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Welcome back to another issue of ‘Career Guides Weekly’ by Career Guides.

In case you missed it, don’t forget to read this week’s 📚 Commercial Awareness newsletter. Notable mentions:

• Citi to Cut 20,000 Jobs

• Former Goldman & Blackstone Analyst Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading

• BlackRock Strikes $12.5 Billion Deal for Global Infrastructure Partners

• And more. Check them all out here.

Alright, let’s dive in!

🧠 10 Things You Need To Know About The CFA Qualification

Today we're talking all things CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). It's a broad finance and investing qualification that most people in investing careers tend to pursue and it's also highly recognised across the banking and finance industry.

It's a worthwhile commitment to consider doing if you know you're interested in a career in investing over the long run. But let me warn you, it’s no easy feat - they make you work your butt off to pass each level.

Most people that do well in investing careers tend to have the CFA qualification.

Here's an overview of the important stuff worth knowing before considering whether the qualification is right for you:

1. Brand value and perception. It's arguably the most well known finance and investing qualification for professionals interested in investing careers, especially in asset management. It’s more relevant for investment professionals and product specialists than people in distribution (sales), however, salespeople that do have the qualification are a force to be reckoned with.

2. There are 3 levels (Level I, Level II and Level III) and each takes about a year to pass. The fastest you can pass all three levels is 2.5 years.

3. The recommended study time for each level is around 300 hours. Yes, that’s a lot of studying on top of a full-time job. It can be hugely stressful especially when working 12 to 16+ hour days. It’s a huge commitment (which will eat into your weekends) and it’s why most professionals studying for the CFA are found studying before and after work which requires a lot of mental grit and determination.

4. The exams are tough to pass. 50-60% of people that take each exam fail. Imagine studying 300 hours to fail an exam knowing you’ll have to do it all over again. That’s stressful. For more information on pass rates click here.

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5. The cost of completing all 3 levels can easily set you back £3k-£9k.

6. Firms will usually cover the cost of the CFA for you. At Goldman's they had a rule: if you fail, you pay; if you pass, we pay. Quite harsh, but a fair incentive if you ask me.

7. It's impressive to have done at least Level I as a student or graduate if you're still looking to break into the industry. The exams aren't easy to pass but passing them shows strong finance and investing knowledge, a proactive nature and determination - all things employees and recruiters like to see. You'll also stand out against other candidates who haven’t done the CFA.

8. Each level will set you back a few hundred £'s for taking the exam plus additional costs on classes and materials (for 20% off all Analyst Prep CFA programs and study materials use the code ‘afzal20’ and this link).

9. To get the 'CFA' letters after your name you need to have passed all 3 levels and completed 4 years of relevant industry work experience.

10. Topics covered within the CFA include: ethics, quantitative methods, economics, financial statement analysis, equity, fixed income, portfolio management, alternatives, and more. You can see the full list here.

Important 2024 CFA Update

The CFA has recently included a few updates to its curriculum. They want to make it more than just a theory focused qualification and so are including ‘Practical Skills Modules’ to make each candidate more ‘job-ready’. Here’s an excerpt from the CFA website:

"The CFA has been expanded to include practical, relevant skills training to provide candidates with on-the-job application of what they are learning in the curriculum."

The Practical Skills Modules include:

1. Financial Modeling

2. Python Programming

3. Artificial Intelligence

4. Analyst Skills

I’ll go deeper on this all in next week's newsletter. However, that's all for today’s issue.

Thanks for reading, have a great week and I’ll see you in the next one.

Afzal

I hope you found this post informative and educational (you can let me know using the green box below) and that you’ve learnt something new about the CFA designation.

PS. If you aren’t already, click here to follow me on LinkedIn and join 54,000 others who follow for daily posts on finance, careers and life advice (I’ve also recently been selected as a ‘LinkedIn Top Voice’ which is pretty cool!).

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