Hi

I am new to this thread, I am a 35 years travel professional working in the Travel and Tourism Industry for the past 10 years and academically a commerce graduate.

I always wanted to enter the finance world, can anyone let me know that doing CFA would help me in switching over to finance,what role I can expect once I finish this course and of course the compensation?

Looking forward to some help.

Best

Arif

BaBu Says

KPO- Starts at 3. Goes up to 4.5 for research analyst. 3.5-3.75 is median for a fresher.

What are firm that recruit CFA/MFA do large investment banks do so ??

Industry very well knows CFA and ms finance from ICFAI. ICFAI have communicated in their recent MBA placements to HR managers/head the difference between ms finance and CFA.

Any course in finance from ICFAI have got good prospects. It will take you to interview door, rest is candidate knowledge and capability.

Will one be able to secure the job of equity research analyst in an investment bank or a KPO with a package of around 4.5-6 lacs after completing CFA/MFA ? ?

Arif, 4000 ICFAI alumini are ms finance + cfa. Both are good, however ms finance deals with more subjects. I like CFA/MFA syllabus and it is my personal opinion.

I am doing ms finance because last year when i registered there was no cfa/mfa. But i will clear 16 papers and get cfa and find a job in some KPO firm. CFA/MFA suits my career goal.

Hi Babu

Babu what are the career prospects after doing CFA/MFA keeping in mind the fact it is a new course and the industry is not much aware of it.

CFA deals with valuation part- How to value various financial instruments like equity , bonds, swaps and portfolio management- How to design a portfolio. Thats it. Nothing more nothing less. Perfect design with syllabus matching CFA USA syllabus.

Ms finance apart from valuation and portfolio management also deals with risk management, international finance, project management etc. It is a very wide and lengthy course and no doubt reputed too.

My personal opinion- Go for CFA/MFA.

Dear Babu

I wrot some time back and everbody advised me to go for MS (Finance) whereas I was interested in CFA/MFA,now on the contrary you are advising another guys to join CFA/MFA,Please clarify ??

Arif.
Please read the opening line of my previous post that you have quoted.
I have very clearly stated that I dont intend to dampen anyones enthusiasm.
Hence, I dont intend to say that the new CFA is worthless or that people doing that have been duped or something. Not at all.
I am just stating a fact that the MS (Finance) is much broader and since it is older, it is more recognized than the new CFA program.
I dont think I am wrong to say that the investment community recognizes the MS (Finance) program more than the newbie program and arguably there are obvious reasons for it to do so! Some of the most compelling reasons are
o It has nearly 22 years of existence.
o It was touted as ICFAIs answer to AIMR originally.
o It included 32 papers earlier, which expanded to 36 later with the inclusion of Group Theta in exams schedule. This means it takes twice the effort to complete the MS (Finance) program compared to the current CFA program even if we assume a constant quality of examinations.
o It included case studies in investment analysis which were also graded and the grade factored into the final evaluations.
o Later on, ICFAI also started internships to fortify the program participants with industry knowledge.
o All this was noted by the industry experts and that is how the value of MS (Finance) program has risen steadily over the years.
Can the same be said of the new program? I guess the answer is NO.
This is all that I was stating. I have no intention of breaking anyones morale. On the contrary I have always supported various thread members by giving them correct advice.
Hope you take this in the right spirit.

Thank you for all the deep insight and correct information

I certainly dont believing in dampening your mood and enthusiasm about being a CFA charter holder but frankly speaking, do you really think that you will be taken in at an analyst level in ER or IB with the new and modified CFA consisting of 16 really basic papers? I doubt..even if you will, you may not be able to get that kind of a profile which is needed to kick start your career and yoy may have to battle for a good long time to get a good placement and a good pay.
I have interacted with many people on this and the general consensus is that nearly all in the industry regard MS (Finance) as the main qualification (and not the new IU Tripura CFA program) as the superior of the 2 and irrespective of the designation, would prefer an MS (Finance) candidate rather than the Alpha + Beta + Gamma + Delta = CFA candidate.
Hence, irrespective of the fact that you may be able to finish the papers and get the designation after your name on the resume, you should fight till the finish and get the MS (Finance) degree because it is the baap of all. That program is far far exhaustive compared to the new CFA program and employers view it in a really good light.
I may have disheartened some by this post but the fact remains that irrespective of the controversy and irrespective of the CFA designation being granted in a new fashion, it is for all to see that the better of the 2 gets a welcome in most cases.
Forget the CFA designation and charter- go for MS (Finance) as that is the real course.

Does this mean the entire existance of CFA/MFA is meaningless and worthless ???

What about the people pursuing this course ??

Arif

CFA in both cases (Ms/MFA) are almost same. I mean the knowledge which you get will be same although paper structure is different.

In ms finance, you do much more and covers everything under finance. In MFA, you do subjects related to stock markets.

I think MFA/CFA is real good.

Hi All

Can anyone advise the detailed syllabus of CFA/MFA ?? Looking forward to receiving the same.

Arif

BaBu Says

I read CFA/MFA prospectus today and you will get exemption in quant as you msc stats. Congrats

Babu

Ideally for a working person how long it should to take to finish the course and at one go how many groups you suggest to attempt in CFA/MFA?

Arif

CFA in both cases (Ms/MFA) are almost same. I mean the knowledge which you get will be same although paper structure is different.

In ms finance, you do much more and covers everything under finance. In MFA, you do subjects related to stock markets.

I think MFA/CFA is real good.

Thanks a ton for co-operation you have always been helpful and forthcoming.

Rgds

Arif