The value of a CFA

[LikeWise]

Hi dear valuebuddies,

I would like to ask if any valuebuddies have taken the CFA before. I am currently thinking of leaving my job for something in finance and I am considering doing CFA so I can make the transition (I have an engineering degree from NUS). I am currently in an administrative government job not related to finance. I understand that CFA is a lot more depth in portfolio management as opposed to a masters in applied finance and the pass rate is 20%. I also understand the time needed to take it is alot.

The questions I'd like to ask is if it does open doors in the Singapore context in terms of job prospects. I know there are a number of stock analyst who write reports who have CFA, so I guess that is a possibility, but are there more options? I don't suppose that it is easy to get into places like Investment banking with just a CFA. (I have read that some analyst transition into IB, any confirmation?)

Also I'd like to ask buddies their opinions on why they do not transition into finance. There are a good number of you who have great grounding in accountancy and what it seems like a lot of experience in stock analysis but don't seem to be in fields related to finance(I understand some like greenrookie actually love their day jobs though.). Is it because you already have the capital to be independent or perhaps you know its not easy to get a job in portfolio management? I would be grateful for some sharing.

I guess I should also share that I'm thinking about this as I am wondering if I can do something that I think I will like and make good money in the process.

I do appreciate all points of view.

Many thanks and regards
Likewise.


PS: I'm not sure if I'm posting on the right tread. Moderator pls shift if I'm wrong.

[piggo]

#1 Passing rate is about 40-50% not 20%
#2 CFA doesn't get you a job in finance, unless you're into being a broker (which pays less than a engin degree job in govt)
#3 Because finance jobs limits your own personal investment options + no job security.

I reckon it's better to build on your experience and advance in your current career (unless you're almost like a fresh grad), study investment as a side income, and if u're really bored, start a business(es)

[orangetea]

How about being a PE (Professional Engineer)
So many people from other trades joining the finance sector... Musicians, engineers, etc...

PE enjoy quite exclusive moat while CFA is quite common. There are not many engineers pursuing higher levels.

Imo, to put in the amount of effort, why not further in PE? Unless it is passion you see. But from you post, it sounds like making more money. PE makes a lot more approving plans.

Their titles are ER

[greengiraffe]

Hi dear valuebuddies,

I would like to ask if any valuebuddies have taken the CFA before. I am currently thinking of leaving my job for something in finance and I am considering doing CFA so I can make the transition (I have an engineering degree from NUS). I am currently in an administrative government job not related to finance. I understand that CFA is a lot more depth in portfolio management as opposed to a masters in applied finance and the pass rate is 20%. I also understand the time needed to take it is alot.

The questions I'd like to ask is if it does open doors in the Singapore context in terms of job prospects. I know there are a number of stock analyst who write reports who have CFA, so I guess that is a possibility, but are there more options? I don't suppose that it is easy to get into places like Investment banking with just a CFA. (I have read that some analyst transition into IB, any confirmation?)

Also I'd like to ask buddies their opinions on why they do not transition into finance. There are a good number of you who have great grounding in accountancy and what it seems like a lot of experience in stock analysis but don't seem to be in fields related to finance(I understand some like greenrookie actually love their day jobs though.). Is it because you already have the capital to be independent or perhaps you know its not easy to get a job in portfolio management? I would be grateful for some sharing.

I guess I should also share that I'm thinking about this as I am wondering if I can do something that I think I will like and make good money in the process.

I do appreciate all points of view.

Many thanks and regards
Likewise.


PS: I'm not sure if I'm posting on the right tread. Moderator pls shift if I'm wrong.

My answer is - there are many ways to make money. Having a CFA does not really open up doors.

Sometimes, I think a job is simply a job and there are lots of restraint when you are in the job. Will having a CFA make you a better analysts or fund manager.

Personally, I have failed in my last level of CFA more than a decade ago. I have also got many friends with the title that are presently out of a job simply because the mkt is very bad.

I think having a passion is actually more important in investments that pursuing another piece of paper. I think being able to make more $ is more critical that having another piece of paper.

Not Well Read
GG

[piggo]

I cannot say for other engineering, but for civil, PE requires real life work experience... It'll be hard to pass after chilling in some unrelated admin job for years. However, people can opt for a course (that's similar to Kaplan CFA) to help in the exams, and passing it does open doors to jobs in the design/consultancy companies (that don't pay well) that'll eventually lead to PE.

So it's many years of lousy pay for the eventual hope of making money (and taking on risks) of approving plans. With more and more PEs around, prices for PE stamp can be very competitive As always present money >>> future money

[opmi]

Don't quit your civil service job. You will
appreciate it when you hits middle age.

Pursue investment interests outside job. Get bread and butter
first. Value investing don't work in the fund mgt
becuase of institutional imperative and career risks.

How to pass CFA - take 2 weeks leave from exams and study the guide books
and get a good approved calculator. High fail rate because a lot people never take
leave to cram study coz people taking exams got degrees so proven can study one.
Warning: This advice may be outdated. Hahha.

[valuebuddies]

My dream job is to be a portfolio/fund manager, ever thought about getting CFA years ago as it is definitely a passport to get into the right track towards my dream. I bought the text books but never really enrol for the membership and exam thus not putting effort in studying them, it is indeed quite costly and I don't have the confidence to challenge it. I am getting older now, started my family and planning for parenthood, now don't even thought about my dream job again. If I were 8 years younger, I could had made different decision.

CFA to me is more like a identity more than knowledge. One who is a successful investor might not even pass CFA level 1, one who pass all CFA levels doesn't mean that he/she will do great in asset management.

Anyway I am quite happy with what I have now, though I am merely a tiny non-paid fund manager managing 5-digits portfolio of my wife and myself, but at least I enjoy doing what I am doing everyday

[dzwm87]

I took level 1 right after my graduation and it was a revision of whatever modules I took during my undergraduate days. So it was relatively easy. But for level 2 and level 3, it will be conservative to assume you will fail it a few times before passing it. Each registration costs S$1,400 so multiply it by a few attempts and you get the full cost.

I am also not a person who can cram and study everything 2 weeks before the exams. So apart from the monetary cost, time will be another cost factors. Weekends and nights will be burnt. When I compare this to the opportunity cost where I can read up more annual reports and understand a business better, CFA is very expensive for me.

I think a lot of people has the misperception that CFA guarantees an entry into most finance-related jobs.

[LikeWise]

How about being a PE (Professional Engineer)
So many people from other trades joining the finance sector... Musicians, engineers, etc...

PE enjoy quite exclusive moat while CFA is quite common. There are not many engineers pursuing higher levels.

Imo, to put in the amount of effort, why not further in PE? Unless it is passion you see. But from you post, it sounds like making more money. PE makes a lot more approving plans.

Their titles are ER

I guess I must admit I don't like engineering...that's why I never stepped into the field after my degree. It was a case of a mistake in university choice I made in my youth when I was ill read.

[LikeWise]

Don't quit your civil service job. You will
appreciate it when you hits middle age.

Pursue investment interests outside job. Get bread and butter
first. Value investing don't work in the fund mgt
becuase of institutional imperative and career risks.

How to pass CFA - take 2 weeks leave from exams and study the guide books
and get a good approved calculator. High fail rate because a lot people never take
leave to cram study coz people taking exams got degrees so proven can study one.
Warning: This advice may be outdated. Hahha.

haha... yeah... that's what my mum keeps telling me. I agree that a finance job can be unstable and it's hard to justify not buying overvalued stocks in a bull market when everyone is making money and you are not if you work for a fund.

I guess maybe I'm jaded after 5 years at the job. Sometimes I find myself dragging my feet to work, I find little meaning in my work sometimes, and I wondering if there is something more interesting out there.