I recently passed Level 3 and have applied to the Institute.
Anyway, I am very glad to be done with the exams because since the day I entered into the Finance industry four years ago, I have realized one thing - it’s not the same and never will be. Everything we do (back/middle/front office, doesn’t matter) is scrutinized by regulators, auditors, compliance, etc. and it makes it very difficult to do business.
Long story short, I am a derivatives trader and I find it very challenging to come up with new trade ideas for my clients because half of my day is execution and the other half is answering to compliance, etc. asking why I did X trade or why I only got Y price for my client (always provide best execution, of course).
The point of my post is that for a couple years now I have considered leaving the industry and trying something different (I’m in my mid 20s and am SOMEWHAT financially stable) so I feel I have this “luxury” which I also feel I will only regret if I let this expire and just continue on. I was considering B-School but the cost is just too high for me (both opportunity and monetary).
With that said, I will be looking very soon to find passions of mine outside of finance that I would like to pursue, but my question is: If I ever want to come back to finance, will having my charter help? I have obviously built a very strong network of folks across the industry but not keeping in touch with them may hinder these. I also understand the CFA is not a “golden ticket” but I can’t see why it wouldn’t help me at least land an interview, etc. if and when I wanted to return.
Would love everyone’s thoughts on this.