Quote:
Originally Posted by learnfpga  Hello All,
I am an electronics engineer working in semiconductor industry in US. I have about 3 year experience. I am thinking of taking CFA exams. (I know this is MBA forum but I didnt know where else to post). The idea is to clear CFA and switch to finance industry or after CFA get a full time MBA and a CFA/MBA combo will help me make the switch. The reason CFA first is because it is cheap, I can gauge my interest in finance without much monetary investment and also I think it will give my MBA application a boost. What do you guys/gals think about this? Is it too far fetched? Anyone in this group in similar situation? Will LevelI or II of CFA help me get a foot inside a financial comapny? I know these are lots of Q's but any help will be a great welcome. Thanks |
A CFA is a
useful qualification to have. Before telling you why, some advice - be sure you have a
genuine passion for finance & a career in this field
before you jump into it, NOT because you want to use it to measure your passion. This is NOT an easy exam.
A CFA/MBA combination is not far-fetched, in fact growing more common i.e many MBAs have CFA's or are getting CFA's even after graduating b-schools. You have to however complete all 3 levels
and bring a few years of hard core financial experience to the table (like a few years post MBA in an investment bank).
CFA's are found typically on the
buy-side of financial careers, i.e this is a qualification for
investment managers - those who manage investor's equity & funds. The CFA syllabus is skewed heavily towards investment analysis and portfolio management, which is the ideal educational preparation for these careers. Typical buy-side functions and careers are - Asset Management, Equity Research, Private Banking, Private Equity, Funds of Funds and Hedge funds etc..buy-side because you're "buying" equity & the opportunity to invest. A typical company to work for would be a mutual fund that invests it's client's money into company stock or other alternative investment vehicles. Because of its more human working ours, reasonable to high compensation and the sheer power seen in managing money rather than seeking it - the buy-side is also considered the more attractive side of a financial career. In reality it is more challenging to get into than a sell-side career. Secondly, it is also more competitive because you're competing not just with other CFAs and MBAs, but also with Ph.D's & Masters in Quant Finance, Advanced Econometrics and statistics.
An investment / commercial / retail / brokerage bank is a
sell-side financial institution because you're "selling" the services of raising capital, loans, advisory services and other financial / equity investment products to clients (both private & corporate), while earning a fee for your work. Since it typically requires a lot of sales/business development skills and some hard financial skills, it is typically seen as less demanding to get into. Investment banks also recruit more MBAs immediately out of school than do the buy-side.
Most people find one of 2 ways to get into the buy-side:
1) MBA - Investment bank (5-6 years), network furiously - buy-side position
2) MBA - Equity research with a (example) Fidelity investment or Franklin or MF, portfolio management - move to a high end alternative investment firm (private equity or hedge fund).
Good luck
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