I am getting underway with CFA1 for Dec 10, but I also noticed the CIPM qual. I ran it through various job sites, but nothing asked for it. The curriculum is a bit vague - ethics, analysis and GIPS, so it probably overlaps with Cfa quite a lot. I can see how CIPOM might be useful on its own, but is it worth bothering with if I am doing CFA?
Not if you’re doing CFA as well. If you bomb in December, you might go that route. I’ve heard it described as a more condensed and ‘lighter’ CFA. For actual analysis, you should probably go CFA - for working with clients, CIPM is good enough (the guy I know who has it is very successful in working with institutional investors).
CIPM is really a niche certification for people working in performance analysis. If you’re working in that area (or if you want to), it’s very valuable, but outside of that area I don’t think it adds any value at all.