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Do Indian Companies Hire CFA’s

Hey there! So good to have you back again. Are you planning to do CFA and wondering whether Indian companies hire CFA’s or not? If yes, then this blog is a must for you. We will be covering CFA course details in India, CFA course subjects, and everything related to the CFA course. So, let us get started.

Did you know CFA is one of the most respected certifications in the Finance profession that is valid across the world? Yes, CFA is one such certification that is not for everyone. CFA is an elite program that is designed in a very structured manner and pushes candidates to update their knowledge regularly, which in turn helps in earning additional credits. This is not required for other programs and hence positions CFA charterholders as the most preferred employees for various multinational companies and large Indian companies operating in the Finance, Insurance, Mutual Funds domain, etc.

Coming to the most frequently asked question that is, do Indian companies hire CFA’s? The answer to this question is a very big yes. A CFA charter performs various roles right from Investment banker, Portfolio Manager, Risk Manager, Market Research Analyst, to even private bankers. Not only this, but they do perform other activities such as assisting with various valuation methods, helping in providing valuable recommendations for the products offered, helping in private equity transactions, mergers, and acquisitions, and most importantly, helping in developing relations with new and existing clients for the most important thing that is to raise capital. Another core activity is to review materials with due diligence. Thus, due to the above-mentioned reasons, CFAs are very much in demand in India.

Chartered Financial Analyst Program (CFA®)

To summarize, in short, Candidates with deep knowledge about financial concepts coupled with excellent sales and financial skills are required for raising capital and funds. Thus creating a huge demand for CFAs in India. If this doubt was stopping you from taking up the CFA course, then without having any second thoughts, you must opt for CFA as a future career option.

CFA as a credential has gained a lot of popularity significantly in India after US and China. The percentage of candidates registering for CFA examinations has been growing at 30% year after year, making India the third-largest market for CFA students and working professionals. As per a survey conducted by National Stock Exchange, only 2.3% of the total Indian population has invested in the capital markets. Whereas in the US, the figure is closer to 78%. Now imagine the amount of inflow the capital markets will witness when gradually the Indian population starts investing in capital markets rather than investing money in savings and other assets. It can be easily concluded from this data that there is going to be a very huge demand for skilled financial professionals in the upcoming future.

Bonus read: What are capital markets? Capital markets are nothing but financial markets that bring buyers and sellers together in one place to trade stocks, bonds, currencies, and other financial assets. Capital markets include not only the stock market but the bond market as well.

The highly paid industry, without any guesses, is the finance industry. With the CFA credential, one can easily enter the finance domain. Secondly, the pay may be at par initially, especially in the first few years, but it starts to grow exponentially after reaching a certain level. After having a very rich experience of fifteen-plus years, CFA charterholders can easily earn up to INR 50,00,000 annually in India. The best part about pursuing CFA is that the recognition starts from level one itself. One can simultaneously start working while preparing for level two and level three. As you move up the ladder, the salary also moves parallelly. For example, after clearing level one, one can expect approximately 3-4.5 Lakhs per annum. After completing level two, one can expect around 6 Lakhs per annum. After completing level three, one can earn around 10 Lakhs per annum.

The roles offered by the top employers are mainly in the capital markets. At the initial stage, roles are usually at the entry-level and post you gain the charter, one can expect to secure positions at the mid and the executive levels.

CFA® Program Curriculum

The CFA course subjects cover the following topics:

  1. Ethical and Professional Standards
  2. Quantitative Methods
  3. Economics
  4. Financial Reporting and Analysis
  5. Corporate Finance
  6. Equity Investments
  7. Fixed Income
  8. Derivatives
  9. Alternative Investments
  10. Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning

The CFA charter holders are mostly employed by top multinational companies like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC, Wells Fargo, PWC, etc.

Coming to the CFA course details in India: The CFA course consists of a total of three levels:

Level one of the CFA course includes topics like Equity, Derivatives, etc. These topics become quite essential significantly for creating portfolios.

Level two of the CFA course emphasizes the application of various tools like quantitative analysis, portfolio analysis, etc. This is mainly used for asset revaluation.

The last and the final level focus on Portfolio Management and different other strategies for creating a specific portfolio for individuals and institutions if required.

Acquiring the CFA charter means having expertise in analytical skills, quantitative methods, economics, financial reporting, investment analysis, and portfolio management. Are you ready to be the next CFA? All the best and happy learning.