Does my current qualifications meet the requirements to take levels 1, 2 and 3 of the CFA at this point? I read the official requirements but I still want input from you guys. I have a BA in Economics as well as close to two years of work experience at financial institutions: 1.bank teller 2.financial representative (credit union) 3.presently as a temp/intern for a bank where I am assigned ongoing assignments to different departments ( loan servicing, anti-money laundering, central operations, portfolio administration for single/multi family loans, secondary marketing…) to perform clerical data entry work. I have not held a job yet that involves making investment decision making. I do have personal experience with equity trading where I performed research before executing a trade, both with real and demo accounts. In addition I follow the financial markets on a regular basis in order to familiarize myself because I want to pursue a career in: securities trading, asset/money management, other related fields. So, Does my current qualifications meet the requirements to take levels 1, 2 and 3 of the CFA at this point? Thanks!
cloud, having earned your BA, you’re eligible to sit for all three exams. However, I’m skeptical that your work experience to date will qualify towards the four years of experience CFAI requires for you to earn your charter. You can read more about the prerequisites to becoming a candidate and work experience requirements to become a charterholder at: http://cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/getstarted/requirements/index.html http://cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/getstarted/requirements/workexperience.html
guns, basically there should be no problem being eligible to take all 3 exams since I have a BA. I need this CFA designation to find a better job, i very much like securities trading and most required a CFA in addition to a BA.
i dont know if this is the path if you “very much like securities trading”. As an institutional sales trader I speak with head traders of large hedge funds and plain vanilla funds daily and I do not know a single one that is a charterholder. PM’s are of course a different story but with your background and stated interest I would look to land a job similar to mine where you can get your feet wet trading (and make obscene $ depending on the firm). From there you can decide if the buyside is somewhere you want to be. Even if it is, this business is the trading side of funds is waaaay more about who you know than what you know. Analyst realm is completely different though.