Gurus and the CFA charter. Gurus who hold the charter include Marty Whitman, Ken Heebner, Bill Miller, Ron Muhlenkamp, Irving Kahn (who is 101 years old), Wally Weitz, Robert Rodriguez, Mason Hawkins, Edward Owens, Bill Nygren, and Charles Brandes, to name just a few.
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is a rigorous, three year, three part test. It covers ethics, statistics, economics, futures and options, accounting, international accounting, and the stock and bond markets. The designation was proposed by Benjamin Graham to the New York Society in 1942 (as an aside, many people who worked in the offices of the New York Society died in the September 11 attacks). The exam is given on the same day all across the world in the same language: English. The pass rates for levels I, II, and III are 42%, 47%, and 68%, respectively. It takes about 200 hours of study time over the preceding five months, so people taking the test shouldn’t plan on getting married or having a baby during that time.
Gurus who hold the charter include Marty Whitman, Ken Heebner, Bill Miller, Ron Muhlenkamp, Irving Kahn (who is 101 years old), Wally Weitz, Robert Rodriguez, Mason Hawkins, Edward Owens, Bill Nygren, and Charles Brandes, to name just a few. That was my unofficial survey found by Googling their names followed by the CFA title. Other famous investors who hold the charter include Bill Gross and Mario Gabelli, who are also on Fortune’s list of the four hundred wealthiest Americans.
The difference between a CFA and an MBA is that in the MBA curriculum, a student can study a broad variety of courses. One MBA graduate might run a cheese factory in Wisconsin and the other might go to Wall Street. The MBA curriculum is really geared to the management of people, not money. That’s not to say that one cannot learn about the stock market at business school. There are many great management schools out there with securities programs but they vary from school to school. An MBA from Harvard is not the same as an MBA from Northwest Central Paducha College.
In addition, the CFA charter costs a fraction of getting an MBA. To take the test, buy the books, and even take the study courses would probably run less than $7,000 total. An MBA could run over $100,000. That’s a hefty premium considering that many employers in the securities business consider the two equal. Some even favor the CFA over the MBA because of its specific course study. Also, you can’t charm your way through the CFA like you can some MBA classes.
Probably the most important part of holding the charter is ethics. The test pounds ethics into your head. The ethics questions are not easy like on the Series 7, but are much more ambiguous and require more study time. The CFA Institute discusses ethics on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, charter holders who violate the ethics provisions can have their charters yanked. Oftentimes, members are proud of the fact that in many market imbroglios, no charter holders are to blame.
The theories of many great money managers can be traced back to the famous Benjamin Graham, founder of the CFA Institute. Dr. Graham wanted to have a specific standard for the many thousands of people in the business of analysis. I am sure that he would be proud of the progress the Institute has made.
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is a rigorous, three year, three part test. It covers ethics, statistics, economics, futures and options, accounting, international accounting, and the stock and bond markets. The designation was proposed by Benjamin Graham to the New York Society in 1942 (as an aside, many people who worked in the offices of the New York Society died in the September 11 attacks). The exam is given on the same day all across the world in the same language: English. The pass rates for levels I, II, and III are 42%, 47%, and 68%, respectively. It takes about 200 hours of study time over the preceding five months, so people taking the test shouldn’t plan on getting married or having a baby during that time.
Gurus who hold the charter include Marty Whitman, Ken Heebner, Bill Miller, Ron Muhlenkamp, Irving Kahn (who is 101 years old), Wally Weitz, Robert Rodriguez, Mason Hawkins, Edward Owens, Bill Nygren, and Charles Brandes, to name just a few. That was my unofficial survey found by Googling their names followed by the CFA title. Other famous investors who hold the charter include Bill Gross and Mario Gabelli, who are also on Fortune’s list of the four hundred wealthiest Americans.
The difference between a CFA and an MBA is that in the MBA curriculum, a student can study a broad variety of courses. One MBA graduate might run a cheese factory in Wisconsin and the other might go to Wall Street. The MBA curriculum is really geared to the management of people, not money. That’s not to say that one cannot learn about the stock market at business school. There are many great management schools out there with securities programs but they vary from school to school. An MBA from Harvard is not the same as an MBA from Northwest Central Paducha College.
In addition, the CFA charter costs a fraction of getting an MBA. To take the test, buy the books, and even take the study courses would probably run less than $7,000 total. An MBA could run over $100,000. That’s a hefty premium considering that many employers in the securities business consider the two equal. Some even favor the CFA over the MBA because of its specific course study. Also, you can’t charm your way through the CFA like you can some MBA classes.
Probably the most important part of holding the charter is ethics. The test pounds ethics into your head. The ethics questions are not easy like on the Series 7, but are much more ambiguous and require more study time. The CFA Institute discusses ethics on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, charter holders who violate the ethics provisions can have their charters yanked. Oftentimes, members are proud of the fact that in many market imbroglios, no charter holders are to blame.
The theories of many great money managers can be traced back to the famous Benjamin Graham, founder of the CFA Institute. Dr. Graham wanted to have a specific standard for the many thousands of people in the business of analysis. I am sure that he would be proud of the progress the Institute has made.
