CFA – chartered financial analyst – qualifications “dominate” the MBA degree when it comes to jobs in the financial sector, according to a leading business school’s finance professor.Steven Young, head of the accounting and finance department at Lancaster University Management School, said that the CFA is becoming increasingly important for specific roles in the financial sector, including fund management and portfolio analysis.
There has been a huge increase in the number of CFA charter holders, as demand in the Asia Pacific area has helped double the figure in a decade to more than 100,000 today – two thirds of which are in the US.
Business schools have also been trying to incorporate CFA learning into their post-graduate degree programs. A group of top-ranking schools have achieved accreditation from the CFA, after embedding a significant percentage of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) into their courses.
More than 30 US universities are listed as CFA program partners, with programs including Cornell’s MBA program Michigan Ross’ MBA program pencilled in.
Nearly 45 European universities are accredited, with big names such as Cass Business School and ESADE Business School included in the list.
LUMS recently launched a specialist Master’s program which prepares students for CFA Level I, with the help of Fitch Learning, an external specialist in financial education.
Prof Steven said that postgraduate students see a CFA qualification as a “significant advantage” on their CV for finance jobs.
He said that the CFA requires specific experience relating to the financial sector and the type of job that the candidate will be doing. “The MBA is a more general business experience, which is good in many respects but for a career in finance it may be seen as being too broad,” Prof Steven said.
He added: “A candidate with an MBA and CFA would dominate a candidate with just one [of the qualifications].”
He also said that the CFA is increasingly important for overseas students who come to UK business schools. “They’re already at a disadvantage competing with UK graduates, and so the CFA qualification or partial qualification is becoming a signal for overseas students to indicate [that they are] more comparable with a UK graduate,” he said.
Prof Steven said that most of the financial institutions are now putting their junior employees through CFA training.
“For some roles the CFA is probably less important, but for roles involved around fund management, mergers and acquisitions and portfolio analysis, the CFA is becoming really important. I would say it dominates the MBA in the finance sector,” he added.
Student Reviews
Lancaster University Management School
An exceptional educational establishment in the North West of England.
This university has been a fantastic life experience as well as a great academic one. I first decided to go to Lancaster University Management School due to its exceptional business education facilities and have not been disappointed. I recommend the university to anybody that wants to put themselves in a strong position for a career upon graduation.
Student Ambassador
Overall, the instruction is decent, however it also depends on your department. The people are friendly, in my opinion. The sporting events are enjoyable, and there is a good sense of community. Although the city is quite remote, it is nonetheless attractive.
Lancaster University honest review
The education system in the university is excellent especially that of the Management School. The campus has great facilities for students to study and live in a relaxed manner. The students can engage in various activities through the socities.
Great opportunities to think beyond
Lancaster University provides a lot of good opportunities to think beyond.There Entrepreneurship in residence program helps students to meet and seek guidance about entrepreneurship and the challenges.Their Work in progress program help to fabricate your startup idea and further to pitch to the potential investors.Apart from that there are lot of programs like Enactus, guest lectures and guidance from seniors to help and shape your career needs.
They provide lot of opportunities to shape up your employability skills.
A top university in the UK for management science!
If you’re interested in management science studies, Lancaster University is one of the top universities in the UK. The faculty is renowned and have a sterling reputation for research in management science. Candidates specifically interested in Forecasting would find the Centre for Marketing Analytics and Forecasting especially relevant to their field. Besides, the ROI is good as the overall cost compared to other universities is less.
Great university for academia – not great for 'entrepreneurs'
Please keep in mind that my review is nuanced by my expectations of an Entrepreneurship degree :) I came to Lancaster University because it was one of the top universities to have a course in Entrepreneurship. After 4 years in this degree, my most valuable experience has been my placement and not the actual course. The course is heavily focused on impractical elements, which is a bit odd for an Entrepreneurship degree. There are some modules that involve hands-on work but the faculty support for such things has not been great. My course also involved a lot of teamwork which has been fantastic and really prepared me when it comes to dealing with the diversity of opinions. In terms of career prospects, the management school does A LOT to host events, workshops and support sessions to help you build up your employability skills. Although, I wish there was more acknowledgement of SMEs/startups as a viable career option. The entrepreneurship team which is meant to support budding businesses is really stepping up their game with tons of guest speakers, workshops and pitching opportunities. The location is a concern if you're not in STEM, Law or Accounting and Finance. Business requires networking with the broader community. However, for Lancaster students, the best bet is a trip down to Manchester or London. On the flip side, living in Lancaster is much cheaper! Overall, if the purpose of your university experience is to receive top academic education and have great facilities at your disposal, Lancaster is a great choice. But if you want to be in business and entrepreneurship, I would look elsewhere.
