CFA vs. MBA

I understand that they are 2 different avenues of furthering your education. I am just curious as to people's opinions on the two.

If you had to choose, which one would you choose?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

What do you think the ROI (Return on Investment) is of each?

I already know a bit about both designations. The CFA designation is much harder to achieve it requires 3 exams that can only be obtained trhough at least three years of study. The be awarded the CFA charter you also need to be suitably experienced in making investment decisions.

Ive heard that CFA is more for someone trying to get into the buy-side while perhaps MBA is more suited to sell-side.

I will be insteredted to hear from any insiders that work in the investment industry what they think of CFAs and MBAs in Asia, especially in Singapore, Hong Kong etc.

i got this blurb form this site.. have a look.. lots of debating.

http://info.channelnewsasia.com/bb/v...c.php?t=17344&

Originally Posted by rdtx2002

i got this blurb form this site.. have a look.. lots of debating.

http://info.channelnewsasia.com/bb/v...c.php?t=17344&

Hard to compare but IMO, an MBA from top school > CFA > MBA from a bottom feeder

It depends what you want to do: back office analysis, or front office management.

ROI is maybe not the best measure, a CFA can be had for $5000ish (depending on your study aids), but a good MBA should set you back 6-10 times more.

i think CFA is worth more than MBA, CFA is also alot harder to get than MBA.

Originally Posted by babysham

I understand that they are 2 different avenues of furthering your education. I am just curious as to people's opinions on the two.

If you had to choose, which one would you choose?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

What do you think the ROI (Return on Investment) is of each?

'CFA' is a certification, not an education. An MBA is often/usually used by non-business people to move to a business focus, whereas you have to already have financial experience to become a CFA. And a CFA is relatively limited in scope and does not offer the variety of opportunities an MBA can.

they both go hand in hand. I wouldn't think of one as a way of getting out of the other - especially if you want to work on the buy-side. you don't need the CFA if you're not going to be in the finance field. but if you will be in finance, you need a CFA and an MBA at some point.

my plan is to get my CFA (or at least have cleared all the exams) before going back for an MBA. from what I've noticed, people tend to do this in the opposite order. maybe someone who has one of these two can shed more light..