CFA course V/S MBA Finance
A major doubt that prevails among aspiring financial enthusiasts is choosing a career opportunity between a CFA Charter holder and a MBA program. It is worth knowing that both are highly regarded finance accreditations that need a lot of hard work and provide amazing career acceleration. To make an appropriate choice between the two courses, it is essential to know about them.
CFA program or a Chartered Financial Analyst course is a professional certification conducted by CFA Institute, based in California, USA. Students who clear all three levels of CFA exam earn the CFA Charter holder. The educational focus of a CFA program is on providing a deep knowledge of investment analysis, management and ethics. The duration of an MBA program is two years, with classes including a lot of topics such as human resources, accounting, marketing, sales, managing operations, supply chains and technology. Students pursuing MBA can only start working after completion of their graduation. However, a CFA candidate can get placed under different jobs after clearing CFA level 1 exam.
The CFA program is less costly than an MBA program. It is more suitable for people who wish to make their career in equity research, portfolio management or investment analysis. Financially, earning the CFA Charter holder is cheaper than pursuing MBA because the program depends on self-study and not attending classroom sessions. The only cost to be incurred for a CFA program is its exam fee. The honor and prestige associated with earning the CFA charter is priceless as it is considered gold standard in the field of finance. CFA is a practical course whereas MBA finance focuses on imparting theoretical knowledge to its students.
Stephen Horan, the managing director and co-lead for education at the CFA Institute said “An MBA and the CFA Program are complementary in many ways. Traditional MBA Programs are broader than CFA program, covering topics such as management, marketing, and strategy, while the CFA program provides deeper coverage of investment management than typical MBA programs.”
As per Horan, MBA programs include principles of finance, specifically corporate finance, but do not give detailed explanation on topics like derivative securities, hedging strategies, portfolio management, wealth planning etc. The CFA program provides an insight into these areas.
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