CFA HUB INDIA IN WAITING

Being emerging market with huge human capital wanting international recognition India is fast catching up with likes of Hong Kong and Singapore for CFA hub. In last few years CFA aspirants in India has increase at a exponential rate. With AICTE acceptance of not having jurisdiction over the CFA institute examinations in India, virtually there is no one to stop the CFA growth in India.
              SO how does students perceive the certification in India? It is totally opposite to the perception in US, in developed countries very small number of people reach the graduate level, most of the pupil prefer vocational courses due to high costs of education. This also ensures very high quality of graduates from colleges. Same with CFA it is considered as professional course acquired after reasonable years of related work experience.
               India had an old system where education is considered as a stage of life, student is expected to continue formal education through certain age, whatever he wants to learn needs to be completed before start of the next stage that is family stage. So every person in our society has a set goals. pupil is need to complete education till he gets a decent job and immediately after completion of education needs to marry a girl found by the parents. Once family is started formal education is full stop.
               This particular system of stages has narrowed down the vision of Indians, they try to complete as much of education possible to get a decent job. It is not something they yearn to learn or they like to do, but these courses are the rope way to getting job, a wife and family. So who are the pupil appearing for CFA exam in India? These are all fresh college graduates or first year MBA students without an iota of work experience. They can lot of time studying as that is the only thing they are expected to do. They work hard memorise things practice hours and pass the all three exams along with masters degrees.
               And this creates the problem now till the candidate is able use actual skills leaned during the exam, those start rusting. when they join a investment management job and expected to use the knowledge gained during the CFA preparation, they falter without the relevant work experience they have not learned any thing from the exams. This dilutes the brand CFA as recruiters think CFA do not have the required skills. So at least keep the brand image CFA institute needs to keep work experience criteria very strict. Or it can make experience required before appearing for 3rd level.

COACHING CLASSES NEEDS TO BE PROFESSIONAL

Since CFA is international certification and students put lots of money to earn it, coaching service providers needs to become more professional in attitude. CFA institute have their own way of regulating the third party material providers, they endorse some of the material providers who have registered with them this gives them a bit of control over the type of material distributed by them as well as quality of the same.
             But India there very few service providers who have been endorses by CFA institute. Following link would guide you approved education  material providers of CFA.
http://www.cfainstitute.org/partners/examprep/Pages/cfa_prep_provider_prog_participants.aspx
Following is the list of few service providers available in India.

http://www.etenfinance.com/

http://finstructor.in/cfa-classes/cfa-level-1-classes.php

http://www.edupristine.com/

These are the service providers who needs to follow the strict guidelines given by CFA institute and a student can definitely expect a high quality of professionalism and quality of the material provided. This does not mean CFA institute is giving some extra material to these institute or they are favoured of CFA. Definitely it earns a share of fees as a yearly revenue beyond that expect the same information sharing which is shared with others.
                   As these providers are officially recognised by CFA institute they ask a premium price for their services. So the choice goes to candidate whether they want just pushing place which is not recognised anywhere or a recognised provider with quality education.

TIPS ON STUDYING FOR CFA

What study tips a person can give when he himself is studying for the course for 4 years. Yes its correct that I have passed exams with more failing than passing, but still at least I can guide pupil what not to do than what to do. So here is my list of what to DO first

• Hard work is the only way for a sure shot pass, but without a bit luck even hard work wont let you pass.
• Textbook is the Bible of CFA, which like to make fool of pupil over dependant upon the other preparatory material.
• CFA makes fool of people who advertise how paper was easy and discuss the aper online in depth.
• I scored 70 plus in mock tests so will definitely pass this year is a syndrome indicateing highest probability of failure.
• Read books at east 3 times before the examination.
• Practice Practice Practice- The more one practice better the chances for passing.
• Beg borrow or still time from regular routine to have glimpse of syllabus.
• Keep a benchmark and evaluate at least weekly.
• 
  

IMPORTANCE OF CFA FOR INDIAN STUDENTS

CFA Institute says that it has got highest growth in terms of number of candidates year on year from Indian subcontinent. So what may be the reason it has got such high response and CFA has become hot designation from India?
              In India there are second highest number of universities in the world, but it is the largest democracy in the world with and very inefficient rigid education system. Education system in India is always 10 years behind the world. Very few institutes in India provide quality education, and those are not recognised world wide.
              So it is truth even the best educated doctors need to pass examinations abroad to qualify as a practising doctor. For every field Indian students find that their education back at home is not sufficient to propel them in career of an MNCs.
           Most of the multinationals when start their offices in India obviously they are looking something familiar and they find none. Many times a master's degree holder of computer science does not know how to start the computer, this makes these foreign recruiters shy away from Indian educated folks. So to boost their credentials and increase the probabilities of getting a chance abroad many people try and apply for international recognised certifications. This has made a huge business out of international certifications such as CCNA, MSCS etc. But in case of investment management India does not have a single degree which actually focuses on investment management domain. there is CA whose prodigies have got in to every branch of the finance though they are supposed to be only accounts and audit  folks.
           Excluding them CS and ICWA is no where related to CFA or investment management domain, these may have some subject covering a small part of finance and economics but nowhere they have larger focus on investment management.
            this takes the students to the only avenue available in India which is MBA. Again the students has to come back to the traditional system of education system from professional courses. Here in India most of the politicians have used this to their advantage by opening an MBA collage at every corner and nook. This has degraded the quality of MBA course to new low. SO the only option remains with aspirants is to get some international certification which could propel them in the jobs market. When there are 100 candidates fighting for single job obviously international companies prefer those candidates who have cleared examinations about which they know of.
              This brings us to the CFA examination which is considered as the golden standard in the investment management field. So it becomes but obvious that students would rush to receive this designation and enhance their resume. Now in India there is a system for ages where education family and retirement has been decided in to four time periods, so as students is expected to complete his education before starting a job and subsequently a family. As a student is expected to finish his education before any job experience most of the aspirants for the CFA exam are fresh graduates of MBAs seeking resume enhancement that would land them a job. Since they lack the experience and CFA does not grant charter until and unless  experience criteria has met these students starts working in to any field where job is available and once they reach to required years of experience, either their interest in core investment management has died out or the experience is still not eligible for getting an CFA designation.
           So I would definitely suggest to my friends who want to pursue the CFA just post graduation or along with it to go slow and get some relevant experience first hand.

HOW TO CHOOSE SERVICE PROVIDER FOR CFA PREPARATION?

Many times I hear people claiming they have joined the best class available in the city for CFA preparation. And his teacher said he will definitely pass this year if follow the class material. And what backing they have got for it is nothing but CFA level 2 passed candidates teaching in the class, and material generated using different material already available in the market. SO what course material provider one should ask or should he join a class room teaching course so as to increase the probability of passing? Simple answer for it comes from CFA institute itself No course provide appear for exam on your behalf so any material they provide will be best if only candidate use it honestly.
             Now coming back to the subject of which material to select, CFA institute states that their survey has indicated average candidates passing the exam needs to put 300 hours of study for every level. So what does this study comprises of? CFA prides calling itself a self study program, and provides every required material along with the course fees. So why one should join a tuition or pay for additional material from external service providers? It i simple because it is personal choice, some people need explicit motivation for studying, these class fit the requirement perfectly. These classes create a peer pressure group which enables a candidate to study hard after a long day in the office. Os for those who needs to have peer pressure group should pursue class room programs. But these program may tend to affect negatively as well, if for some reason a candidate misses large chunk of classes or gets left behind in the study race, he starts feeling negative incentive. He start thinking what is the meaning in studying next one month hard, my friends are already ahead I cannot catch them Even if work hard. this feeling would stop them from making last few efforts which could have been very helpful.
                    So be careful when selecting a coaching institute, it should match your natural pace of studying. If you can get time only on weekends but cannot concentrate for more than 3-4 hours then better look for very long duration class which provides plenty of months spread for study. And then as it is said the coaching class can take you till well, but you need to drink the water.
              For choosing external course material what one should look at. First thing is what is the natural tendency of studying for a particular person. If the tendency is reading for long hours with god habits of studying then probably external service provider is not needed as CFA curriculum is something which will provide every detail needed for the exam. But if you think the syllabus is very large and too repetitive and descriptive then shift to any service provider courses.these books finish fast and frees lot of extra time for practicing the question. But one should be clear that CFA institute never refers to these course providers for preparing the ea papers. So any level of difficulty they may have please select only that material which provides all levels of difficulty.
                For level 1, question bank or list may be very useful as it helps to keep the memory of read articles very fresh and re callable. By this way a candidate can be relived from the feeling of reading it first time syndrome while revising.
          Level 2 needs more of item set type of questions to make candidate comfortable with the format. By the way of solving more of practice paper sets, the familiarity increases.
            We will discuss pros and cons of each of the materials and classes available on the basis of question asked.

EVERY THING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CFA IN INDIA- Part I

In this section I am going to write every thing I know about CFA from my past 4 years tryst with CFA. I am going to write about how one should prepare for the exam, how one should select a tution class for the preparation. what is the status of CFA in India. how much time does it take to study. Why Indians are trying the exam in such a vast number. Every thing under the earth I am goinf to discuss hear. So freinds if you have any specific queries about anything related to CFA preparation shoot a question in the comments section below and I will try my best to answer them with reasonable accuracy and time. 

IS CFA LEGAL IN INDIA

Many people say that they have done their CFA from ICFAI years back and that CFA is accepted all over the world. DO  NOT FALL PRAY to these rumours, the only CFA recognised across the glob is from CFAI US which has won the court battle in India as well as US for the copyright of name CFA.
                            CFA was not able to conduct the tests in India due to differences because AICTE gave a injuction against CFA that it needs the approval from it to conduct the tests in India. CFA had a stand that since its not a technical education body but a self regulated certification course approval is not needed. The matter was pending in front of Delhi high court since 2007. Since technically the matter was prejudiced and  AICTE had not given approval to CFAI it did not conduct the exams in India. But every year court used to decide on case by case whether to allow exams in India or not. Thus for last 3 years CFAI gives option to candidates from India to change the center after the nod from courts.
                  The current development has allowed the CFA stand rectified with AICTE saying it does not have juridiction over CFA exam as it not a technical education.
                    If one takes a closer look to the so called CFA program from ICFAI it has changed substantially from last few years, they tried to make money from the program by renaming it CFA with MS finance. Then converting it only MS finance, and now they do not have any course named after CFA. So what happens with all those student who passed the ICFAI course and are using the CFA degree. Legally all these students are not allowed to use CFA mark as designation. But as I always say CFA is supplimentary exam which helps in enhancing the current skill and position. So for all those people who have really gained the knowledge from ICFAI course and are working in the investment management industry have already gained the precious experience. Nobody can challenge their experience which they have earned not even CFA.
               SO not a reason of worry for all those people who has done their course from ICFAI, but beware prospective candidates, if anybody tries to position themsleves as the real CFA in India then please cross check and verify with website http://www.cfainstitute.org/.
                  For more information on the case between CFA and ICFAI in US court please visit to the following links.
http://www.cfainstitute.org/about/press/release/Pages/01162009_16347.aspx
http://www.cfainstitute.org/about/locations/asiapac/Documents/order_contempt_30mar09.pdf


for details about court battle between CFA and AICTE in India follow the links below.

http://www.cfainstitute.org/about/press/release/Pages/04232012_66112.aspx

CFA Program some MYTH busting- Part II

We spoke about few of the myths surrounding the CFA examination yesterday, lets move to next few myths which needs to be busted before the exam. People say CFA is the door to investment management industry, I have seen manyguys asking questions such as how much salary will I get if I pass level exam or can I apply for Fund manager job after completing the Level I. these kind of questions show navie behaviour of students turning to CFA. CFA is not a magic wand which will turn everything gold in one stroke. Its a regourous four years journey to be undertaken who knows the destination well. Do not jump in to the bandwagon without really understanding what CFA can do for you. One thing is it cannot make you red if you do not know how to read. So if a person do not have the relevent expeience in iinvestment management related field he would not get a chance to anage a fund just after completing all levels of CFA.
                 CFA can never know even if you break one or two standards in CFA standards of ethics. This is one of the biggest of myths. Visit the link http://www.cfainstitute.org/ethics/conduct/Pages/candidate_sanctions.aspx         and read yourself why not to take CFA head on. Those standards are made to follow and they there for some reason. People consider themselves hero by violating the rules and not getting caught. SO if some one is trying to coast you in to violate the standards just ignore him. Do not discuss or collate exam questions and other details after the exam.

CFA Program some MYTH busting- Part I

It happens whenever any program reaches at a height of popularity a hallo starts forming around. it. People start start spreading rumours, these rumours become spread from mouth to ear. The older the program gets bigger the rumours get, turning it into myths. Myths propagate from generations to generations. So people start advising the a aspiring students about CFA institute made a student erase brand printing of eraser he was carrying for exam. 

               Or how a student puked in-between the exams due to huge pressure of the exam. Some of these myths are interesting and they make a good entertainment, but some makes people fool. So today I am going to bust some myths which if spread may be harmful from exam point of view. 

          People say the guy seating next to him studied for only one month before the exam and passed, to make his point another person says a friend of him passed just preparing for 10 days. Yes definitely these may be the Einstein in our world, but let them be themselves, for us mortals studying hard for 4-5 months is the only way to salvation. There is no sure shot way than a hard way. So if you want to pass the CFA exam without dependant upon luck, start studying 3-4 hours a day 5 months before the exam. If next time some body tells you he passed the exam by just studying one day before exam give a hard laugh for being so entertaining, and start studying.

             The next myth is about style of studying, as there is an old saying listen to everybody but do what you feel is the right to do. Definitely listen to advice of people around you who has passed the exam using their own tricks, but always decide on the way which suites you. Some people can study best at night some at the dawn, some can study 8 hours at a stretch, some only 2 hours at a time. Pace your study pattern according to your natural style, don't over do on advice, try different methods before setting on your own. Coaching classes and tuitions are there for peer pressure only but the pressure works best if you have the motivation to do the labours. 

           So if next time somebody tells you a secret trick he discovered during CFA study definitely listen to it, think over it but use it wisely only if it fits in you pattern.

              Have you ever heard people cribbing about losing precious 4 years of their life due to preparation for CFA, or people not able to give time to family due to the preparations. Consider them all as myth, the same way as disciplined investment is the only near sure shot way which makes a man wealthy; Disciplined study over a long time is the only sure shot way to pass the exam without undergoing stress. You need not lose on the enjoyments in the life if study is planned in a disciplined way. Only planning i not enough but implementing is even more important than the planning. Ideally a person start losing concentration and interest in  the study after a certain amount of dedicated study. So no one should sacrifice his 4 years of life for the exam, a perfect fun study and work balance can give the confidence of partying (not the hard partying  ;) ) with friend just a week before the exam. So no need to say no when next time your spouse wants to watch a romantic movie with you a week before the exam.

          So will publish next few myths in the next part of the post.

          

WHAT IS THERE FOR ME IN CFA

He completed his engineering from a reputed college in a city known for educational institutes. After completing engineering got a very good job in a typical IT firm, expert in outsourcing of the technical projects to India. Entered in to the corporate world just after graduation he got a very good chance of working in diverse fields as banking. specially starting from second job he got very good experience in \ analytics implementation for international banking. This gave him the view of huge money in the investment banking, just after completing his second onsite assignment he got a bug of entering in to investment banking domain as there was no future for him in the IT sector.
      Wherever there is  a wish there is path. He tried to enrol for an MBA but leaving the job for 2 years and studying so many ears in college was really difficult for him. So he decide to pursue some certification course which will open the doors of investment management industry for him.
                         And there came the enlightening when he read about CFA . It was easy option for him studying for CFA and passing 3 exams while at the work was not difficult for him. He was very studious in college and knew how to mug up things and pass on the exams. The only difficult part seemed financial jargon and totally different base than a typical maths during engineering.
                      So there was an easy way out of joining a class where these people would provide a training which enables a student to walk on a focused path which guarantees passing in the exams. It was acceptable if he was going to get a chance to enter the investment banking domain where the huge money was waiting for him.
             Now 4 years pass by an average period required to pass 3 levels of CFA exams, he has passed all exams in a single attempts except 1 st level which took second attempt due to finance being totally new area for him. Just after completing 3 levels he gets a shock that he is not eligible for getting CFA charter because his experience is not counted as related experience. When he tries to get a job on the basis of his level 3 pass status, companies ignore him as inexperience candidate. He strives hard makes an efforts and gets a analyst job in a KPO.
                   Now the reality start downing on him, CFA is not a golden key which opens the gates of treasure unlimited. But its just a next step for the people want to move ahead or freshers in the field. By changing the filed he has just destroyed the experience he gained in his previous job and turned to a new sector where he is as inexperienced as a novice. So do not look at the CFA a door opening to opportunities unlimited. Its just a learning ladder which enhances knowledge and competencies of incumbent professionals.

CFA IS IT GETTING DILUTED IN INDIA?

CFA essentially stands for a professional standard which is expected to be obtained by investment management professional wishing to enhance their skills in the field of investment management. But since last decade it has become a synonym with a license to get a job in investment management industry.
                   India a factory where workers for job are manufactured CFA became a attractive designation for the students pursuing MBA from colleges or the engineers in IT firms seating on bench with lot of spare time at hand. The Indian story starts with faculty suggesting students to achieve at least level 1 or 2 during MBA which enhances the chances of getting a good job in finance industry. But in doing all these things they forgot the most important aim of the CFA to provide enhancement to current experienced professionals working in the Investment management Industry.
                Ironically India is fast becoming ahuge market for CFA in coming decade but very less number of the test taker are getting converted in to a full fledged charter holders. Very few are there in a big city like Pune. Many of the students who passed the level 3 exams years back are not able to get the necessary charter is because they lack experience or relevant experience.
                   So why these candidates lack the experience? is t because there is no demand for CFA designation in India or the quality of the designation is not considered u to the mark. The answer for the question is hidden in two facts, one people tend to be ignorant about world not known to them and second every society has inertia and tries to oppose any change taking place.
              So when we say People are ignorant about CFA, we want to say they do not try what does it mean to be a CFA charter holder, they consider it same as any other financial course. So when can this be changed? It can definitely change by educating and advertising the actual rigorous nature of the exams and the basic emphasis of the CFA on ethical investment management practices. As more and more people become aware of the actual meaning of CFA they will stop Advertising " WANT CA/MCA/MBA/CFAs." This is actual a insult for a CFA charter holder where he has been compared with also run designation holders. They do not understand CFA essentially is a global designation.
                For the second problem of inertial of the people, it will change with more and more charter holders demonstrating ethically superior and complicated-ness to the highest standards in the industry. Alumni is something which creates a reputation for any course over the time. So this is the responsibility of current CFA charter holders to pave a way for the future CFA charter holders to climb the net level in the success ladders.
             So I invite all the current charter holder to create a vibrant platform for future CFA holders so the designation can gain the place it deserves.