Ask me about the CFA program

[kevkev60614]

Questions have come up in several threads recently but it appears that few 2+2ers are actually candidates or charterholders themselves. The best source of data is of course their website, but I'm willing to answer questions about my own experiences if there's any interst.

[petp_the_greek]

did u pass all 3 levels on the first try?

what do u honestly think of a test that you dont know what the passing grade is until AFTER youve taken it? (thats my biggest pet peeve about the CFA)

[kevkev60614]

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did u pass all 3 levels on the first try?

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No. I registered for the first exam my senior year of college, but then accepted a job as an options trader on the CBOE. I was then presented with the option of studying for the exam on top of my regular studies and passing an exam I wasn't sure I'd ever be interested in or enjoying my senior year. I studied probably around 20 hours total. It didn't go well. I passed the next time I took it, several years later when I'd studied properly. I then failed the second exam the first time I took it. I'd had a 103 fever the day before but the truth was I spent all my study time with glossy eyes, thinking I could breeze through the material unfocused and still pass. I didn't make that mistake again and passed the 2nd and 3rd exams the following two years.

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what do u honestly think of a test that you dont know what the passing grade is until AFTER youve taken it? (thats my biggest pet peeve about the CFA)

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In actuality you never find out the passing grade, you just find out whether you passed or not. It's graded on a curve. I believe the cutoff point is something like 0.7 * the average score of the top percentile of test takers. Some subjectivity still exists, though. I know, for instance, that the cutoff score is reviewed if too many candidates pass. To answer your question, knowing the cutoff point wouldn't have really effected me. There's no way I could walk out and say "I'm pretty sure I got a 65 or better."

I probably should've stated in the OP that I'm not yet a CFA charterholder. I passed the third exam in June and am dependant on the CFA Institute's approval of my required work experience. I expect to receive my charter late this year.

[PRE]

I'm one year out of college and just accepted a job as a hedge fund analyst. I'm considering taking the June Level I Exam, but I'm not sure if it will interfere with my job. The job itself is going to be very demanding/stressful. Would you suggest holding off taking the CFA at this point in my career and focus on my work or can I do both?

[kevkev60614]

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I'm one year out of college and just accepted a job as a hedge fund analyst. I'm considering taking the June Level I Exam, but I'm not sure if it will interfere with my job. The job itself is going to be very demanding/stressful. Would you suggest holding off taking the CFA at this point in my career and focus on my work or can I do both?

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Congrats on the job! This is really a question that you have to answer for yourself. But here are some things to think about:

1) Are you pretty confident that you'll be on this career path five years from now? The CFA program is very time intensive and it sounds like your free time will already be short. It'd be a shame to spend a great deal of time studying only to realize that you'd rather be a botanist. Furthermore after passing more than one of the exams you'll be kind of trapped by your salary. Typically as you progress through the exams your market value increases as an analyst and it'll get harder and harder for you to accept a job making less money doing something else. If you're not sure whether investment analysis is for you, it might be better to wait a year and figure it out. An MBA is respected in nearly every field, but a CFA charter is often not as highly regarded outside the investment profession.

2) The majority of people who take the exam are working full time, and many in this industry work overtime. So you can clearly do both if you want to.

3) How important is it to your company that you take the exams?

4) Are you at a point in your life where you can give up a significant amount of free time? You'll be giving up time with family, friends, poker, sports, reading anything unrelated to your studies, etc.

5) One more thing not everyone immediately realizes: working through the CFA program will very likely make you better at your job. It can help you jump the learning curve as you branch out in your company.

[stinkypete]

how helpful is having passed level I in finding a good job out of school? what about level II?

[thing85]

This question is really unrelated to the CFA certification, but nevertheless, maybe you or someone here has an answer. I'll be a CPA shortly, but I was curious about the difficulty/value of getting a CFP certification. Any thoughts?

[petp_the_greek]

which of the 3 levels is the hardest? do they get progressively harder, easier, or the same?

[kevkev60614]

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how helpful is having passed level I in finding a good job out of school? what about level II?

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As I imagine you'll find with pretty much any certification relevant to the job you seek, the further you progress in the CFA program, the easier it will be to find a job and command a larger salary. But as I said earlier:

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An MBA is respected in nearly every field, but a CFA charter is often not as highly regarded outside the investment profession.

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The CFA program isn't something to undertake lightly. I'd only consider it if you're really very certain about your career path. I don't think that many people coming out of college can be that confident. How many times does the average person change careers in a lifetime?

I don't want it to sound as if I'm talking anybody out of the program. Far from it. I learned a lot in the program, and without my candidacy I would never have landed my current position. It was absolutely the right move for me, but it's not the sort of process I'd enter into without giving it a lot of thought beforehand.

One last thing to consider: program enrollment + exam registration (which includes books as of 2008) + prep course (optional, I went without) + practice exams (optional, I did take them) = sometimes it's best to let your employer pay. $1,000 at least for your first exam.

[kevkev60614]

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This question is really unrelated to the CFA certification, but nevertheless, maybe you or someone here has an answer. I'll be a CPA shortly, but I was curious about the difficulty/value of getting a CFP certification. Any thoughts?

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I have no experience myself with the CFP certification, but from what I've been told you'll have no difficulty passing it if you are getting your CPA. There's a lot less material and it's easier to absorb. The exams have higher pass rates and are less quantitative than either the CPA or CFA exams.

The CFP certification is often most appropriate for people in sales-like positions as I understand it. Brokers, etc. I think it's pretty rare for someone to pursue both a CPA and a CFP.