My Personal Educational Goals

I have set out a 6 year educational time-line for which I want to complete a number of objectives.  Immediately, the skeptic in most people come out when they here 6 years.  Most people can’t stick to a 2 week diet, so that is understandable.  However, if you understood the nature of the finance industry and some of its more prestigious goals, you wouldn’t be all shocked to hear someone mention a 6 or even a 10 year educational goal layout.  Consider the fact that the minimum amount of time to achieve a CFA designation is 2.5 years.  However, the Level 2 and 3 exams are only offered once every year.  Which means to achieve the 2.5 mark, you have to complete Level 1 In December, and Level 2 6 months later.  This is usually a takes most people don’t have to much luck with, though it’s not impossible by any means. Furthermore, the CFA requires at a minimum, 4 years of related work experience.  So just for one program, and three letters you need to complete three extremely hard exams and have 4 years work experience.  Putting it all together you are likely to spend 3 – 4 years completing this program, assuming you don’t fail any of the tests which is highly probable that you will (pass rates are 35% and falling).  This is just one designation, although a very respected one at that.  What if you wanted two? Why would you want two?  Well, without getting into a whole post about the importance of educational diversification, lets just say two is better than one.  We don’t have to argue about not enough experience anymore, since most respected programs require minimum work experience of 2 years and up.

This is the best way I can put it.  If you understand how hard it is to obtain a CFA Charter, with all the requirement, how impressive would if be if a person, while obtaining relevant work experience had both the CFA and another equally difficult designation.  What about a person with three.  Would you say this person was knowledgeable? Able to manage strict time constraints, deadlines and projects while achieving multiple objectives? I would say an individual who is under 30 and has a CFA charter among other credentials and experience is a very talented individual indeed.  My opinion aside, I plan to follow a sequantial path to obtain a broad array of educational designations so that I am able to move between job functions within a company and gain practical experience ina variety of financial functions.

My 6 year plan is a little to detailed to put down here, so I will go over the first two years, and list the remaining designations in bullet form.  Year one involves completing of the introductory courses Canadian Securities Course (CSC) and Client and Practices Handbook (CPH).  This qualifies me to be registered as an Investment Adviser, if I so choose.  Also, the CSC is one of the prerequisite courses for both the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and the Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) designations.  The CPH is both a regulatory requirement, and a prerequisite to the Fellowship of CSI (FCSI).  So in two short courses that are minimum requirements for entry into the financial services arena, I have also satisfied some course requirements for three separate designations.  If you do some in-depth research, you will realize that a lot of these courses are linked together across different certifications.

In June of 2009, I will write my first CFA exam, which I foresee as being extremely difficult.  After the CFA exam I have a short 6 months to complete the Wealth Management Essentials (WME) course offered by CSI as well as the WME – Financial Planning Supplement offered by the CSI.  The combination of these two courses with the CSC qualify me to write the Certified financial Planner final examination in June of 2010.  After June of 2010, I will be writing either the CIAI, or FRM exam in December.  Series 2 and three follow the two consecutive June’s after that.

Other designations I am looking to obtain over time:

• Ch.P
• CIM
• DMS, FCSI
• CAIA
• FRM
• MTI – Taxation Program

Of course, we are looking at 6 – 8 years before I have these, but if you can dedicate yourself to a long term goal much like post grads do for med school, you can achieve a highly impressive combination of education and experience. I am also aware that a plan is only as good as the actions supporting it.  I am also aware anything ambitious or above what the next guy is doing in a highly competitive industry such as this, will be frowned upon and judged.  Which I am fine with, as completing a plan like this is not an easy task. For me, personally, I think those who are willing to work for the opportunities presented to you, will be able to realize benefit above and beyond those who just settled for the norm.  Just my opinion, and it is, like everything else, likely to change and evolve over time.  I hope this post has been helpful in understanding my approach to continuing education in my career, and possibly given you some insights into your own goals and objectives.

Good luck,

Steve