I am currently a CPA but am thinking of taking the CFA exam. By taking the CFA, I feel that this will help me obtain a great background as a financial advisor and specialize in that area. I also want to take the Series 27 by the end of the year so I can prepare monthly FOCUS reports to the NASD by acting as a freelance FINOP.

Is the CFA a good idea at this point? How is the CFA exam compared to the CPA exam?

I have a 5 year compliance background and am hoping this will count as applicable experience toward the CFA charter but I am not certain. I will be attending a CFA Level 1 orientation next month and am hoping to get a straight answer since the CFA Institute could not.

I appreciate any advice you can give me.

 

I earned my CFA Charter in 1999, and I just got home this evening from teaching a review course for the (December) Level I CFA exam at the University of California, Irvine. In January I'll begin a Level I review course and a Level II review course for the June, 2006 exams.

I do not know how difficult the CPA exam is, but my understanding is that it is nothing compared to the CFA exam(s). The CFA consists of three exams of six hours each. The subject matter comprises ethics, quantitative methods, economics, financial statement analysis, corporate investing and finance, portfolio management, equity securities, debt securities, derivative securities, and alternative investments (commodities, real estate, mutual funds, venture capital, hedge funds).

There are many financial companies that insist that their account managers and portfolio managers have their CFA Charter, or are at least enrolled in the CFA program. I worked at PIMCO for five years as a mortgage securities analyst. At that time most (maybe all) of the account managers did not have their Charters, and were not enrolled in the program. Two of my students work at PIMCO and they've told me that all of the account managers must now have their Charter or be enrolled in the exam program to earn it. It's a good thing to have.

As to whether your compliance background will qualify as applicable work experience, I cannot say. I hope that you find out at your orientation.

Be prepared to work very, very hard studying to pass the exams. They're tough. Quite tough.

 

I'm 23 right now. I've passed Series 7, 66, LAH. My goal is to be a CFP in about 3-5 years. My degree is in Accounting but no CPA for me. I'm really not interested. I know this tells you nothing but I figured since we were in the same field I could atleast say hello!

 

Magician, when I took the CPA exam it had had only a 5% pass rate for all parts at one sitting. It is a very hard exam! It was 2 1/2 days long. Pass rate was, I believe, lower than the bar exam. Never took the CFA test, so can't compare.

 

Currently taking my CPA's right now. The Bar exam has a 75 percent pass rate. I think the CPA exam is now up to 10 percent pass rate because of the becker exam etc.

I have a friend that's a CPA and a CFA, he thought the CPA was a lot harder. However he was also stronger in accounting.

 

If you're interested in the financial advisor area you should look at CFP, and CIMA. CFA is an analyst designation.

 

shouldn't this be more like...

he thought the CPA was a lot harder...HE WAS EVEN stronger in accounting.

or did you mean it the other way around?

 

The pass rates for the 2004 CFA Exams were:

Level I: 32%
Level II: 34%
Level III: 64%

Given that you cannot take the Level II exam till you've passed the Level I, and you cannot take the Level III till you've passed the Level II, the pass rate for all parts the first time would be 0.32 * 0.34 * 0.64 = 0.069, 6.9%. (This assumes that the pass rates are somewhat consistent year-to-year.)

 

Schedule to take level 1 CFA this December, wish me luck.

 

currently an AIS major in my junior year.

any tips on landing a good internship with an auditing firm?