to find a place to live. Only their housing allowance is already way over the average income in Hong Kong. (one entry level guy I helped got 40k HKD allowance, while in general, a person work in the same company for more than 10 year may not get that amount). That is why I am interesting in working in Ibanks, plus I do really like finance…
Do you mean that I should go for an MBA first and the try to break in and then the CFA? say if I get the MBA, what kind of job i may be able to apply in Ibanks?
I think for investment, Hong Kong is still a good place. The market is quiet is mostly because of the tightened mortgage policy of the banks, people have to pay like 50% upfront to purchase a property assuming the bank’s valuation matches the Landlord’s asking price. Also, since the fourth quarter of 2009, the property price in Hong Kong has skyrocketed like 30-60%, some cases even more than 100%, most potential buyer actually are waiting for the correction, plus the current global econ environment is that not good, that also slow down their intention to purchase right now (also thanks for those reports from the Ibanks, one say in the next year the property price will drop crazily for 45%). From my point of view, I think people in Hong Kong are still very rich, once there is any sign showing the econ is getting better, or the bank loosen the mortgage policy, the market will pick up again, very quickly, considering that the purchasing power in the Mainland is huge.
 
toufu wrote:To be honest, I used to help the ibanker who relocated to Hong Kong to find a place to live. Only their housing allowance is already way over the average income in Hong Kong. (one entry level guy I helped got 40k HKD allowance, while in general, a person work in the same company for more than 10 year may not get that amount). That is why I am interesting in working in Ibanks, plus I do really like finance…
I’ll start of by assuming you are refering to actual investment bankers. There are many jobs within investment banks, most of which do not pay so well. The ones offering large relocation amounts are typically for actual investment bankers (they manage IPO’s, mergers and acquisitions, buyouts, restructuring, etc). Those jobs are EXTREMELY difficult to get particularly for those who didn’t manage to get into the field directly out of undergrad. To transition would typically take a top tier MBA program at the least. CFA is more geared towards equity research, so if you were interested in investment banking, it is not as helpful. Research, particularly equity research involves research on companies and generally pays slightly less than investment banking, but with fewer hours. However, the field of equity research seems to be contracting as many of these functions have been made obsolete by functions on the buy side. In the past few years, investment banking pay has generally been less attractive than it was in the 1990’s, but the hours have remained very high. Investment bankers will typically work from 80 hours in a light week, to 120 hours in a crazy week. Many people become disillusioned with it in a year or two. These are just my views, some may disagree.
toufu wrote:Do you mean that I should go for an MBA first and the try to break in and then the CFA? say if I get the MBA, what kind of job i may be able to apply in Ibanks?
This depends on the quality of your MBA program and how well you can network your job into an investment bank. But theoretically, a quality MBA should at least make most jobs in an investment bank possible.
toufu wrote:I think for investment, Hong Kong is still a good place. The market is quiet is mostly because of the tightened mortgage policy of the banks, people have to pay like 50% upfront to purchase a property assuming the bank’s valuation matches the Landlord’s asking price. Also, since the fourth quarter of 2009, the property price in Hong Kong has skyrocketed like 30-60%, some cases even more than 100%, most potential buyer actually are waiting for the correction, plus the current global econ environment is that not good, that also slow down their intention to purchase right now (also thanks for those reports from the Ibanks, one say in the next year the property price will drop crazily for 45%). From my point of view, I think people in Hong Kong are still very rich, once there is any sign showing the econ is getting better, or the bank loosen the mortgage policy, the market will pick up again, very quickly, considering that the purchasing power in the Mainland is huge.
I appreciate the analysis, I thought you did a good job. It’s always good to get a view from someone who’s working in the field in that area instead of just reading articles. I was at Hong Kong once, it was pretty awesome, I always wanted to move there.
 
I heard about real estate in China that people tend to see them as just investments and a place to store money. My colleagues have said when they go go due diligence, there are many apartments and condo’s that are owned, but no one lives in them, so a fully bought building will look dark and empty at nights.
That frightens me from investing in real estate there unless you are thinking long term and are living there yourself.
 
Not only that, but the rich Chinese people have been buying real estate in other places, like in San Francisco where I live, thus driving up home prices. You have to pay like $1 million for a non-starter home around here. Fuckers!
 
^ Correct. I’ve seen this happen in Taiwan as well (the small island off the coast of China).
 
iteracom wrote:I heard about real estate in China that people tend to see them as just investments and a place to store money. My colleagues have said when they go go due diligence, there are many apartments and condo’s that are owned, but no one lives in them, so a fully bought building will look dark and empty at nights.
That frightens me from investing in real estate there unless you are thinking long term and are living there yourself.

This sounds exactly like what I heard from my friends in Phoenix in 2006. There was huge demand for housing, but nobody was actually living in the houses.
 
only way for you to become an ibanker is to get an MBA. you sound like me 5 years ago.
ibanking sucks. plus you like to bet on stocks which have nothing really to do with ibanking.
 
not at all. i have a better job than ibanking now imo. even if they offered me 250k guaranteed as associate,i would not do it.
i do about 60 hours now and I”m already maxed out. plus, i like securities analysis, not making pitch books to broker company transactions.
 
waste of thought, they would never offer me that kinda money when you have over 1000 applicants ready to do it for nothing. i know 100% of what ibankers do and its not something that interests me remotely.
truth be told, i can’t work those hours either. like i said, i’m maxed out at 60 hours though sometimes i work over 80. i can’t sit at a desk that long and ibanking is minimum 75 hours a week.
 
Hey guys, that is true that Hong Kong is part of China now, but please note that the real case is Hong Kong and China are still very very different.
The Mainlander (also Chinese but more precisely) they also pushed up the property price in Hong Kong as well. When I said the price skyrocketed 30-60% since 2009, it was mostly because of them. But the empty apartment issue is not as bad in Hong Kong.
I hate the property price got jacked up by the mainlanders as I was looking for a does-not-exist starter apartment as well, but well that is the reality. You have to understand that they are not just rich, but very very rich, they can purchase a 200 million house without any mortgage. When you have that much money, you actually do not care the flat to be empty as well. They understand that land is a limited resource, that is why they like to invest on property, and that is the easiest tool they can use. It would be difficult for them to invest in the stock market oversea ; not only because of the government policy, but also it requires a lot of knowledge to do it well. When you have that much money, you do not want to put the cash under your bed right, you will buy something for investment for sure, that is what they are doing, plus, the bed in Mainland is not so safe.
 
The market will burst sooner or later……china is still a developing country for the most part…..momentum is on their due to how far behind the curve they’re…..
 
If you like investment analysis and you are in the real estate sector, why don’t you try to work in a property company (developing their own properties or partnering with others for property developments) or in a private equity firm - I’m taling about consultancy types of work here, assisting the company in its investment decisions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top