can i get a relevant position with CFA level 1 passed result

xing369 · Post by **xing369** » Sun, 17 Dec 2006 1:11 pm

just wanna find out, if i m only holding CFA Level 1 passed result and without relevant working experience, is that feasible for me to get into any positions of investment or bank firms?

thx

Bonbon · Post by **Bonbon** » Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:30 pm

ahhaha

good effort, but no dont think so. Level I doens't prove anything. Hope I'm not discouraging you, it's only two levels to go

.

It's still your *qualified* qualification and experience counts.

Don't think CFA is really that highly favoured, respected here in Singapore. It used to be a hot , fashion of the year type of things...not anymore!

Oh I nearly forgot to point out it depends on what AREAS of the investment banking you want to be in......if traders, maybe, mid office maybe, but if you're in the back, operations, IT, accounting, finance support functions, CFA is irrelevant, it probalby is useful that you know what all these derivatives are about, and how they work, but you dont really need them to be able to do the support job.

eooojj · Post by **eooojj** » Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:32 am

Hi Bonbon,

YOu were mentioning about "trader"...could i ask.
How do you get a position as a trader?
Which companies usually employs?
What qualification must i have? What if i am just a retail trader at the moment...what must i do then to qualify?
Really appreciate if you coud answer these "silly" questions of mine. Thanks in advance.
ed

Bonbon wrote:ahhaha good effort, but no dont think so. Level I doens't prove anything. Hope I'm not discouraging you, it's only two levels to go .

It's still your *qualified* qualification and experience counts.

Don't think CFA is really that highly favoured, respected here in Singapore. It used to be a hot , fashion of the year type of things...not anymore!

Oh I nearly forgot to point out it depends on what AREAS of the investment banking you want to be in......if traders, maybe, mid office maybe, but if you're in the back, operations, IT, accounting, finance support functions, CFA is irrelevant, it probalby is useful that you know what all these derivatives are about, and how they work, but you dont really need them to be able to do the support job.

xing369 · Post by **xing369** » Mon, 18 Dec 2006 6:29 pm

many thx for ur kindly reply!
though it's quite disappointed to hear that.
by the way, what u meant CFA's not favoured anymore, is that CFA charterholders r not useful any longer in Singapore? or only for ppl like me who just passed level 1 or 2?
what does it mean for "mid office"?

Bonbon wrote:ahhaha good effort, but no dont think so. Level I doens't prove anything. Hope I'm not discouraging you, it's only two levels to go .

It's still your *qualified* qualification and experience counts.

Don't think CFA is really that highly favoured, respected here in Singapore. It used to be a hot , fashion of the year type of things...not anymore!

Oh I nearly forgot to point out it depends on what AREAS of the investment banking you want to be in......if traders, maybe, mid office maybe, but if you're in the back, operations, IT, accounting, finance support functions, CFA is irrelevant, it probalby is useful that you know what all these derivatives are about, and how they work, but you dont really need them to be able to do the support job.

Bonbon · Post by **Bonbon** » Mon, 18 Dec 2006 10:14 pm

I'm no CFA or banking expert guys!

Mid office = Middle Office, ie operations, trade validation, transaction control etc...etc...argh hard to explain to a non-banking person

No I'm not a trader, I work in the back office supporting the traders. ARGH...another hard one to explain .

What do you need to do to become a trader? I think every job requires relevant experiences to be built up. ?In this case, try get into a banking job first, doesn't matter what job , at least helps you to understand what banking is all about. Then as you build up your skills, experiences, eventually you can ask to try to move to the front office (traders) as a junior, train your trading skills up.

Unless you are one of those high high high ICQ people, then you can try to trade yourself, do research in the market, what's out there, how to trade, equity market or debt market etc...

I'm not sure , running out of the ideas...

All I know is you dont just ask for solid food when you can't even suck the milk out of the bottle!!!

xing369 · Post by **xing369** » Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:02 am

thx anyway for ur reply

huggybear · Post by **huggybear** » Tue, 19 Dec 2006 7:52 am

CFA is irrelevant in banking and for trading.

you really don't need anything to trade...just to get lucky in finding a job =)

as for CFA usefulness...it can act as help to get you an interview, but I don't think anyone will hire you because of your CFA alone. if having passed level 1 only, I would suggest you highlight that you have passed level 1 and feel that your prior history / aptitude demonstrates that you have the mental ability to pass all 3 levels.

a CPA might be more useful in banking but as bonbon points out, you'll learn everything you need to on the job.

xing369 · Post by **xing369** » Tue, 19 Dec 2006 6:23 pm

do appreciate ur warm advice!
after hearing all of ur views, kinda worry about that whether i can get a job in the future...
sigh

huggybear wrote:CFA is irrelevant in banking and for trading.

you really don't need anything to trade...just to get lucky in finding a job =)

as for CFA usefulness...it can act as help to get you an interview, but I don't think anyone will hire you because of your CFA alone. if having passed level 1 only, I would suggest you highlight that you have passed level 1 and feel that your prior history / aptitude demonstrates that you have the mental ability to pass all 3 levels.

a CPA might be more useful in banking but as bonbon points out, you'll learn everything you need to on the job.

renter · Post by **renter** » Fri, 22 Dec 2006 3:41 pm

CFA is not a degree, remember.

If you can, get a Masters in finance or some other related discipline. you get a higher chance of landing a good job. After all, you cannot call yourself a CFA without passing all 3 levels and without at least 3 years of working experience in IB. But with a Masters, you don't need any experience to get the degree.

Makan24-7 · Post by **Makan24-7** » Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:34 pm

Are you talking about getting in at analyst or associate level? From your question, I'll assume that you are referring to associate level positions at a minimum.

Okay, in your best interests, let me be absolutely frank - to get into high finance jobs, which include traditional investment banking, sales, trading or private banking, it is quite difficult to get into the Tier 1 banks like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, CSFB etc...

Main reason is that they recruit primarily on-grounds at the top business schools (what they term core schools) in the US, UK and to a lesser extent, Australia. It is when they cannot find MBAs from their core group of schools that they open it up to others from their non-core schools or other with experience. To be honest, the few Harvard, Wharton, Columbia MBAs who want to return to the SE Asia office are usually enough to fill these positions.

It is true that other Masters degree holders like M.Finance or MSc. Finance etc can get in too but still a bit harder because they deemed core recruiting programs as the MBA at HBS, Wharton, LBS etc.

The other way to get into the Tier 1s is through very, very strong networks already in the banking industry.... That probably works better than having to go through the "normal" channels which I described above

Makan24-7 · Post by **Makan24-7** » Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:36 pm

It is true that other Masters degree holders like M.Finance or MSc. Finance etc can get in too but still a bit harder because they deemed core recruiting programs as the MBA at HBS, Wharton, LBS etc.

Correction... because they are NOT deemed core

xing369 · Post by **xing369** » Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:43 pm

noted
thanks

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