r/cfaindia

where can I intern as a cfa level 1

how to land an ib internship in mumbai & what skills are needed

completely NEW, pls help out

Hi everyone! I feel that there are a lot of questions and queries regarding a lot of things. Also there is some sort of CFA bashing going on. Please ask me anything you feel like and I'll try my best to answer it

A little about me - 23M, 2.8 YOE, Bachelors + CFA, Salary - 16+ LPA.

My observation - Folks from Tier 2/3 colleges have been drinking this kool-aid that CFA is the ultimate panacea which your profile requires.

This is a message for the students who are just about to enter your undergrad from a Tier 2/3 college, or just graduated from such an institute and feeling helpless - Please don't fall for the CFA trap if your financial position is already stretched. It is not a magic wand, please don't be misguided and also don't misguide your gullible parents who might be thinking of it as some kind of a placement guarantee course. The entry level market is already tight, new boutique funds and IBs are looking to automate a lot of their processes and analytics which used to be done by an analyst. There are 1000 Cr AUM AIFs being run by an Investment Team of 6-8 senior professionals, with barely 2 analysts in it.

CFA is a very good certification to have but not for everyone and definitely not for you if your profile is already weak. Please optimize for your and your parents hard earned money, don't fall for snake oil sellers who want to peddle their agenda by marketing their prep courses.

How will a recruiter react to a CFA L2 vs NISM certificates (like the useful ones) will he actually be different for both?

Hiii

I want to break into finance preferably in equity research or private equity

I graduated this year in Bcom Hons from Delhi University

I have cleared CFA level 1 and started preparing for level 2

I also did an internship in finance and marketing which was really mehhhh

I did ratio analysis for IFL and HDFC insurance but with the help of AI in my internship coz my instructors did not teach anything

They were only focused on Marketing profile where I had to get investment for their insurance policy of some bank

So now practically I don't have any real exposure and experience and knowledge to how to do actual work in this domain

Just the theoretical knowledge from cfa level 1

I'm already graduated this year in May so this is my gap year currently

What should I do????

I cold e-mailed some companies for finance roles but did not get a reply from anyone

I'm feeling stuck

What should I do besides already preparing for CFA level 2 for May 2027 attempt??

Coz I really need something alongside with it right now

What should I do????

Please Guide.

After Lecture, Is two months enough for CFA Level 2 prep. Starting tomorrow and targeting November 2026 exams?

Background

Chartered accountant.

Long time lurker, first time posting something like this. Saw a lot of "CFA vs MBA" threads that are either sponsored-sounding or written by people who dropped their job to do one of these full-time. I did neither — kept my job through both, so figured I'd add that angle.

Quick background: cleared CFA while working, now finishing an MBA in Finance (part-time) from a decent-but-not-ISB/IIM-level college. So this is genuinely a "CFA vs MBA" comparison, not theoretical.

CFA pros:

Way cheaper than any MBA, even the average ones

Content is brutal but genuinely useful — equity research, fixed income, portfolio management, ethics — stuff you'll actually use if you're in markets/IB/research

Globally recognized, doesn't matter which "college" since there's no college

You can 100% do this alongside a job. It's designed for working people honestly. 3 levels, self-paced-ish

CFA cons:

Zero brand/network effect the way a top MBA gives you

No campus placement, no peer group pushing you into new industries

Doesn't help much if you want to pivot into something like general management, marketing, ops

Recruiters in India still don't always "get" what CFA means outside of pure finance roles

MBA (avg college) pros:

The tag "MBA" still opens doors HR-wise even from a mid college, especially for internal promotions or lateral moves

Case studies, group projects — more well-rounded than CFA's pure technical depth

If it's part-time and low-effort enough, you can coast through it while working (which honestly is both a pro and con)

MBA cons:

If it's not a top-15 in India, ROI is questionable — placements are weak to non-existent, brand doesn't move salary needle much

A LOT of the syllabus overlaps with CFA if you've already done CFA (I found half my finance electives redundant)

Cost isn't as low as people think for the actual value you get back, unless it's a cheap distance/online mode

My honest take: if you're set on markets/investing/research — CFA gives more skill-per-rupee, hands down. MBA from an average college is more about the tag and slight credibility bump for internal moves, not a life-changing ROI event like a top-tier MBA would be. Doing both while working is very doable — neither actually demands you quit your job, contrary to what a lot of career coaches on IG will tell you.

If you have scrolled till here maybe drop a follow to:

https://www.instagram.com/sakshamtandoncfa?igsh=ZXdrMGZ6ZDA0Mjll

Hey everyone, I'm looking for a CFA Level 1 study buddy in Pune! I've completed my MBA in Finance and am gearing up to start my CFA journey. It would be awesome to connect with someone who's also preparing for the exams. Having a partner to discuss concepts and stay motivated would be a huge help. Let me know if you're in a similar boat and interested in teaming up!

I am going to start my third year as an engineering undergrad but I barely have any interest in it and even if I get any placement, I don’t think I would be able to survive much there. I am looking to pivot my career in core finance(equity research, portfolio management and all that). There are few options I can find for now, MBA from a good clg or CFA. I would have to take up a loan for MBA as most of our savings are gone in Btech but I can manage CFA somehow. I don’t know whether my profile is appropriate for a tier-1 MBA or not. Here are my acads-
94 and 96 in 10th and 12th and 8.86 in Btech(Tier 3) till now. OBC NCL and Also have NISM 8 and 15 certificates. Looking forward to your suggestions and advices!

i am doing b .com from a local collage but i am studying for cfa along with is it worth it give me some suggestion i am genuinely confused and should i join a coachhing for it or self study or online course will be good?

i always had interest in investment banking and private equity but i ev seen ppl say its not worth it idk why i come from a middle class general family my father works in private sector i was an average student i also chose commerce because i was stupid and i am sure i won't be able to do CA. MBA only done from good collages is worth it bcom n bba are worthless even from good collages nowdays i thought of doing cfa but people are now saying its not good so did i just made a mistake from beginning and what should i do now pls help

I am currently in tier 1 iim (blackism) and have done economics honours as my undergrad. I want to have a career in finance. I am a fresher so I had few doubts

1)Can Cfa level 1 or 2 help me land a good finance job in iim

2)If I prepare 2 hrs every day and 3-5 hrs in the weekend will I be able to give cfa level 1 in November

3)Also any tips during my preperation

Any suggestions

Hello everyone, has anyone here signed up for CFI FMVA certification at 12k price that's available for Indians? My doubt is whether there are any curriculum changes from the USA version. I want to know if the curriculum is the same and it's just a pricing difference, and also if you all can share reviews and whether or not I should go for it. If there are better alternatives available, please share those as well. Thankyou.

Today I was randomly scrolling the reel and I found this finance girl on my feed making an instructional video on how to ace the CFA exam. She literally starts the video out loud with: "Today I will tell you how I scored full marks in ethics." It was splashed all over the caption, too.
The peak irony absolutely blew my mind. Step 1 of teaching Ethics: immediately violate Standard VII(B) (Reference to CFA Institute, the CFA Designation, and the CFA Program) in the first five seconds of the video. As we all know, the Institute never releases exact numerical scores or "full marks" per topic; you are only permitted to make factual statements, like indicating that your performance was above the 70% threshold block.
I dropped a polite, professional comment pointing out the Standard VII(B) violation just to give her a friendly heads-up before the compliance flags started flying. Guess what? She immediately deleted my comment but left the video completely intact.
Since the line is hardcoded right into her audio, she clearly chose to sweep the warning under the rug rather than take the video down and lose her engagement. Talk about playing with absolute fire under the nose of the Professional Conduct Program! 💀

I am 24F. Was fortunate enough to break into VC. It’s a small fund in India.
Since I am just a beginner, I want to develop good conversation skills.

It’s been a week since I joined. I was fascinated with how everyone is so charismatic. Though all of them are twice my age and they got good at it with experience I would love some insights as to how to make my personality stand out. What hobbies should I pursue? What media do I consume to make myself smarter?(Substack/YT/newsletter/book recs).

Also could you also drop in your reliable media for start up news (deeptech fund). I read Inc42 currently.

My exam is in November lvl 1 i have a confusion should I make notes (it’s very time consuming and boring) or should read from schweser and mark imp and focus on doing question because I m making notes for last 5 sub- fsa,quants,ai,ci,eco I filled 2-3 copies problem is that how I’ll gonna revise all that what to do pls help