A Certified Financial Analyst, or CFA, is a person qualified to evaluate alternate investment proposals available to an individual or a company. There is a fiduciary relation between a CFA and his client. A CFA is thus not only a technical expert, but also possesses utmost ethical integrity and would never take a decision that would further his personal interests instead of the client's interest. CFAs are in great demand, and command large paychecks. According to the CFA Institute, a person needs to spend at least four years and put in a minimum of 250 hours of study time in order to obtain this degree.
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds companies deal with buying and selling bonds and securities, and are thus always looking for CFAs to help them make prudent decisions in stock and bond markets. CFAs, being professionally qualified to make scientific and rational decisions about financial assets, play a decisive role in shaping the market policy of mutual funds that have to provide a reasonably decent rate of return to numerous investors. As these companies deal with huge corpus of funds, they depend heavily on CFAs to chart out a proper plan of operations.
Insurance Companies
Insurance companies have huge liquid funds at their disposal. They usually invest such funds in stock exchanges and security markets to earn sizable profits. Such profits allow them to offer more competitive insurance products to prospective clients. CFAs play the role of security analysts and advise the companies on what shares they need to hold, and what shares they need to dispose and which shares they need to buy. As these decisions are extremely vital in making a large profit in stock markets, CFAs are held in high esteem in insurance companies. These analysts provide the vital inputs in making such crucial financial decisions.
Commercial Banks
Leading commercial banks of the world are very much involved in transacting in stock and security markets and other forms of securities that they prepare and transact among themselves. The global economic meltdown in 2008 occurred primarily due to reckless transacting in such synthetic securities. Banks have become wiser, and are now much more cautious about how they spend their funds in financial markets. Top international banks are thus on the lookout for CFAs who are professionally qualified in properly evaluating the actual worth of a particular security before advising their employers on a specific course of action. The high ethical standards maintained by professionally qualified CFAs also add to their attractiveness as potential employees.
Research Firms
All firms involved in researching stock markets and forecasting market trends need the services of qualified CFAs to conduct proper survey, analysis and study of stock trends and market movements. As qualified CFAs possess impeccable ethical standards, these firms depend on them to provide unbiased prognosis of future trends in security markets.
By Steve Jonathan
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds companies deal with buying and selling bonds and securities, and are thus always looking for CFAs to help them make prudent decisions in stock and bond markets. CFAs, being professionally qualified to make scientific and rational decisions about financial assets, play a decisive role in shaping the market policy of mutual funds that have to provide a reasonably decent rate of return to numerous investors. As these companies deal with huge corpus of funds, they depend heavily on CFAs to chart out a proper plan of operations.
Insurance Companies
Insurance companies have huge liquid funds at their disposal. They usually invest such funds in stock exchanges and security markets to earn sizable profits. Such profits allow them to offer more competitive insurance products to prospective clients. CFAs play the role of security analysts and advise the companies on what shares they need to hold, and what shares they need to dispose and which shares they need to buy. As these decisions are extremely vital in making a large profit in stock markets, CFAs are held in high esteem in insurance companies. These analysts provide the vital inputs in making such crucial financial decisions.
Commercial Banks
Leading commercial banks of the world are very much involved in transacting in stock and security markets and other forms of securities that they prepare and transact among themselves. The global economic meltdown in 2008 occurred primarily due to reckless transacting in such synthetic securities. Banks have become wiser, and are now much more cautious about how they spend their funds in financial markets. Top international banks are thus on the lookout for CFAs who are professionally qualified in properly evaluating the actual worth of a particular security before advising their employers on a specific course of action. The high ethical standards maintained by professionally qualified CFAs also add to their attractiveness as potential employees.
Research Firms
All firms involved in researching stock markets and forecasting market trends need the services of qualified CFAs to conduct proper survey, analysis and study of stock trends and market movements. As qualified CFAs possess impeccable ethical standards, these firms depend on them to provide unbiased prognosis of future trends in security markets.
By Steve Jonathan