{"text":[[{"start":13.44,"text":"Interest in becoming a chartered financial analyst nosedived during the pandemic. "},{"start":17.907,"text":"Three years on, enrolment for this tough test of investment knowledge has yet to recover fully. "},{"start":22.936999999999998,"text":"Could lay-offs across world investment banking prompt more professionals to seek a CV-burnishing CFA? "}],[{"start":29.53,"text":"Don’t bet on it. "},{"start":30.934,"text":"At least not in the US. "}],[{"start":33.59,"text":"According to new figures, 71,069 candidates around the world sat for one of the three qualifying exams required for a CFA in the first five months of this year. "},{"start":43.394000000000005,"text":"That is up from the 62,488 people who took it in the same period the previous year, but still about a third lower than the number between January and May of 2021. "}],[{"start":54.120000000000005,"text":"Qualifying as a CFA is notoriously gruelling. "},{"start":57.599000000000004,"text":"It requires about 1,000 hours of study. "},{"start":60.367000000000004,"text":"Pass rates average about 44 per cent. "}],[{"start":63.470000000000006,"text":"In the past the CFA was seen as a sure way to get ahead. "},{"start":66.99900000000001,"text":"These days, the qualification is less of a prerequisite for landing a job on Wall Street. "},{"start":72.02900000000001,"text":"Of the 107,000-plus candidates who took the CFA exams last year, only a third were from the US. "}],[{"start":78.81,"text":"Fewer young US finance professionals want to spend all their waking hours on their careers. "},{"start":83.802,"text":"Anecdotally, study leave may be less available. "},{"start":86.907,"text":"Active fund management, a CFA stronghold, is in decline. "}],[{"start":91.94,"text":"Other options abound. "},{"start":93.707,"text":"A Master of Business Administration is a popular, though expensive, choice. "},{"start":98.374,"text":"Tuition for a full-time Master of Business Administration degree can cost north of $240,000. "},{"start":104.467,"text":"Passing all three CFA exams will leave a candidate’s bank balance just $4,000 lighter. "}],[{"start":110.91,"text":"This last point helps explain the CFA’s growing popularity outside the US, especially in Asia. "},{"start":116.977,"text":"China is now the CFA’s biggest market, with India coming in at number three. "},{"start":121.469,"text":"It offers a globally-recognised credential to applicants who may have attended lesser-known universities and lack the means to pursue a MBA. "}],[{"start":129.45,"text":"This leaves the investment ninjas of the CFA Institute with a ticklish asset allocation dilemma. "},{"start":134.904,"text":"Go all-in on developing markets? "},{"start":136.922,"text":"Or spend heavily to bolster the prestigious US cohort? "},{"start":140.289,"text":"Doubtless they know a formula for calculating the efficient frontier. "}],[{"start":144.82,"text":"The Lex team is interested in hearing more from readers. "},{"start":147.987,"text":"Please tell us how useful you think a CFA qualification is these days in the comments section below "}],[{"start":153.14,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/114518-1688537529.mp3"}