[KJCPAwannabe]

CFA Exam Requirements? I am interested in that and maximizing my future income. Is this a good designation to get? I figure if i get the CPA, I might as well go all out and get the CFA too.

 

AUD - 11/16/2011 - 86
REG - 1/12/2012 - 77
BEC - 2/29/2012 - 90
FAR - 11/29/2012 - 85

[Anonymous]

The CPA is nothing compared to the CFA … in terms of prestige … well CFA's are cocky and their noses are up in the sky all the time … well they really get paid much more than a CPA …

I personally am taking the CPA as a fast designation to get to be marketable and promo-table in the time being until i get the CFA – … if u r interested in finance … do some reading … look at the averages of how much CFA's make …

you'll need three years to get the CFA .. not an 8 month deal …

and Go for it …

Disclaimer: All the info i have here is from word of mouth and could be not true …

[Mr.haha]

the cfa exam is extremely more difficult than the cpa exam but the good thing about the cfa is that you essentially have eternity to take it. the cfa has 3 sections and you can only take the exams at certain times of the years. it took me 5 years to complete all 3 sections and i had to retake the 3rd section three times.

BEC - 80 11/1/10
AUD - 74 on 11/30/11. retake 87 1/18/12
FAR - 79 8/8/11
REG - 80- 5/9/11

[Anonymous]

@ aalkukhun & Mr.haha,

What's the best CFA pre-material out there? My friend told me that part 1 is easy to past. What makes the part 3 hard to pass? Does it require a lot of financial statement analysis? Do CFA have more work and life balance than CPA?

[Minimorty]

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/how-hard-is-the-cpa-compared-with-the-cfa-exam#post-50418

Some more discussion…

[Mr.haha]

@cpa genie

the cfa exam is extremely technical where parts 2 and 3 have heavy focus on financial derivatives such as complex options strategies and hedging. part 1 has some financial statement questions and i believe it was about 15% of the part 1 exam. those who passed far will have no issues with the accounting piece of the cfa.

in general, the cfa designation starts in jobs such as portfolio management, research and at times trading. in general those hours are far less than what a CPA would work during an audit or tax season.

in general i wouldnt say that CFA's make that much more than CPA's because of the current high unemployment rate in the financial services industry. trading and portfolio revenue is drastically down over the past few years even more so than audit and tax work.

the cfa designation is cool to have but rarely does anyone ask me about it. i do taxes and alot of work is now coming in the forms of financial planning instead of immediate portfolio management. therefore my next step is a cfp. i only got the cfa because my former employer required it.

for material, i used schweser and it was one of the best at the time. i have no clue what works now. hope that helps.

BEC - 80 11/1/10
AUD - 74 on 11/30/11. retake 87 1/18/12
FAR - 79 8/8/11
REG - 80- 5/9/11

[jjm1181]

I could also see myself going for this designation one day. The one thing I don't understand is since it's a “chartered” designation, does that mean the company I work for has to hold the license? What if I pass all 3 exams and complete the entire process, but don't work for an investment company. Do I still have the designation? Very confused on this.

B 79
A 75
R 78
F 85

[jjm1181]

And wow. I just read the average salary with the designation was around 184k. Damn.

B 79
A 75
R 78
F 85

[jkey57]

Mr.Haha is right! The CFA is tricky and you should spend some serious time on deciding whether it's worth your time. Let me explain:

* You need 4 years of experience in finance, investment, etc. to sit for it. Most people with jobs in these fields already have undergraduate degrees in ACC/FIN (YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A COLLEGE GRADUATE TO BE A CFA!!!) and prefer to go for MBA/MS programs because they carry more value if you decide to change careers. Outside of finance, the designation really doesn't carry the weight you think it would.

* Considering the employment climate of the last 3 years (Loss of analyst/trading positions, fewer IB spots), there are a lot more CFA's looking for jobs and they all want to make big bucks. After I passed the first section (I traded derivatives at a commodity exchange for 9 years), I went to a CFA charter holders luncheon and it was nothing but very educated, unemployed people jockeying for jobs. It reminded me of a recruiting event where everyone was laughing too hard at their bad jokes. Yes, I'm generalizing here, but that's my experience.

* I have a few friends who are CFAs and they DEFINITELY over-hype the whole thing, acting like they're the saving grace of finance/trading. We all know blackbox is where it's at; if you want to make a ton of money in asset management/trading, get a PHD in math and learn how to write code.

* If you want to make a CFA mad, just ask them what the educational requirements are for the designation. When they answer, just say,”So, basically, you just need a GED to be a CFA?” —- Sit back and watch how mad he/she gets 🙂

Good Luck Everyone!!!!

[Mr.haha]

@jjm

unless rules have drastically changed, and i dont think that they have, anyone can hold a CFA designation and the title is held by the individual, not the firm. for example, i have a few friends that trade on their own ie SCH C on their return and are able to use their CFA designation freely.

also, with regards to the 184k salary per year, is that an entry level salary? manager? director? Partner? those who are coming out of undergrad and have their cfa within 3 years usually start at around 75k which is really not that far off from a cpa who has 3 years experience. in fact i would guess they are the same. now perhaps a CFA with 25 years experience may make more than a CPA with 25 years experience but is just conjecture.

pearhaps the ability to make more with a CFA is higher than a CPA, but in my opinion, and i have worked in trading and in taxes, i think a CPA translates more easily into other positions, rather than the highly specialized CFA designation. Jkey mentioned this and he/she is correct.

Please note that i am no dissuading anyone from taking the CFA. BUT, if you decide to take it, then be prepared to work 10x harder for the CFA than the CPA.

as mentioned, i am looking into the CFP designation and it actually looks more useful than the CFA.

BEC - 80 11/1/10
AUD - 74 on 11/30/11. retake 87 1/18/12
FAR - 79 8/8/11
REG - 80- 5/9/11

[Minimorty]

Most CFPs are tools and just try to sell you insurance that you don't need.

[sacredtheory]

Lol

BEC: Passed
AUD: Passed
REG: Passed
FAR: Passed

Jared

[Anonymous]

The economy is so bad that there is nothing really gauranteed! Even my friend in the tax field told me that it is pretty competitive in the tax industry. I remembered that when I was still an accounting student, people feel sorry for me that I have a boring major. But now they all told me that I made the right decision. However, I still won't give up on my dream to learn more about investment since our saving doesn't mean much with the hyper inflation now days. After CPA, I will try to get my CFA study start just to keep the my study momentum going! I have been approached by couple CFP firms before and the reason I didn't go for that route is you have to go out there really find your clients. If you are a “people” person, you will do great in this industry.

[Anonymous]

whoever wants to do both, certainly has no hesitation in torturing themselves!

[Mr.haha]

@Minimorty

yes i agree CFP's can definitely be tools and try to sell you stuff you dont need. but, lest us not forget that CFA's are the ones who failed to adjust to economic pressures and thus lost billions in 401ks, pensions and other portfolios.

to me, as a consumer, i dont care if you are a tool or not. all i care about is DO NOT let me catch 100% of a recession which is exactly what happened to millions of people.

BEC - 80 11/1/10
AUD - 74 on 11/30/11. retake 87 1/18/12
FAR - 79 8/8/11
REG - 80- 5/9/11

[Mayo]

Doing CPA and CFA exams concurrently. A few takeaways:

1.) Because the CFA designation is focused on modern portfolio theory, financial theory, etc., its overall crossover with accounting careers is slim.

Don't get me wrong; there is plenty of accounting in the CFA curriculum, but going from a public or industry accounting position to an equity research or security analyst role is an herculian task. For one, like someone mentioned, those jobs have dried up, and are EXTREMELY competitve. Think ivy league bachelor's or top 15 MBA for a good shot.

2.) The CFA exam is a huge pain in the butt. Much more so than the CPA. Not trying to rehash the whole “which one is harder” question, but the reality is that one could conceivably finish the CPA exams in four months.

Now trying to imagine studying for three years or more. It gets really discouraging really fast. Add that to the fact that a lot of the material is bachelor and graduate level finance stuff that you have to basically teach yourself, and you can see why many people simply get burned out and never finish.

3.) However, if you pass all three exams there are certain careers that the CFA designation can help you with.

For one, getting it gives you tons of kudos from people who are familiar with it. It not only shows you are dedicated enough to go through that 3+ year grind, but that you're not just some bean counter (the unfortunate and inaccurate stigma of staying in accounting too long).

In terms of careers, a CFA/CPA combo can really help in business vauation. All the big 4 have this service line and other regional accounting firms are also getting into it. With fair value taking a more prominent role in accounting every year, this type of work will be in demand. Having the CFA is a huge leg up for this career.

Finally, if your networking skills and reputation at work is good, you might be able to get your foot in the door in Asset Management or Wealth Management at some smaller or mid size firms.

Also, although there is not a huge overlap, the CFA will give you some credibility if you are looking at corporate financial analyst roles.

Obviously, the bigger the firm you work at, the more realistic any of these transitions will be.

I'd suggest taking a look at the material, and only go for it if you can see yourself reading about that stuff for 200 or 300 hours for each exam.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

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