Career Focus

If you are good at numbers crunching, specialisation in the CFA (chartered financial analyst) programme may well be the way to go as it unlocks many doors into the world of finance, particularly in the current new era of liberalisation and globalisation.

This is a postgraduate professional programme, which could give you a thorough grasp of corporate and intern-ational finance, investment management and financial services. With their training and skills, CFAs can provide a host of financial services covering money market operations; merchant and international banking services; portfolio management; lease financing; mergers; acquisitions; buy-outs; mutual funds; factoring services etc.

Conducted by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI), located in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, the CFA study programme aims to turn out trained financial analysts and investment managers. The ICFAI programme is available as a distance education course with the added facility of refresher classes in the major cities. The institute provides compre-hensive study material, books, model question and answers and conducts assignments, computer drills, special seminars and simulated tests.

The minimum eligibility for enrollment is graduation or equivalent. An admission test is conducted to evaluate applicants’ verbal and quantitative reasoning capabilities. Professionals such as chartered accountants, MBAs, cost and works accountants and officers in banks and insurance companies and the civil services are exempt from the admission test. The study programme is divided into three components: preliminary, inter and final. The duration of the programme is three years, and can be extended to a maximum of seven years.

The CFA study programme may be pursued in other formats. For instance, by way of the two-year full-time or three-year part-time campus CFA programme. This course is offered in several B-schools such as the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar; Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai; S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai; K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai; Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai; Institute for Technology and Management, Mumbai; International Management Institute, New Delhi; Goa Institute of Management, Panaji; Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani and of course the ICFAI Business School, Mumbai (est. 1995).

The CFA admission test conducted in 31 centres across India in January every year comprises two sessions of three hours each. This test is common to all CFA programmes. Admission to the campus CFA programmes is based on the following factors: past academic record, recommendation letters, personality test scores, admission test scores, performance in interview and group discussion.

ICFAI has a placement network which helps to obtain employment for qualified CFAs. Many ICFAI graduates have set up practice as consultants while some are in academia. With the financial services sector expanding, job opportunities for CFAs have multiplied and salaries range from high to very high, depending on capability, initiative and managerial skills of graduates.

Kamath: booming financial services industry

An electronics engineering graduate of Mysore University, Kamath joined the ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad and completed his postgraduation in 1997 all set to enter the hardcore world of finance. He started his career in Centrum Finance’s Mumbai office and is currently working as a relationship manager in the company’s office in Dubai. "Though recently new opportunities have emerged for CFAs to contribute as business analysts, software specialists etc, the demand for them is predominantly from the corporate finance, banking and financial services industry with the focus on investment banking/ equity research," says Kamath.

For those considering chartered financial analysis as a career, it is important to understand that the work of a CFA is slightly different from that of a CA (chartered accountant) as the latter’s strength lies in accounting skills, whereas the former is trained for financial engineering, though both professionals have common subjects which overlap. Good analytical skills and quick and objective thinking are essential qualifications for a CFA.

Looking back Kamath has no regrets about his choice of profession as it helped him land a job in the industry of his choosing. "The study programme has helped me in various stages of my career in terms of offering solutions to problems, financial structuring etc. As a relationship manager, I advise people on how to manage their investment portfolios. This involves being aware of market trends and the ability to generate wealth for clients."

According to Kamath the future is bright for CFAs as the banking and financial services industry in India is booming. "Opportunities have expanded for CFAs with new players entering this industry and a substantial number of foreign banks and investment bankers shifting their back offices to India. This is a fast-track profession for youngsters with numbers on their mind," he advises.

Indra Gidwani