The Truth About Pursuing CFA Charter

Before pursuing the CFA charter the first question that hits our minds is - Is CFA worth pursuing? The truth besides the cost is, that it takes a long time to complete the CFA charter which is another major imperative among finance professionals pursuing CFA.

You must have read countless quoras to understand whether taking up a CFA course is a worthwhile investment or not? But the fact of the matter is CFA has prospects of beating the challenges. Let’s try and discover them and find out what scope they can offer you in the career landscape. 

What’s Good!

Very recently, the popularity of CFA has grown in leaps and bounds in India. CFA institutes across India have witnessed over 30% of students enrolling for the course year after year and India next to the US and China has become the 3 largest markets for CFA courses. This trend has set a fierce competition among candidates both in pursuing as well as landing in rewarding roles in global companies with a CFA charter. 

Not only that, but the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also reported that 2.3% of the Indian population has invested in capital markets that are aligned with the US, which comes to around 78%. The statistics cannot be overlooked as it shows the immense scope of capital markets as the population starts to divert their savings and assets into capital markets. This also brings a smile on the face of the investment professionals like CFAs as the capital markets place a huge demand for professionals with expertise in investments and prediction abilities in capital markets. 

Paycheck Jumps a Mile

We know the most attractive industry for investment professionals with a gold standard CFA designation is Bank as it is the highest paying sector. The average pay scale for a CFA charter holder in the US is close to $ 200,000 but to reach this level, you need to put in 3-4 years in other allied industries.

Since the pass rate for CFA still stands at 43%, cracking CFA exams is not an easy task. You need a minimum of 4000 hours of valid professional experience and 300 hours of study for each of the three levels. One of the pitfalls of a low pass rate is most students/professionals are habituated to downloading substandard photocopied or second-hand CFA study materials online. You can do away with this instant as Schweser-Miles for the first time in India has introduced an original CFA study material at special pricing that opens doors to all CFA aspirants to be part of the global race and stay ahead in the investment world. Optimize the study material and once you pass all the three levels of CFA, there is nothing like it!! 

Do you know that the CFA charter holder with 15 years of experience gets a salary close to 50,00,000 LPA in India? And the best part of the CFA course is that you get recognized globally across the finance industry right from level 1. This also brings you to earn while you study option, which allows you to fund your level 2 and 3 exam fees. 

Take me for a word, the average salary paid to an intern who has completed level 1 CFA is INR 3-4 LPA, a level 2 candidate is paid around 6 LPA, and a level 3 candidate is paid around 10 LPA. 

CFA opens up career opportunities in every asset class besides normal equity, bonds, real estate, or derivatives. Choices are plenty in these areas in quantitative data analyst, investment banker, private equity analyst, fixed income, consultancy, and alternative investments. Don’t get turned down by the negative comments you see about CFA, that it is dry and lengthy, and slip your opportunities into the cracks. Stay confident and push hard as the horizon is brimming with opportunities!!