Career Opportunities with CAIA Charter

CAIA
#1

I’ve recently gained the CAIA Charter after passing the Level II exam this past September. My background is in Operations (10 years exp), having most recently worked as an Ops Specialist for a sovereign wealth fund and previously worked as a Trader Assistant and in MO Trade Support for large US Banks. Academics are pretty solid with a Masters in Economics from an Ivy League grad school (though this was gained 10 years ago).

I’m looking to move into a more front office oriented role (open to different areas such as Execution, Manager Selection, Research). What career opportunities have people found or how useful have people with the charter found the designation on their Resume with the technical skills gained? I’m fully aware that it’s tough to make the transition from Ops, but I’m keen to hear people’s opinions on my current situation. Is the move to FO possible?

Cheers

#2

Hi there,

I don’t think the CAIA (or CFA for that matter) would help you get out of the back office if you have already put in 10 years. The issue is, an assistant or “specialist” is a relatively junior title and having 10 years next to it sends off a red flag to employers. Front office roles (especially in private equity) are centred around the relationships you have built over the years. If anything, you would need to probably only show a few years of work experience on your resume (as opposed to 10), take the graduation years out of your resume and start applying to some analyst level jobs at a low to mid tier firm to start rebuilding. If I were in your shoes I would just stay put.