A CFA designation is highly valuable after an MBA for professionals seeking specialized, high-level roles in investment management, equity research, or portfolio management. While an MBA offers broad management training, the CFA provides the intense, technical finance expertise that often leads to higher salaries and global career opportunities in the finance sector.
CFA before MBA would be better. Your ideal percentile depends on which stream are studying in currently. If you are GEM you need 99.4+ percentile, else 98+ is bare minimum for tier1 colleges.
Neither the CFA nor the MBA is universally "better"; their value depends on your career goals, with the CFA offering deep investment expertise for roles like portfolio management and the MBA providing broad business skills for leadership and strategy, often through strong networking. The CFA is ideal for specialized finance careers (research, asset management) and is globally recognized for technical depth, while an MBA offers flexibility across industries (consulting, general management) and often higher senior leadership representation, with top school prestige being crucial.
You should go for MBA as it covers the thorough basics of finance, which is extremely important for getting into CFA.
If you aspire to be employed by JP Morgan, ICICI Bank, or an international consulting behemoth like EY, the CFA certification provides that competitive advantage.
Some of the major negatives to attaining the CFA credential are the long time frame for completing the programme, the inability to guarantee a job, limited opportunities to utilise the certification outside of investment-related positions, and the extensive amount of work required to attain the CFA.
The CFA remains highly relevant, especially in investment-driven roles. It's still the gold standard for professionals in portfolio management, equity research, and institutional asset management,thanks to its global recognition and ethical focus.
Even if you decide not to obtain both an MBA and a CPA license, there isn't a “best” or “worst” option. You should choose the path that most excites you. Both an MBA and a CPA will create a number of career options for you, many of which are lucrative. You should go with the passion that drives you.
Three months can be enough time, but typically it takes a candidate at least six months to prepare for the CFA Level 2 exam.
Average Age of CFA Candidates
Although many candidates are in their late twenties or early thirties, the Program has a wide age range. Many begin at 35, 40, or even 50. Some of the most thoughtful, determined candidates are the ones who start later. Experience is not a burden.
The 10th and 90th percentiles were removed from the report because we have added scale scores. Scale scores add more precision to your results interpretation. The 10th and 90th percentiles only provide a comparison of your result against other candidates in the same administration.
A CFA Can Improve Your Salary
And on top of that, CFA candidates experience pay increases after passing each subsequent level, earning an average of 29% more after they pass Level I of the CFA exam and 34% more after passing the Level II exam. So, if you were wondering, “Is CFA Level 1 worth it?” It certainly is.
High Employer Demand – Top companies like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, and McKinsey recruit CFA-certified professionals. With all these advantages, the CFA charterholder is set to be a finance leader.
The highest CFA salary in India can reach up to ₹35 lakhs per annum, particularly in elite roles across investment banks, hedge funds, asset management firms, and leading financial institutions. These figures show the strong earning potential available to CFA charterholders operating at the peak of their careers.
The 7-3-2 rule is a financial strategy for wealth building, suggesting it takes 7 years to save your first major financial goal (like a crore), then accelerating to achieve the next goal in 3 years, and the third goal in just 2 years, leveraging compounding and disciplined, increased investments (like a 10% annual SIP hike). It highlights how returns compound faster over time, drastically reducing the time needed for subsequent wealth targets, emphasizing patience and consistent, growing contributions.