Why CFA . . . ???

A CFA is a useful qualification to have. Before telling you why, some advice - be sure you have a genuinepassion 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 3 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).

3) BE - Business Analyst in IT company - do CFA - go for 1 year MBA - Finance - Then Choices are open between 1 and 2.

Any suggestion / correction welcome :)