MBA Vs. CFA
Before the advent of the CFA, many investment companies would send some of their best and brightest to business schools on the company's dime. These students would return with a much better general business skill, but not necessarily the skills needed for high-level specialized asset management responsibilities, such as portfolio management. These specialized skills were usually obtained on the job as professionals worked their way up through the ranks. Generalizing, the skills obtained in business school were better suited for employees in more general disciples, such as marketing or general management. The CFA program was devised to provide charter holders with specialized skills, such as investment analysis, portfolio strategy and asset allocation. One way to represent the differences in the programs is that the MBA program is a mile wide and a foot deep, while the CFA program is a foot wide and a mile deep. (To learn more about this designation, read What Does "CFA" Me ...more