Here’s a hypothetical scenario. How much value would giving all the CFA exams be for a person not keen on joining the investment banking/equity research/analyst professions? What level of the CFA would be suitable for let’s say someone who
Wants solely to have a structured knowledge of finance
Is in the IT industry and wants to improve functional knowledge on finance
Might start full-time investing/trading or open a advisory firm
Is becoming a charter or even giving the CFA exams worth for individuals who fall in the above categories? Would appreciate if I can get your viewpoints.
No. Not worth your time. Want knowledge of finance? Read a book. Read Warren Buffett’s letters to shareholders. Read “Random Walk Down Wall Street”. Read the Wall Street Journal. Want to open an investing firm? Get your securities licenses and start selling. No knowledge of finance needed.
If you are doing it for the sole purpose of having knowledge and understanding finance, of course it would be suitable. Except #3. learning from the books is not enough to start your own full time investing and trading firm.
I kinda disagree with this. While it is suitable for knowledge and understanding, you’re putting yourself through a huge amount of artificial stress and paying money to learn stuff that you might not really be interested in. Do you really want to spend 8 hours (one full workday) studying the real estate portion of GIPS? I think you would be better suited to tailor your studies to what you want or would find useful.
No - You can get a stuctured knowledge of finance from investopedia 2) No - Same as above 3) Yes - I think if you were to open an advisory firm your clients may want to see some kind of credential and i think the CFA program would help you understand the rules and regulations in dealing with clients.
