5 Benefits of the CFA® Charter

A large number of professionals consider this every year and a lot of information concerning the CFA program qualification abound on the internet and the reasons to enroll in it. This information is specifically written by individuals seeking to earn more CFA exam enrollments on their programs. What is really required is for experts to honestly illustrate the benefits of CFA exams to candidates. Here, these benefits are illustrated to provide a perfect understanding on the peculiar significance of CFA exams on the educational pursuit of individuals.

1. It Creates Career Path Enhancement

This benefit is enjoyed by industry professionals, non-investment professionals, and students. For industry professionals, the CFA charter can be used as a career enhancer for people already in the field of finance, or for people desirous of switching to a specific role. The CFA charter enhances the careers of research analysts, financial strategists, and asset managers like private bankers, fund managers, and relationship managers.
CFA charter is also relevant to enhance the careers of non-investment professionals. These individuals include accountants and attorneys who pursue the CFA program to break new grounds in their professional careers. In most cases, these are gotten as complementary qualifications aimed at broadening their expertise which helps their careers a great deal.

Students also enjoy the benefits of the CFA program as a career enhancer. This is specifically for those desirous of becoming bankers. It makes a lot of sense to include the CFA designation in your CV as a student because it tends to make you suitable for employment roles in the banking sector. However, students are enjoined not to believe that the inclusion of the CFA designation in their CVs will magically provide jobs for them. There are other relevant skills like networking and good working experience they ought to obtain to help in landing banking jobs.

2. It Provides an Excellent Background in Finance

It is no longer news that the CFA program is extremely difficult to pass. The major reason for this is the thorough and extensive nature of the materials. The materials are not difficult to understand. However, the greatest challenge comes in retaining all the information inherent in those materials.

Therefore, if you finally succeed in earning your charter, it provides an excellent and solid finance background for you. The syllabus undergoes continuous updates to account for recent events and innovations. Therefore, the CFA program generally pools together industry experts in finance to disseminate proper teaching in finance.

3. On Average, a CFA Charter Guarantees a Pay rise

This is a very tricky point to consider. In recent studies concerning compensation of roles for people with and without CFA charter, it was revealed that the median salary for holders of CFA charter was 54% higher than their counterparts without such qualifications. It showed a median salary of $180,000 for holders of CFA charter and a median salary of $116,850 for people without a CFA charter. Therefore, it is obvious to state that obtaining a CFA charter will undoubtedly open doors in the finance sector and provide an avenue for exploring opportunities. Due to this reason, one would expect his career to benefit a great deal from higher compensation and flexibility compared to those without CFA charter.

4. It Guarantees Global Recognition

The CFA charter is widely recognized as a relevant professional qualification in finance globally. One benefit about the CFA charter is the high rate of transferability its holders enjoy within the job market. CFA charterholders can easily be transferred between finance roles across the globe. For instance, if you intend to relocate to Asia, your CFA charter earned in Europe will also be easily recognized by employers in Asia. The qualifications are quite the same and today, about 100,000 holders of CFA charters are scattered around the globe.

5. It is Relatively Cheap

The total cost involved in obtaining a CFA charter varies significantly. The reason behind this variation depends on the mode of prep materials one receives and the number of exams one ends up taking. Research has shown that the cost of the program ranges from $2,500 to $8,500. As far as professional qualifications go, that rate is very cheap.

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