Will the CFA open doors to equity trading positions? Just wondering
This has been discussed before; use “Search”. IIRC, the answer is ‘no’.
Well, it certainly won’t hurt you, but it’s no replacement for being an assisstant. You also may be able to network through your local society, but no one will simply hand their book over to you because you’re a charterholder…
one of the managers here asked about that to someone at the trading department. The answer was “yes”. no guarantees though.
i’ve been trying for a trading position for long… (finally landed one :)) … what i figure…from my experience at the least - CFA is no good for trading. its a ‘good to have’ but certainly not required, nor will it land you a job. network network network…and be persistant - the only thing that worked for me! ALL THE BEST!
is CFA really a requirement for any job? it’s definitely not for sell-side or for the buy-side shops i’ve talked to, but am wondering if different firms have different policies. seems to me like it’s more of a “nice to have” type of deal, but anyone who is where they want to be didn’t need the CFA to feel comfortable about their role
CFA is not a requirement for any job. It’s just a guarantee that the guy has dedicated quite a bit of time to get to learn quite a bit of stuff related to investments. That alone will never be enough to land a job, experience and personality will always be most important. Having had the dedicated to pursue the charter is worth more than the knowledge itself. Just my view, though, based on a bit of experience.
I was actually told to stop working on it…
Golden, why? Because of the time commitment, or because they like to mold their peeps?
This type/kind of question can relate to any “vaunted” Wall/Bay Street position and the answer is “Of course it will open doors to those kinds of positions”. But the key is will YOU have the metele to walk through the door and survive once you’ve done so? The CFA can help for sure it can, but if I just sat here and rested on “Oh well but I, sir, am a Chartered Financial Analyst” I wouldn’t make through orientation. Start thinking about what you can do FOR the profession as oppose to what a designation can do FOR you and you’ll get more out of life, your career, the profession and you’ll take from, as well as, give back to the designation you seek in the end. Willy
they just told me that it is nice in research and investment management but no correlation that it will help in trading… they are more driven on P&L then how many letters after your name
WillyR Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This type/kind of question can relate to any > “vaunted” Wall/Bay Street position and the answer > is “Of course it will open doors to those kinds of > positions”. But the key is will YOU have the > metele to walk through the door and survive once > you’ve done so? The CFA can help for sure it can, > but if I just sat here and rested on “Oh well but > I, sir, am a Chartered Financial Analyst” I > wouldn’t make through orientation. Start thinking > about what you can do FOR the profession as oppose > to what a designation can do FOR you and you’ll > get more out of life, your career, the profession > and you’ll take from, as well as, give back to the > designation you seek in the end. > > Willy insightful post, i’ll give you that much. but i’ll also say that while it’s true that the CFA may represent a step in one’s career advancement (or enrichment if you prefer), i’ve also felt there are other ways to enrich one’s job. in my case, i found that dedicating my time to my actual job had a more tangible positive impact on promotion and advancement than the CFA program, though for full disclosure i’ll also note that i don’t have the charter and don’t plan to get it either. at the same time, my job is one where it is possible to move up in the finance profession without a CFA, as well as one that doesn’t leave you much time for self-study. just my two cents
I second numi reply
That’s great Numi. Willy
Thanks WillyR, I like to think of “greatness” as something to which we should all aspire
numi, you can afford to do that because you’re already in a position to do so (being in the industry). there really is no need for a CFA, just CFA knowledge.
that’s true. you’re right on both points – the CFA definitely is valuable for someone who’s not from the industry because (1) people know how challenging it is and (2) if someone doesn’t have the requisite work experience, CFA is probably the next best way for someone to show their initiative and dedication to the field of finance. my tendency is to first see it from the lens of someone who’s already in the industry because that’s who i am, but your points are definitely good