CFA yes or no?

Hi Riccardo,

here my thoughts to your questions. In general, for a move to PE, neither CFA nor MBA are critical prerequisites. Below some further details..

1. Do you think it would be useful for my profile?

Yes and no. You can definitely move from consulting to PE, simply based on PIPE experience, i.e. without an CFA. That said, all things equal, of course a (fully completed) CFA may lend your profile extra credibility vs candidates without. I'd say the impact is marginal though - not a must, nice to have. Maybe a disclaimer to add - if you don't come from MBB, the CFA impact on your profile will weigh a bit more, yet still not critical

2. Is it going to be worth the effort?

If sole purpose is to qualify for a career shift into PE, I'd say no, the hundreds of hours of study will not justify the marginal impact described above. If purpose is to gain a deeper and broader understanding of Finance from different angles, one can argue you will learn a lot and explore the field quite holistically.

3. Are there other options that would add more value?

Again, is it just for the career shift purpose? For that, MBA will not be required - there are countless examples of consultants who move without MBA (nor CFA).  Best thing you can do to make your profile attractive is to gain deep and wider experience in different PIPE projects during your consulting tenure (e.g. by joining a ringfence team). As simple as that.

Hope this helps.

Regards, Andi

Hi Riccardo,

I think you should network within the company and speak with the people opening up this practice! Express your interest and ask them what it would take to join. Feel free to throw in the CFA question.

My honest opinion? Value for time/money is far far higher for a range of other activities than getting your CFA. You have to put in an immense amount of time that could be spent on experiences + certifications that provide more direct value!

Hi there,

if you are aiming for MBB I dont think CFA is worthy - considering the effort getting the 3 levels. -  there are strategic consulting and we rarely go into the detail that you need CFA. MBA is definitely a better value in addition to exceptional previous study and work record. 

Good luck, 

Lucie

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Hi Riccardo,

As former Kearney, now in a Sovereign Wealth Fund, let me share my toughts on your questions.  

- Do you think it would be useful for my profile?

Yes, it will be useful, as it shows that you meet a standard for finance (not only what is relevant for PE, but also many other areas e.g. portfolio management, compliance…)

- Is it gonna be worth the effort? 

No. To get the CFA, you need to invest a major amount of hours, and a significant part of what you will do is not fully relevant for PE e.g. the portfolio management & trading elements. Therefore there are many more productive ways - one is to fully focus on the practice (e.g. ensuring you get the most relevant projects for your career interests) and networking (which is a critical element for entering into a PE, it is a much smaller ecosystem and the recruitment process is less structured than consulting, with also less recruitment channels)  

- Are there other options that would add more value? (e.g., MBA)

As mentioned above, there are better ways. Not sure that having an MBA brings significant more value (could be the case if it is one of the finance-focused one b-schools, otherwise probably not).

Ensuring all your project experience is relevant for PE (and getting into PE practice a first great step) and networking seems to me the strongest alternative (especially when considering opportunity cost)
 

Dear candidate,

content: the CFA I is similar to taking finance classes during an MBA program, you can also get the same knowhow for free on Coursera 

recognition: for full recognition by PE you must be prepared to complete all the CFA exams, although an MBA would probably have more value. Yet you dont need an MBA (much more costly) because with a top consulting background you can simply switch to PE. 

I have also taken the CFA I before and it's been fun studying for it.

Best regards

I honestly think that the CFA exam has no value.
Much better to invest in an MBA.
In particular for private equity and valuation, you can read some books in your own and have the same knowledge.