Goodbye, CFA Charter?

Water Cooler
#21

None.

I was being interviewed for a position at UCI teaching risk management. After the interview, the head of the program asked, “Can you teach anything other than risk management? For example, can you teach finance? No . . . you need a CFP to teach finance.”

I replied, “I don’t have a CFP, but when I was at PIMCO I earned my CFA charter.”

“YOU’RE A CFA?”

“Well, no: I haven’t been in the industry for about 4 years, so I let my membership lapse. But I think that I simply have to reinstate it.”

“How would you like to teach review courses for the CFA exams?”

“I don’t have any materials . . . .”

“I have all of the materials. All I need is someone who can teach the classes.”

The rest is, as they say, history.

#22

If chimps had the self confidence of this magician they would have cured cancer. He talks the talk but does not do shit.

#23

It’s you are presenting yourself as a financial planner / advisor, I would hang onto being able to have the letters on your business card.

i’ve heard a lot of CFPs mention to folks that a PFS is kind of like bragging about having an Associates Degree

#24

Pst you are in BFE. Use the letters while not paying! I know of an equity analyst who does this for both CFA and CPA lmao

#25

Funny that PFS = Associate’s Degree, with the assumption that CFP = Bachelor’s degree.

It is somewhat true that the requirements to qualify for the CFP exam are more difficult than the PFS exam. The CFP exam requires that you take a lot of coursework and a “summary” course. The PFS has no such requirement. You just have to take the exam.

That being said, all PFSs are CPAs. So that means we have 150 credit hours, 30 of which are in accounting, and another 30 are in upper-level business management. Plus, we have passed the CPA exam, which makes the CPA kinda like a Master’s degree. (I imagine most CFPs have conveniently “forgotten” this fact.)

Fun fact–you don’t even have to have a degree to take the CFP coursework. A GED will do.

So I would argue that CPA/PFS = Masters in Tax/Accounting + Associates in Financial Planning, while CFP means…nothing, really.

#26

Fwiw, I make ihihm money and still get reimbursed by my firm for the charter dues every year. Something to consider.

#27

Haha if I had to do additional course work. I would rage quit lol. But the annual dues are pretty cheap. I don’t pay for local though. Is the networking thing fun?l or is it just business let’s talk about ideas get together?

#28

^LA chapter networking events have mostly unemployed young grads hustling hard for entry level jobs. Hosted bar is shi_te, usually crappy house wine and some beers. Gender ratio generally worse than AF. Dues not worth it unless employer covers it.

#29

What do you have on your business card currently?

I’m just imagining Texans staring at a card that has more letters in the certifications than in the name.

“Greenman72, CFA, CPA, CFP, MBA, PFS… USMC, 'rah!”

#30

^Actually, I only use CPA and CFA on my card right now.

Im extremely dubious of people who put MBA on their card. Or people who list fourth rate designations that have absolutely no academic rigor (like the AAMS or CRPC).

#31

Out of curiosity, what is ihihm money? Was this established in a previous thread?

#32

^Dude makes high eight figures per year in municipal bond interest.

#33

You didn’t correct him for using CFA as a noun?

#34

^ Beat me to it.

At this point, S2000 should have said “you can’t use CFA as a noun, you nut”.

#35

I didn’t correct _ her _.

She was not a covered person, so it wasn’t an Ethics violation.

#36

Again, that applies only to covered persons. (And, as long as we’re being snippy about it, it’s “_ mayn’t _”, not “can’t”. :wink:)

#37

^ LOL, I too immediately thought that the next sentence read would be of you correcting the interviewer about CFA usage. But you took it to the next level and screened her out as not being a covered person. Bravo!

#38

If true, why waste time on this forum talking to us plebes? Is it one of those emperors entertaining themselves with the stink of the masses in the Colusseum things?

#39

I don’t know, but he has the best high-rise observation stories.