Plumbing > CFA
I don’t think that having an expensive car makes me a better driver, but I still covet it and continue to pursue sexier and more expensive cars.
One could argue that the point of the exam is less about generating superior performance, and more of just being a useful ultra-targeted graduate level certificate, nicely curating the topics and source material that should be table stakes for any professional money manager to know. Nothing more, nothing less.
I also think it is more applicable to people that are earlier in their careers as a differentiator. Some 25-year old kid can tell me how awesome he is and that his ideas are tremendous, but when I compare him to another 25-year old kid, and one has the charter, and he does not, I at least know that the one that has the charter will be fluent in the things that we will immediately start talking about when I hire him. I know he has passed some basic program where he has already passed the learning curve on a substantial collection of concepts.
The rock stars without the charter have received their education via other avenues, but they have still received that education. The question is, if non-CFA Charterholders are superior to CFA Charterholders in terms of generating return, can we quantify what are those substantially different experiences, characteristics or skill sets that they tend to have that the CFA Charterholders do not?
I was thinking they should look at this from an activepassive lens. of these 6,000 managers they talked with, how many of them are trying to win the large cap active management game? An overwhelming majority of those guys are gonna fail anyways lol.
What % of the manager universe is 6,000 and how did they select these managers? It seems small on a global scale, although I have not paid for and read the paper.
FWIW, I got my charter when I was past 60. It’s still one of the best things I ever did for myself and for my career. I just wish it were a better-known brand, such as the CPA (which I also hold). Nearly everyone in America has heard of ‘CPA’, which is why it’s such a powerful brand. Unfortunately, we can’t say that about the CFA designation, even though I’m extremely proud to hold it.
That’s honestly really gangster of you.
I pursued it because I just wanted to make $100k a year.
Thought it would be the quickest way for people to look at my resume at 26
Then I found out CFA or not. . . you still have to work.
That’s because you didn´t go 3/3 in 18 months and don’t have superior returns 
Those guys buy my lunches.
Yes, they should recompile the data including only the 3/3/18month whilst working 120hours a week, the true outperformers
@CEO10K-DAY who was that guy in our class? The dude who worked full time, did Iron Man, got married and had a kid and went 3/3?
Is his GMAT >=700? You know, the bar has to be set high for ALL attributes.
i’ve met that guy at teh club. hes a cheater cheater
did nerd dog get a new user name or is this a copy cat?
new username. lol u like?
lol everyone has flaws
It’s true that having the CFA charter can be a useful differentiator, especially for those earlier in their careers. Like you said, it’s not necessarily about proving superior performance but more about showing a foundation of knowledge. The CFA program covers a lot of ground that is essential for money management, and hiring someone with the charter gives you confidence that they’ve passed through a certain level of rigor and are fluent in key concepts.
I wonder if there’s any way to capture that underperformance (if that’s actually what we’re talking about).
Maybe a hedge fund that’s short funds run by CFAs and long funds run by non-CFAs?
Having worked as a risk manager in asset management for almost my whole career, I can’t but wonder why do people invest in active strategies, regardless whether the PM is a Charterholder or not. The math simply doesn’t check out.