Hi all, I am looking for pro and con from some veteran and their thoughts in terms of work-life balance, money making potential, exit routes, final destination etc. And the value of CFA and MBA in Corp Fin vs Equity Research. Thanks for your much needed help. S
Corp Fin - MBA Equity Research- CFA
hm…an “MBA vs. CFA” post in disguise! (nice try)
Not intentional Numi, Since I have recently completed MBA and making more progress on Corp Fin job as compared to ER job (level 1 candidate as well), I was thinking is it worth doing Cfa. . Shed your opinion on other parameters that I have asked if that is not much of hassle. Thanks s
What school did you go for your MBA?
saurya_s --what kind of Corp fin job are doing right now? which industry of your company is? I’m a corp fin analyst and wondering if CFA can help in my career. thanks!!
I am a a career switcher . I have just completed MBA from Oxford Univ Said B School. Had tough time with ER interviews in London. There are surplus people, since I lack experience I am always behind them in job Q. Level 2 frmLA- I doubt value of CFA for Corp Fin but I know most analyst who don’t go to B school try to complete at least Level I. MBA will help you as I know all my mates who were analyst are now associates. I don’t think anywhere in CFA curriculum they teach selling- how to do deals, raise capital, beauty contest prep etc. But I have been interviewed by a VP at a bulge bracket M&A who had a CFA charter but he was not aware why research side and M&A don’t communicate! Perhaps he forgot his CFA ethics contents. S
saurya_s and level2frmLA, i am in a similar situation too…i also dont see myself to be in sales and trading, asset mgmt…i’m a corporate financial analyst myself. my work does involve business valuation and i guess eventually will involve IPOs, M&A… so i m also trying to decide whether CFA will worth it…but considering i had done my undergradute in Business Administration…i dont think MBA will make much of a drastic change in my skills and knowledge unless it is indeed from top universities which i dont see happening…so i am inclined towards starting CFA… besides i like that CFA would allow me to work full-time along with it, so i can apply whatever i learn as soon as i can…
I’ve been having some serious doubts about ER as a long-term career. Recently someone posted this article about the “Top ER Analysts”. So I read through it and saw that most really successful analysts got there by keeping a very narrow focus. The list was filled with people whose whole lives were dedicated to things like “Mid-Cap dry bulk cargo” etc…I don’t think I would be happy being that way and I’m not sure if theres much room in the biz for generalists. Corporate Finance seems to be a good alternative that pays less but is also less time-consuming.