CFA vs FRM

Quite a few threads discuss CFA vs MBA but has anyone considered the GARP FRM exam? What do people think about the benefits of one vs the other? I actually bought the Jorion books over the last weekend and it is increddibly mathematical

If you think those books are “incredibly mathematical”, FRM is not for you.

well, if you are involved in Financial Risk Management, then the FRM might be for you. CFA is much more broad in scope and focused on portfolio management / asset management. If you are not involved in Risk Management at a AM shop / IB / HF, FRM would be a stretch.

the jorion FRM handbook if anything is less mathematical than the PRM handbook. risk mgmt by nature is highly mathematical - you should consider your strengths and stick to them.

I passed FRM a couple of years ago and I still don’t put it on my business card because I believe the designation itself is very insignificant. I find CFA curriculum significantly more interesting and practical.

I signed up for the FRM exam a while ago and studied some of the material. I would say that it’s more of a MFE pair up. Willy

i considered it, but chose to do a CAIA/CFA combo instead. more practical. i never plan to do risk mgmt, i’ll pay some smart guy for that. let me just pick the frigging stocks.

I love how academia has all these elegant “models” of risk, which completely fail in real world: LTCM. Willy

frm is not that mathematical, and mathmatics required for cfa is highschool lvl, even competent middle schoolers can do it

eso Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > frm is not that mathematical, and mathmatics > required for cfa is highschool lvl, even competent > middle schoolers can do it little aggressive buddy – what level are you on??

I thought about the FRM, but I think you need to have 2 years of risk management experience. The PRM is an option because there is no need for experience, the CFA exempts you from half the test, and there are no annual fees involved. However, I don’t really think having PRM after your name adds any weight. I think the best option is CFA+MBA (top 15). If you can do that, the other stuff is really just a waste of time and your efforts are better spent improving at work and networking.

DirtyZ, What do you think about a top MFE + CFA?

DirtyZ Wrote: > I think the best option is CFA+MBA (top 15). If > you can do that, the other stuff is really just a > waste of time and your efforts are better spent > improving at work and networking. I agree with that.

maratikus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > DirtyZ Wrote: > > I think the best option is CFA+MBA (top 15). > If > > you can do that, the other stuff is really just > a > > waste of time and your efforts are better spent > > improving at work and networking. > > I agree with that. Agree also, except I would expand the MBA range to basically any school that people have heard of, or the best school in the region your interested in working post grad.

. > > > Agree also, except I would expand the MBA range to > basically any school that people have heard of, or > the best school in the region your interested in > working post grad. ’ agree with this. if you plan to live in OH forrever, no need to go to Strn if you can go to Fisher and pay less and get probably a comparable education. Regional focus is important.

The only way to appreciate how good the CFA curriculum is, is to take the FRM. Other than credit and operational risks (about 30% of the test) everything else is covered in the CFA curriculum and in much more details.

mo34 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The only way to appreciate how good the CFA > curriculum is, is to take the FRM. > > Other than credit and operational risks (about > 30% of the test) everything else is covered in the > CFA curriculum and in much more details. From what I remember, FRM is significantly more quantitative than CFA.

maratikus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > mo34 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > The only way to appreciate how good the CFA > > curriculum is, is to take the FRM. > > > > Other than credit and operational risks (about > > 30% of the test) everything else is covered in > the > > CFA curriculum and in much more details. > > From what I remember, FRM is significantly more > quantitative than CFA. In my opinion the Quant part is a subset of L1 and L2 stuff. The futures hedging, duration, MBS, and all this stuff is much more quantitative in CFA L3. The performance measurement and attribution is much heavier in L3 CFA. The swaps, forward pricing, … much heavier in L2 CFA. The only additional quant parts in options are related to Merton and BSM, but I’m not going to memorize those monster equations just for the test. Honestly, not much value added unless you’re interested in calculating the credit risk in a swap or the operational risks for a bank. I’ll just take the test because I singed up for it, but my time could have been spent on more useful activities.