Hello all,

I just want to add my two pennies to this thread.

I have just attended a biz seminar and got a chance to meet a KDU course facilitator/counselor.

I asked him the exact question; e.g. what is the major diff btw CFP, CFA, MFinance/MBA in Finance

He said the Master type programs are generally a generalist program with heavier element of management studies (e.g. HR, Management etc). He said those are good programs for corporate climbers (ambition to be CEO/CFO) or people interested to go into the academics (read: teaching/lecturing).

I told him my ambition, i.e., to own/partner a Financial Advisory Business and I am currently pursuing the CFP program.

He said that for business owner, there is less urgency to get a Master's program.

He said if one wishes to be in the Financial Advisory Business, then getting the qualification to obtain the License is most important. He said a better option is for me to get the IFP (Islamic Financial Planning) certification, to cover the whole spectrum of the business.

Having said the above, of all the different discipline in Financial Advisory I found Investment Planning/Advisory to be most exciting for me.

That is why after completing my CFP/IFP, I hope to continue CFA to enhance my role as a Investment Specialist in my own practice.

Xuzen

This post has been edited by xuzen: Jan 21 2010, 05:00 PM

I asked the counselor the same thing; I told him CFA has an infamous reputation of having very low passing rate (read: tough paper to pass)

He replied, "Many candidates do it on self study method. That is why there exist a low passing rate. Having a good lecturer/environment can actually improve the passing rate. With good lecturer, it is not that difficult especially for someone like you who is in the personal financial advisory business. Module 4 of CFP will cover some of the material in Lvl 1 of CFA".

I would like to add that KDU do not have a CFA program and I believe he is not trying to be a sales person on that day.

Xuzen

This post has been edited by xuzen: Jan 21 2010, 05:35 PM

Debbie,

You seem very interested wrt CFA as well. Which industry/work are you doing at the moment? Bank? Other Financial Institution?

Xuzen

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Added on January 21, 2010, 4:56 pmApparently there are 6 papers to complete in the CFP program. Paper 1-5 are objective, whilst Paper 6 is essay/case study.

Xuzen

This post has been edited by xuzen: Jan 21 2010, 04:56 PM

Ha! Debbie study MBA (Finance), Mayomythical is doing CFA (I assume) and I do CFP, maybe we can start a little club here and check our progress 6 months later. Some sort of knowledge sharing.

Currently I run my family Kedai Runcit business but I am interested to move into the Financial Advisory Business. Taking CFP is my first step. I hope to see myself as an established Licensed Investment Advisor/Specialist in my community in 5 -10 years time.

Xuzen

Just to clarify; Mod 6 is a case study paper. This means that you will not be learning anything new. The paper assume you have already covered theory from Mod 1-5.

In Mod 6, it is mainly teaching you how to present / write a integrated/comprehensive Financial Plan for your client based on lessons learned in earlier modules.

Xuzen