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 CFA or MBA ?, to go into investment banking

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bmwcaddy
post Jan 2 2020, 03:21 PM

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Sorry to necro and reviving old thread.

Any additional inputs for this topic? Currently unable to decide whether to choose CFA or MBA (currently working as junior analyst in business conglomerate in Malaysia).

I'm leaning towards being a fund manager/investment banker by having CFA, but not very sure about the availability of opportunities (attractive ones) in Malaysia yet.

Any inputs will be much appreciated.
bmwcaddy
post Jan 6 2020, 11:06 AM

On my way
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QUOTE(Topace111 @ Jan 3 2020, 04:20 PM)
In general, CFA without experience is worse off than someone with MBA from reputable school (ivy leagues). Reason, good MBA have very high filter requirement like 7 years working experience with MNC, managerial or consultancy background, good GMAT scores and recommendation from alumni. If the MBA schools don't have these criteria, it's just a normal MBA that won't really make a huge adjustment to your career prospects.

CFA is just an exam paper so experience is more important. CFA member will be good as you have 4 year relevant experience. Finishing the exam just prove you can learn to apply, not many large company will hire you on that basis without proper experience.
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Assume by the time i complete CFA, i will have a working experience of around 6 years. Is this usually a good time?

Separately, what are the prospects of continuing with a MBA say at the 8th working year? (assuming CFA obtained at 6th)

Thank you!
bmwcaddy
post Jan 7 2020, 12:40 PM

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QUOTE(bursageek @ Jan 7 2020, 11:30 AM)
You mention working in a conglomerate so would you acquire any experience related to corporate finance? Financial due diligence, asset pricing, portfolio optimisation are some of the use cases you face in a job from the IB / AM sector. My take is that CFA just proves you are a diligent learner, but if you have to start in the industry from scratch, few would want to assume the risk of absorbing a newcomer at the age of 28 / 29 when burnout is frequent in the industry (less so in Malaysia but general in IB)

What I just said relates only to the job seeking, but to actually pass CFA, your working experience needs to be 'relevant' as defined here: https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/membership/...work-experience. Whether or not you have worked for 6 years is irrelevant since you may have cleared the duration requirement (48 months) but not the technical requirement.

Finally, doing an MBA would be an icing on the cake once you have already landed a job in the industry. But if you are not intending to start a venture yourself, IMO there is much less value in it (since your goal is to enter the industry, which should have been be achieved by CFA alone).

Ultimately you have to weigh the pros and cons of either program (CFA requires longer time investment, but can start immediately; while good MBA schools might not admit you with your current credentials), as well as your career goals (seems a bit over the place tbh).
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Hi bursageek, thank you for your reply which I find it very detail and informative!

To answer your question (hopefully to also open up new/further opinions if you may have), my current jobscope does involve the nature of investment holding business, i.e. Financial due diligence, project financing, asset pricing/valuation, return analysis (not so much of portfolio optimisation/managing).

You are pretty spot on with your deduction, I do wish to land in the Investment Banking industry (did thought of venturing overseas but this may be over-ambitious at current point of discussion), or along the line of stock brokerage/managing fund.

Any takes on this? Or perhaps I should look for other professional papers/masters apart from CFA and MBA?

Thank you in advance!

 

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