Re: Chartered Financial Analyst
I took a prep course for Level I. It didnt really help me but it has helped a lot of other people I know because it forces them to sit down and cover the material. Since the CFA exams are all about you making the time and effort to sit down and study, that can be valuable. The reason it didnt help me is because I tend to do well with independent study. I ended up not reading the scheduled material in time and getting impatient during the classes if the pace was too slow. For Level II, I bought the books and studied on my own. That worked well for me, it depends on individual study habits and preferences. There is a wealth of material out there, study notes, online seminars, 5 day seminars, practice exams etc etc. You can choose to use as much or as little as you like.
You're supposed to study a few hours a day, every day for about 6-7 months before the exam. Again, it depends on whether you've had a finance background. I minored in finance and had also been working for a year in investment management so a lot of the initial material was familiar. I would NOT recommend following my timeline, I crammed the two months before the exam, and had to study every spare hour I had to catch up and was in a panic by the time the exam came around. A few hours a day starting January would be much more effective and less stressful. But there is so much material that you need to keep revising otherwise you'll forget everything you looked at in Book I.
To be honest, I think the primary advantage lies in the credentialing aspect, just like an MBA from a good school would work for you. More and more of the best IM firms are requiring CFA's. I've been at an investment mgmt firm 3 years now and most of my knowledge is based on experience though the CFA material did solidify what I was actually doing. Also, it gives you a very good big picture of basic skills so you can move around between equity research or portfolio management or even the client side.
Thank you for the detailed responses. It sounds like it could be manageable with a full time work schedule. In regards to the benefits, I would really like to have some more than the CFA title on my business card, so learning new concepts is priority.
I think I am all set with the questions. Hopefully a few other members will come out the woodwork add their thoughts.