any awkward reactions from telling people you are a CFA Charterholder?
i have this sick fantasy that i will walk into a car dealership with my entire left arm sleeved in a crazy tattoo, wife beater tang top, cargo shorts and sandals and ask to buy a brand new BMW M6.
then when the “finance” guy sits down to discuss the deal (thinking i’m piker/ he is going to screw me making an extra buck)… and then i will wip out my business card that has me as a CFA and the guy will start sweating nervous as hell/ embarassed and starts sucking up to me… ok day-dream over
I think the OP is mistaking the CFA charter with an MBA from say Harvard ot Stanford? Also, I don’t think the “finance” guy at a BMW dealership knows what CFA is. Only after you tell him you’re in finance then he will assume “oh it’s like CPA but for finance dudes.”
personally, im more impressed with a CFA than an MBA from (Wharton/HBS…whatever)
about the “finance” guy at the dealership not knowing what the CFA is… true
but the question goes beyond that even within the industry… the reason i ask, is because i look like an idiot and my motivation for getting the charter is to really make people scratch their heads when they find out i passed all three levels.
Finance guy at a car dealership is not going to know what CFA is.
When I worked in retail banking, I went to ask the branch manager (main branch in a large city) for financial assistance for the CFA program and his response was…“what is CFA?”
Well we all have our own opinions and own views. But the majority of people out there, even in the finance sector would disagree with you…And in the end, it doesn’t matter what you think. It doesn’t matter what I think. Just saying what I have been getting here in NYC. Maybe it could just the NY thing with so many people with spectacular degrees and schools in their resumes.
I find that car dealers start sweating when I pull out my 12c. They love throwing payments at customers instead of prices, because they know most people can’t, or won’t bother to, do the math. They don’t know what to do when a customer immediately converts their payment into a crappy price. I also like to bring my pricing research with me in a folder and leave it sitting on the desk while we negotiate, occasionally looking through it and saying “hmmm?”. The proliferation of no-haggle pricing has actually taken a lot of the fun out of buying a car, although there is still haggling if you play the game right.
Best way to negotiate is from office of their competitor’s…
Even a GIRL can do that.
“Yeah I’m just looking at this really shiny car here the other dealer. You know, I am a 45min drive away from your dealership and this guy says this car will get shiner after I buy it. I only have $2,463.76 left on my student visa limit anyways and that needs to include taxes.”
Game theory uni course…paid for itself.
I got a really good deal on my Ferrari red, toyota tercel, sport edition, 1996, 4 cylinder 1.8 litre.
