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).

Hello, I’m also just a young professional working in the finance industry so do refer to other sources haha.

From my friends’ experiences (we all graduated from a top 3 UK uni), CFA requires tremendous time investment – many online would suggest dedicating 300 hours per level, i.e. averaging 1 hour a day of study. At a minimum, I figure even a smart learner has to put down half an hour everyday to it, which can be a solitary process if you don’t have friends doing it together. Many started it because of peer pressure, and end up completing it because of the sunk cost, which made me question CFA’s value whose payoff is uncertain (AFAIK no workplaces have introduced bonus associated with completing CFA) and is only a soft barrier of entry for IBs (on the other hand, you still have to take PKMC exams before trading professionally).

I have lots of interest in investment, but don’t see it as more of a career beyond a personal hobby (I am invested in equities in NA, EU and MYS and would have to give up these holdings if I work as traders). Between CFA and MBA I would have chosen the latter since I value the business connections from a good school (think Ivy League / top business schools in the UK) and have plans to launch own businesses in the future, but at the moment I’m not keen of pausing my career to further study.