Rotman's Masters of Finance discusses the CFA

Quoted from the U of T Master’s of Finance program. “Q: Why would I need an MFin if I already have a CFA designation? A: The CFA program provides students with useful skills. But because students study for the CFA in self-study (or in test-focused, time-compressed workshops and online programs), they are not able to learn, understand, and appreciate the underlying ideas, concepts, models, and relationships that drive modern business finance. The CFA sets the accepted minimum requirement for financial literacy, but it does not give students the career-advancing knowledge and skills required to become finance leaders.” This is directly posted on their website. I wonder if CFAI would try to respond to this.

I would agree with that statement. Just look at the quant material. I think the relationships would be much better understood if the derivation of some of those formulas were taught.

Wow. I think Rotman has lost all credibility for saying that. In my experience, if you focus too much on the “appreciation of ideas”, you don’t learn much. High pressure tests make you learn the material.

Danteshek Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Wow. I think Rotman has lost all credibility for > saying that. > In my experience, if you focus too much on the > “appreciation of ideas”, you don’t learn much. > High pressure tests make you learn the material. I dont know, i did alot of guessing on the L2 derivatives and fixed income sections but still wound up with a 50-70 scoring. I think Rotman is saying more can be taught through actual presentations/projects/classwork etc therefore allowing us to actually appreciate what is taught in the CFA program.

i agree with the statement made, however, i think its very cheap of them to take a shot directly at CFAI. “but it does not give students the career-advancing knowledge and skills required to become finance leaders.” good marketing, playing on the insecurities of CFA charterholders and taking a bite out of their market share. essentially, i think Rotman is a business institution just there to increase their bottom line. i don’t think a masters at Rotman has the same intention as a masters in other disciplines for the very fact they charge you so much money to go. i think i can get more in depth knowledge by reading on my own, but i don’t know about career advancement, which is the most important to 80% of people on here.

I’m getting b!tch-slapped everywhere I turn this week. That quote smacks of someone who failed L-II three times and then gave up. Why else would they say not just that cfa students aren’t learning concepts of modern finance etc., they’re not even _able_ to learn these. We can’t even appreciate them! As for generating finance leaders: if UT has found some magic sauce that can not just teach leadership principles but imbue them, they should bottle&sell it. For now they should remove foot from mouth and get back to their academic sufferings.

Consider the source. I wouldn’t exactly call Rotman a leading financial institution. Moreover, they need to promote their program as well, do you think they would say, “Any CFA Charterholder need not apply to our program as it would be purely repetitive.” ???

I think they should leave CFAI out of the discussion. I agree though, we can certainly learn how the Black Scholes is derived and understand the assumptions and derivation of the econometric techniques that we take for granted. most grad students outside of finance/business go for free. if U of T has the intention of providing academic learning of concepts, i want to see half the class get in with scholarships or TA tuition supplements and not have ot fork over 30k. i rather give my money to Tony Soprano or Marlo Stanfield.

jg1996business Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would agree with that statement. Just look at > the quant material. I think the relationships > would be much better understood if the derivation > of some of those formulas were taught. I dont know, to have to be able to answer any of the possible LOS’s within a matter of minutes is impressive. You also need to consider the fact that if you didnt know the material very well then you would certainly fail. Also not all masters are the same, with the CFA employers know what they are getting. If i wanted to understand any of the concepts much deeper I could buy a few 125 dollar subscriptions to related academic journals.