Portfolio management - CFA or not CFA ?

[PatrickPM]

Hello all,

I am wondering about whether or not going for CFA.

Like many people here, I trained to become quant. I got a master in engineering and then a MFE from a top european school. I was targeting quant/trading jobs and was not very interested in PhDs.

On some recommendations I actually refused the quant positions I got to join an asset management firm as a portfolio manager. I started more as an assistant but I do now have own portfolios to take care of.

I was always a bit frustrated of not being able/allowed to use sophisticated techniques we develop and use as quants. At my company, we rely only on basics and fundamentals and have traditionnal funds.

Although I still miss doing the quant stuff from time to time, I am quite happy in my position. I would not want to go to IB. I also think I have plenty of things to learn in fundamentals (especially in corporate finance).

For this reason Im considering the CFA. What scares me is the amount of hours of I study required and the huge quantity of boring/useless stuff (of course nothing is 100% useless but you know what I mean...)
I have not studied since a year (apart from the litterature I like to read sometime in my free time) and I have to admit, I quite like my life now: Working hours are good and I can finally do sports, meet friends, learn languages and play music.

While I'm a bit excited about the CFA challenge, I'm not really ready to give up life for 3 or more years.

The other point is that now that I have a job I like. I do not really need it

- Ok I would learn some good stuff, but from what I heard from candidates/holders. The point of having the CFA is to please HR. I might regret not having it when I get fired/quit....​

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I was also told I should go for it since Im young (26yo)

Should I go for it ? Thanks for your advice, I would particularly appreciate CFA holders view

Also: I have friends who stopped after lvl1, lvl2.
What are lvl 1 or lvl 2 worth if you dont pass the 3 lvls ?

 

[wzglljp]

I am preparing lvl 3, but you may know already, quant does not really need CFA but portfolio managers and customers do appreciate CFA certificate. If you only have passed lvl 2 without much working experience, you are not much different comparing to average people hunting for jobs, the certificate doesn't matter, your experience and you capability does!

 

[mhy]

If you can handle MFE, passing the CFA shouldn't be any problem for you. As you noted, it's more about memorization and practice, and commitment.

 

[JulianT]

I'm currently doing my level 2 this summer. My feeling is that while having the CFA charter isn't a huge plus, not being enrolled in the program is a minus, for someone in the early stages of their career like myself. This is specially true on the buy side.

The biggest part about the CFA charter imho is the ethical standards to which you pledge yourself to. It makes clients happier, which is a major plus. Also, I come from a math background, and while I have a decent grounding in fundamental analysis, I learnt a lot of accounting, which could be very useful for you if you are working in that domain. I found the treatment of the accounting assumptions very interesting, especially with regards to revenue recognition, as it give you an idea of how firms will manipulate their financial statements, within full legality, to make their results look better.

The exams themselves aren't particularly difficult (or at least level 1 wasn't.) The number of hours they recommend of study is outrageous, and if you got through an MFE you should be able to do it in about half that number or less. Of course I can only speak for level 1. I haven't really started studying for my level 2 yet (just got the notes).