Membership dues

I am currently in between my job and a full time MBA program starting this fall. Just got a notification from my local CFA society that I need to pay dues at the end of this month. My question is: should I bother? I have 3 years of approved investment-related experience accrued, so even if I passed Level 3 last weekend I will not achieve charterholder status until I can get another year. If I do pay for membership, what would the benefit be? Could I put something different on my resume than if I let my membership lapse for a couple of years until my employer can pick up the tab? Thoughts?

that’s a tough call. my employer doesn’t pick up the tab on the annual dues although they pay for the materials and test. i’m not sure you would reap any incremental benefit for joining before you have your work requirement done unless you actually go to some of the events they put together. i’m not a member so i am not speaking from experience. if it were me, i’d probably lean toward not paying until i got out of school unless you think you will pick up some part time work while in school that will qualify? good luck…

Agree with cfasf1. I think the only benefit is potential networking at the functions put together by your local chapter. If you won’t be attending any of them I wouldn’t renew. If you may attend some of them do a cost-benefit analysis.

I was thinking along those lines as well. Thanks.

Dwight, how much are the dues?

$225 CFA Institute membership $95 society membership No way I’m paying that. Will wait until I have a job secured to join…

Cool, thank you Dwight.

Dwight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > $225 CFA Institute membership > $95 society membership > > No way I’m paying that. Will wait until I have a > job secured to join… ripoff.

The dollar is going back in the right direction so I’ve got the membership. Got me an approval of work experience (4 years to be completed on November 1st) so I don’t have to bother doing that again. Also, I may be a nerd but I like access to the member directory and the cfapubs.org which is full of good articles. Also, some $300 is small change anyway. Good stuff is that I can mention I’m a member of the CFA Institute on my CV.

Probably not a deciding factor, but my dues renewal mentioned a $40 discount for people who are not currently employed.

Networking opportunites is the biggest benefit.

ws Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Networking opportunites is the biggest benefit. This. And Job Board.

I was talking to someone at CFAI about updating my membership status from ‘Affiliate’ to ‘Regular’ (same as affiliate + 48 months work experience). She said that if we have already been accepted as a ‘Regular’ member, we are automatically upgraded to ‘Charterholder’ status and can start using the designation the SECOND results are released (assuming we pass of coarse). She also said that processing of the letters and certificates should be sped up significantly due to their new membership/application software etc… Still, her advice was to get the membership squared away ASAP, otherwise there will be some backlog in processing after results are released.

all this talk of the charter and membership is making me nervous again… i better have passed this thing. i’d be pretty crushed if it went the other way… loving the free time with the family.

Seriously, $300 WOW. I passed all 3 levels of the CFA exams and have my current job because of it. Currently an affiliate member and will earn the charter in several months. Membership gives you lots of news, publications, and networking tools. To me the money is really nominal considering the earnings potential that is afforded to be associated with the CFA Institute. If you aren’t working then I wouldn’t recommend joining, but if you have a job in the industry why the heck not. Also, the money is well spent by the institute. They organize advertising events, attend world summits, and issue publication/research to promote the value of the Charter. Oh and try their customer service… they are beyond excellent.

are the dues tax deductible in canada? did my own taxes for the first time this year and noticed a deductible line for union/professional dues… is the cfai included in this amount?

i am from canada as well…(for now…moving to the UK in a few weeks) just renewed my membership to cfa institute but not to the toronto society. when i did my taxes i deducted it under union/professional dues and i did not have any issues. does anyone know if you can be a member of cfa institute but not a local society? if i pass this year, how will i get the charter if i am not a member of a local society?

Dwight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- $95 society membership Cheaper than NYSSA dues, which are $200

sid3699 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dwight Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > $95 society membership > > Cheaper than NYSSA dues, which are $200 NYSSA throws a lot of freebies my way every year, so the dues have been well worth it for me.