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Is it worth starting this journey ?

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    • Avatar of theseeker123theseeker123
      Participant
        13 Dec 2020 at 10:21 pm
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        Hi

        So I want to go into long/short equity trading (hedge fund ideally) and I would like to ask, is it worth doing the CFA ?

        I am hearing from some people that it makes a difference and makes you stand out on your resume and some people are saying, its not really worth it, just get an amazing track record.

        Any thoughts appreciated please

        Thank you

      • Avatar of Sophie MaconSophie Macon
        Keymaster
          14 Dec 2020 at 10:08 pm
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          45% of CFA candidates intend to explore Portfolio Mgmt as a career path in the next 5 years. You need to be careful about results interpretations here.

          It does not mean they were successful at it, although the CFA charterholder breakdown seems to imply that there is some correlation at least.

          I think CFA is certainly recognised in the Portfolio Mgmt industry, and if you’re switching from a different career now (at are at a relatively junior level), that would be useful and perhaps an easier switch. It is really hard to say as it depends on personal circumstances.

          Tell us more about your story – what you’re doing now, experience, etc – that may help shed a better light

        • Avatar of theseeker123theseeker123
          Participant
            14 Dec 2020 at 9:57 pm
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            Hey @theseeker123 – it really depends what your current work experience is (number of years of experience, job sector, location, etc).

            I’ve just written an article about career changes with CFA which may be helpful (https://www.300hours.com/cfa-career-change/). Through my discussions with recruiters, hedge fund recruitment has much less data hence Alternative investments was not included in my career switching chart – but hopefully it serves as a good background info to see all the CFA career data in one place. Hope this helps start the conversation!

            This was a great insightful article.

            Can I ask, you said “The top 10 most popular jobs CFA candidates would like to explore in the next 5 years are Portfolio Management (45% of candidates), Investment Banking (39%), Private Equity (33%), Buy-Side Research (32%), Corporate Finance (31%), Wealth Management (26%), Alternative Investments (21%), Risk Management (21%), Financial Planning (20%) and Consulting (19%).”

            Those 45% of candidates, did they get into Portfolio management ? That’s my biggest question right now.

            Was it genuinely worth doing to get into the Portfolio Management industry ?

            Off course there are other factors such as track record, personality..etc but did the CFA qualification get the door open to the interview.

          • Avatar of Sophie MaconSophie Macon
            Keymaster
              14 Dec 2020 at 9:49 pm
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              Hey @theseeker123 – it really depends what your current work experience is (number of years of experience, job sector, location, etc).

              I’ve just written an article about career changes with CFA which may be helpful (https://www.300hours.com/cfa-career-change/). Through my discussions with recruiters, hedge fund recruitment has much less data hence Alternative investments was not included in my career switching chart – but hopefully it serves as a good background info to see all the CFA career data in one place. Hope this helps start the conversation!

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