by Brian DeChesare Comments (65)

The Investment Banking Certification: The Most Useless Idea in the World?

Investment Banking Certification
Since I began writing about the finance industry over a decade ago, there have been a few constants:

  1. The universal obsession with private equity;
  2. Anxiety over networking; and
  3. Tons of questions about “investment banking certifications.”

In theory, certifications seem nice: study for a test, pass it, list it on your resume, and gain a big advantage in the job hunt, right?

Well… not so fast.

Many students overestimate the impact of certifications, often believing that simple exams will make up for a low GPA, an unknown university, or a lack of internships.

Hint: They won’t!

Certifications may give you a marginal boost, but they are mostly a cash grab from companies and individuals who want to exploit naïve students and career changers.

They’re not completely useless, but they should not be your top priority, either.

We’ll cover all things certification-related here, including:

  • The state of finance certifications and why so many have flooded the market.
  • Why certifications mean far less than you think.
  • When certifications can be useful, and why we still offer them for specific financial modeling courses.
  • And the two key rules to keep in mind when it comes to certifications.

The State of Investment Banking Certifications

There has been an explosion in the number of accounting and finance-related certifications offered by companies, online and offline: there’s the CFA, the CPA, the ACCA, the FRM, the CAIA, the CIMA, the CIPM, the IBP, the FMVA, the Series 7 / 63 / 65 / 66 / 79, the SIE, the Bloomberg and FactSet certifications, and more.

It’s an alphabet soup of exams and certifications, and no one seems to know the exact differences.

Then there are actual degrees from accredited institutions, such as an undergraduate degree from a university, a Master’s degree, an MBA, a JD, and a Ph.D.

These degrees and certifications exist because people love to spend money on “education,” even if the return on this spending is questionable.

Plus, if you’re motivated enough to make a run at investment banking, you’re likely to be pretty good at standardized tests already.

Why not take one or two more standardized tests for good measure?

Why You Can’t Become “Certified” to Work in Investment Banking

The problem with all these tests is simple: much of the job in investment banking, at any level, revolves around skills that exams cannot test.

If you want to see examples, take a look at our day-in-the-life accounts for Analysts, Associates, VPs, and MDs.

No exam can prove that you know how to deal with an unreasonable client, settle a dispute among co-workers, or present data effectively.

But beyond the “soft skills,” there’s also a limit to technical skill assessment because there’s no interaction or back-and-forth dialogue with another human.

Think of it this way: if banks trusted automated exams completely, why would they still conduct in-person interviews and assessment centers?

They wouldn’t!

They would stop with online tests and pre-recorded HireVue interviews.

But banks know that any automated test, even one with “advanced AI” (cough), has its limits, which is why in-person networking and interviews continue to exist.

At best, certifications and online tests can be used to weed out candidates: if someone can’t answer basic accounting questions, then there’s no way they’re ready for the job.

But a written test can’t decide between Candidate A and Candidate B when they both have similar profiles and competencies.

So, What Actually Matters?

As we outlined in the article on how to get into investment banking, banks look for a few key qualities in recruits at each level:

  • Undergraduates: Top university, good grades (GPA >= 3.5 or >= 2:1 in the U.K.), a sequence of relevant internships, and something “interesting” that makes you appear to be a human rather than a robot.
  • Recent Grads: Similar, but you also need a highly relevant role after graduation (Big 4, valuation, corporate finance, etc.), and you need to move quickly to make the transition within 1-2 years.
  • MBA Level: Top MBA program, work experience and industry expertise that line up with industry groups at banks, and a “steppingstone role” in the form of a pre-MBA internship or another finance-related job before the program begins.

None of these qualities “proves” that you can perform well, but they mean a lot more than a single exam.

Certifications won’t hurt you, but compared with the items above, they make a marginal impact.

For the roles that we focus on – investment banking, private equity, corporate development, equity research, and fundamental-based hedge fundsthe only certification that is worth spending significant time on is the CFA.

Even there, it’s not that useful for deal-based roles such as IB, PE, and CD.

And if you already have accounting/finance experience, it won’t add much; it’s more useful when you’re making a dramatic change from a completely unrelated field.

The CFA is the oldest and most widely recognized certification in the finance industry, which explains ~95% of its value.

It has almost nothing to do with the day-to-day work in investment banking, but by studying for and passing it, you show some amount of dedication and focus.

But, again, if it comes down to the CFA vs. a 3.9 GPA, or the CFA vs. Harvard, or the CFA vs. a series of private equity internships, the CFA loses every time.

Why We Still Offer Certifications

You might now say, “But wait! You’re a hypocrite. You offer certifications in your BIWS financial modeling courses. How can you justify it if they don’t make that much of a difference? Isn’t that deceptive?”

Good question.

We offer them for three main reasons:

  1. Because university, business school, and corporate clients requested them as a way to assess their students and employees.
  2. So that individuals could test themselves, review concepts, and figure out which lessons they need to learn in more depth.
  3. Because competitors also offered certificates, and we didn’t want to lose sales over something as simple as an end-of-course quiz.

The real value is the “quizzing and reviewing your answers and seeing which ones you got wrong” part, not the paper certificate you receive.

Arguments in Favor of Certifications?

I’ve never heard a great argument in favor of any certification at the expense of a top university, high grades, and highly relevant work experience.

But you could argue that certain certifications may be useful in addition to all those.

For example, in regions such as South Africa and India, there’s a plausible path into IB by becoming a “Chartered Accountant” (CA), completing the training, and then working as an accountant.

There’s also an industry-specific argument for some certifications.

For example, ARGUS is commonly used in the real estate industry, in roles such as real estate private equity, to build rent rolls and project cash flows from specific tenants’ leases.

There’s also a certification available for it, which should not take much time to complete – maybe a few days to a week, depending on your existing knowledge.

If you’re very interested in commercial real estate, sure, you might as well take a bit of time to learn ARGUS basics and complete this test.

Getting this certification does not mean that you will be able to use ARGUS successfully in real life.

However, some firms use it as a filtering mechanism and may assume that you’re not interested in the industry if you don’t know this program.

Investment Banking Certifications: What Next?

I expect that the entire education bubble, including expensive-but-useless-lower-tier private universities and online certifications, will burst eventually.

But until that happens, certifications, exams, and official-sounding-but-dubious “institutes” and “academies” will keep popping up.

So, I would recommend following a slightly modified version of Warren Buffett’s famous two rules of investing:

  • Rule #1: Do you already have the qualities and credentials that banks and other finance firms are seeking (top university/MBA, high grades, a sequence of internships, sufficient networking, etc.)?
  • Rule #2: If not, return to rule #1. If you’ve already done everything in rule #1, then maybe think about a certification that’s relevant for your targeted industry – ideally, one that you can complete quickly (e.g., ARGUS rather than multiple levels of the CFA).

I wrote this article mostly as a public service announcement.

I continue to see people with no real chance of getting into fields like IB or PE incorrectly believing that they can break in simply by getting a certificate:

  • Math, science, and engineering Ph.D.’s (maybe for quant funds, but not for deal roles).
  • 45-year-old plumbers and electricians.
  • Students at non-target schools with low GPAs and no work experience.
  • YouTube and Instagram “influencers.”
  • Mid-level career changers in corporate finance at large companies.

If you’re in one of these categories or anything outside the three main paths above, then your chances of getting in are very low.

And no certification in the world will change that – no matter how much you “invest” in it.

Want More?

If you liked this article, you might be interested in:

About the Author

Brian DeChesare is the Founder of Mergers & Inquisitions and Breaking Into Wall Street. In his spare time, he enjoys lifting weights, running, traveling, obsessively watching TV shows, and defeating Sauron.

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  1. hi sir i am studying in stevens at hoboken near new york.i will graduate masters in computer science,i have interest in investing banking analyst.and i have less grades present now.
    1:there is any solution to get into this field to grab the job.like internships,ceritifications etc.
    2:And i am studying masters in comuter science i will complete after a year, Is it possible to get in finance side?
    your information helps me a lot

    1. I would recommend reading our coverage of how to get into IB and what to do as a university student to win internships:

      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-get-into-investment-banking/
      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-get-an-investment-banking-internship/

      Certifications will not help you much next to high grades, a good university, and solid finance internships.

  2. Hi Brian, I’m Fashera from India, I did MBA in Finance from an unknown Institution and had 3 years of experience as a Research Analyst (did Company profiling for IB firms). Also I did Intern as a Equity and mutual fund advisory from a private Stock broking firm, now I’m planning to take a WSP Financial modeling certification, Am I going on a right way to get a job from IB? Could you please advise me

    1. Certifications are not going to help. The market for IB in India is quite bad, and you don’t have a great chance of winning real IB roles unless you went to one of the top 2 IIMs. See:

      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-india/

      If you already completed an MBA from an unknown school and you already have research experience and equity/mutual fund advisory experience, I’m not really sure of your best option at this stage. My advice would be: “Leave India and go to a market with more front-office jobs.” But if that’s not possible, you might think about boutique banks there or maybe Big 4 firms or something else related to IB that is less competitive than winning jobs at the biggest firms.

  3. Rahul Narang

    Hey Brain,

    I am 30 years old and starting my MBA program (Cornell, SC Johnson) this year. I am an entrepreneur having started 4 startups. Never had any finance related job, experience or exposure. I am looking to switch to IB post MBA. What can I do to recruit succesfully in IB post MBA?

    1. The biggest issue here is that you are going to get A LOT of questions about why you want to move into IB if you already started 4 companies. If they were even modestly successful, you should have so much money that it’s not really worth it to work in IB (i.e., $5-10 million+ or at least $1 million+). I’m not trying to pry or ask you for a number, just explaining how bankers will think about this (even if they don’t state it directly).

      So, you really need to nail down an answer to this question before you do anything else. If/when you have that, start thinking about networking, interview prep, learning the technical side, etc. See:

      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

  4. Miquel Pérez

    Hello Brian,
    I am so unmotivated by the facts you gave here. I’m a spanish engineering student in second year (what americans call sophomore) and I thought of taking the CFA level 1 in my fourth year because I think that could help me getting into IB or, at least, in a MSc. in Finance in a good business school. Right now, I’m very disappointed not only by the fact that you literally said that working in IB is just impossible for me, but also because you said that the ONLY way to enter in IB is by having studied in Harvard or related universities.

    I write this comment because I do not know if you just wanted to create discussion or because you really think that it is impossible for an engineering student (specifically Civil Engineering) to enter in IB, even with a 3.0 GPA from a top 29 university in the subject of Civil Engineering with a CFA level 1.

    1. The point of this article is that if you think about everything you could do to improve your chances of winning job offers – going to a better university or business school, improving your grades, getting better work experience, networking, etc. – earning a “certification” should be near the bottom of your list.

      “You literally said that working in IB is just impossible for me, but also because you said that the ONLY way to enter in IB is by having studied in Harvard or related universities.”

      Where, exactly, was this stated in the article? Your chances are much higher coming from a top university, yes, but it’s not impossible from others. We deal in probabilities, not certainties.

      Your chances are “low” if you go to a university that most banks are not familiar with. But people do get in from this background; it’s just that they need to do more networking and start earlier. We’ve covered this topic dozens of times since I began writing this site in 2007, and I’m actually a bit tired of people bringing it up and acting like we haven’t addressed it. See:

      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-recruiting-timeline/
      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/no-return-offer-investment-banking/
      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/international-student-investment-banking/
      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/last-minute-investment-banking-recruiting/
      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-get-into-investment-banking/

      I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the IB recruiting process, why it starts so early, and what banks are looking for before jumping to conclusions.

      As for your chances: they are not good if you’re planning to graduate from a top 29 university with a 3.0 GPA in a country with a relatively small IB industry (vs. places like the U.K., U.S., or even France/Germany).

      The best way to improve your chances is to complete a Master’s degree at a top university in the U.K. and use that plus some off-cycle finance internships to get in. The CFA might give you a marginal benefit, but it’s not a top-priority item vs. everything else on this list.

      1. Hi Brian, thanks for your useful article! I’m an accountant in a start-up small company and graduated from a QS top 100 university in year 2020. I am currently 25 and have completed ACCA and CFA after graduated. I’m now seeking to switch into IB, but I have no any related internship experience..Could you give some advice on how to get an analyst job in IB?

        1. Please see these articles for some ideas:

          https://mergersandinquisitions.com/breaking-into-investment-banking-accountant/
          https://mergersandinquisitions.com/lateral-hiring/
          https://mergersandinquisitions.com/private-equity-internship-to-investment-banking-networking/

          You normally need a “steppingstone” role in between because accounting is quite different from IB. You can also think about areas like business valuation firms or corporate banking to make the switch.

  5. Hey Brian, thanks for this advice! I was wondering if perhaps something like a certification or ‘proof of ability’ would be more useful for people who have not had the chance to really break into finance generally; I’ll use my case as an example: recent graduate from a non-target state school, double major economics-philosophy and minor in Statistics, with a 3.7 GPA. Unfortunately no internships, but I graduated a year early (so total of 3 years) and with no debt. I live near a decently sized city in the West.

    With this background I know there is little hope of swinging an IB internship/job/anything, but what I was thinking was to acquire and brush up the skills necessary for a general “finance” job/internship and either try and make job switches towards IB after a few years or hunker down, work a finance-related job, and go down the MBA route since I’m pretty confident I could get into a top program.

    In regards to the Certification, my question would be if they are a good idea to shore up/establish skills for people that have little to no experience with them (i.e Econ majors) but still want to make their way into finance. Should a person with my background or similar rely on these courses to establish these skills, or acquire them another way? Thanks so much for your help.

    1. I still don’t think it’s all that helpful. Yes, you might get a marginal benefit from a certification, but if you want to get a good full-time finance-related job, you need to start emailing/calling smaller firms in your area to ask about off-cycle/informal internships (or try applying to big non-finance companies that may not necessarily care about your lack of internships).

      Maybe you can put a bit of time into a certification and say that you’re “working toward it” without actually completing it so that you get some of the benefit without spending hundreds of hours studying (yet).

  6. Yuvashree

    Hey Brian. I’m Yuvashree from India. My question is , would a Masters in Financial Analysis and Fund Management from Exeter help me break into the investment industry in London.
    Important points about my background:
    I have completed CA Intermediate(i.e Two levels of the CA course) and decided to shift course to finance. Right now I’m doing a Junior Financial Analyst internship with a private equity firm as I prepare for CFA Level 2.
    I have completed my undergrad through the distance education from an unknown university route since I was working on CA
    exams full time. But the UGC has declared that a CA Inter would be as recognised undergrad degree. For context I already got offers from Henley, Strathclyde and Herriot-Watt for their Investment Management/finance Masters

    1. Exeter is not normally considered a “target school” in the U.K., so it’s not the best choice. It’s more of a “semi-target,” so if your goal is to work in an IB or investment role in the U.K., you should aim for a better university there.

  7. Md. Ashraful Malek

    Hey Brian,

    What are your thoughts on CFA INVESTMENT Foundation Programme.

    I will be starting my undergrad studies (from a non-target university) next year in the UK , with an aim of landing at BB/EB IBD. As you’ve mentioned that Non-target students need to show relevant work experience on the resume, I am aiming to do a part time ,contract-based jobs at accounting firms ( preferably at Big 4)or boutique M&A shopsin the very early days of my university i.e before the spring weeks .So , would a CFA Investment Foundation Programme would help me to get those kind of jobs in the UK

    1. I don’t have an opinion on it, as I’m most familiar with the traditional CFA. If you want to a non-target school, your time is much better spent on winning internships. If you already have Big 4 and M&A internships, the CFA (any type) won’t add much.

      1. Md. Ashraful Malek

        Thank you so much Brian, for your response . I’ve been following M&I for a couple of years and it has introduced me to the world of high finance, and gave my life a purpose and ambition. God Bless you Brian. I asked this question because of the situation I’ll face shortly.

        I’ll be starting my undergrad studies in the UK next year ( at a non-target university), intending to land a BB/EB IBD FT Analyst. So, in this case, what I can do to raise my chances is networking and relevant work experiences. As for the work experience, I plan to join a boutique accounting firm/ big 4/ boutique & M&A shops from the first year of uni(even before the spring weeks ) as a part-time contract-based. And there are around seven months before I join the uni, and within this time frame, I’ll be working for a boutique accounting firm in my home country.

        So would certifications boost my resume( along with the work experience) for the kind of jobs I’ve mentioned above

        1. I do not think a specific certification would significantly boost your chances of winning jobs/internships in the first place (unless you count something like the A-Levels as a “certification,” which they’re not).

          You may get a marginal boost from something like the CFA, but if you look at the time required to study for and pass it, the time would be better spent on learning financial modeling/deal analysis and networking. Certifications tend to be more helpful for people who decided on finance very late and need “proof” that they know something, not university students who start the recruiting process very early.

  8. Hi Brian,

    Thank you for this post. I am a 28 year MBA candidate in an unknown school, chartered accountant and over 3+ audit work experience in the big four. Currently, I am really trying to see if I can break into IB or PE industry Post MBA and it’s really not going very well. I feel I made a grave mistake by not attending a top business school that would have offered me internship opportunity to an IB firm.

    Please advise on what I could do to land an IB or PE role

    1. Unfortunately, yes, it’s very difficult to get in from outside the top schools at the MBA level. But there are some tips here: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

      Your best bet is to focus on boutique firms with less standardized recruiting processes that might value technical or sales skills more than the large firms.

  9. Hi Brian, thank you for the post. Could you please give me some advice? I belong to one of the categories of people you said have very low chances of getting into IB/PE. Namely, I am a pure Math PhD student with no work experience. I am currently 26, and will be 29 at the end of the PhD. This probably doesn’t sound too good, but maybe the following two things improve my situation a bit:
    1) I am doing my PhD in a top 5 University,
    2) I have a master’s degree in Economics (from an unknown university, in addition to a master’s degree in Math also from an unknown university).
    Would getting the CFA certification, as well as doing some (two/three?) summer internships before I graduate help me to land a top-paid job at 29, or will I always be lagging behind people who entered the industry earlier on, and maybe now have got on to take an MBA and are already VP?
    I am really ambitious and I have always worked my ass off to be the best in what I was doing, but unfortunately for me I am starting to feel like I’ve been running in the wrong direction, since I do not feel enough passion to go down the academic route (even though I like what I’m doing in the PhD) and I also don’t see myself doing a “nerdy” quant job at all (I don’t even know how to code).
    I am open to any suggestions (for eg, I have also thought of doing an MBA after the PhD, but without work experience it is hard to be admitted, and if I were to do some 2+2 program that would mean to finish at 33…). Please feel free to be blunt and thank you for your help.

    1. It’s fairly rare for Ph.D.’s in any field to get into IB, and I think you’d get a lot of questions about why you don’t want to work at a quant fund, other hedge fund, or something more advanced than elementary school-level math (which is all IB is).

      If you want to do this, you will need to get work experience ASAP. The CFA might help a bit since you are coming in without accounting/finance knowledge, but you need off-cycle and/or summer internships to have a good shot here.

      I’m not sure a Master’s would help much since you already have one, and if you complete another one, that might raise even more questions.

      If I were you, I would probably target boutique PE/VC/IB firms that advise or invest in tech or “hard science” companies so you can pitch your math background as being relevant. It will still be difficult, but if you’re really committed to doing this, try networking for these internships for ~6 months and see if you can get results.

      1. Many thanks for the reply Brian!
        Supposing that I succeed in securing some internships and getting the CFA before I graduate from the PhD, do you think that I will have a reasonable chance to be hired directly at Associate level or will I have to start as an Analyst?

        1. It’s unlikely that they will bring you in as an Associate because they usually only do that for experienced Analysts or MBA graduates.

  10. Hi Brian,
    I’m a 35 years old stock broker with 6 years experience and CFA, just passed the bar examination. How do i get into investment banking, particularly corporate finance and M&A?

    1. At this point, you would probably need a top MBA to do it. You are over-qualified for Analyst roles but don’t have the right experience for Associate roles… so either an MBA, find something related to IB but slightly outside of it, or get very lucky with networking.

      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/age-investment-banking/

  11. Hi Brian,
    Thank you for your sights! I’m 29 with 5 years professional experience in Asset Management and a Bachelor Degree in Banking & Finance (grade 5,2 out of 6). This summer, I start my MBA program at HEC Paris, and my objective is to break into IB post-MBA (or during the MBA as an Intern). How high/low do you consider my chances?
    I very appreciate your feedback!

    1. Hard to say without knowing the rest of your profile, but you should have a good shot if you start early and focus exclusively on IB…. see:

      https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

      1. Hi Brian,
        Thank you very much for your fast feedback!
        I just read your article “mba investment banking recruiting process”. My goal is to break into IB in Europe because I will study in France and I have my all network in Europe. I already secured myself an m&a-internship at a portfolio company of middle-market PE-Fund ($700 Mio.) for next summer. However, I’m wonder if..
        1. it’s also possible for me to get an internship from bulge bracket or M&A boutiques such as Lincoln, GCA, Alantra?
        2. how much the described internship above will help me to get into “real” IB post MBA?

        Regarding my profile:
        My experience in Asset Management is mainly related to Institutional Sales Management and strategic Project Management (no corporate finance).. further I did the CAIA few years ago (I’m aware that this isn’t helpful at all :D)

        1. I don’t think an IB or M&A internship will help much above and beyond an M&A internship at a portfolio company of a MM PE fund. You could do it if you want, but it tends to be difficult to work at a well-known bank right before starting an MBA anyway. You don’t need exactly the same IB experience to get into IB post-MBA, just something reasonably close (if your full-time work experience does not line up).

  12. Thanks Brian, for people who are looking to lateral within banking, is it helpful to list out certifications on resume? I.e. SIE,. Series, 79, Series 63?

  13. Hi Brian

    I am 41 and I have been working as a cross-border M&A lawyer for over 10 years both in private practice (top tier international law firms) and in-house (blue chip listed companies). I have lived and worked in a number of countries in Europe and APAC. I would like to transition to investment banking / corporate development. What steps would you recommend I take? Does obtaining a CFA qualification make sense as a first step?

    1. We cover the recommended process here: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/law-school-to-investment-banking/

      But that focuses on junior-level lawyers. I am not really sure of the process for someone with your experience (I am assuming you’re already a partner or close to it). Honestly, you can probably just network around and get in by asking clients because they mostly want your relationships at that stage.

      I’m not sure if the CFA will help much if you’re already at a senior level in law and are going for senior-level roles in IB.

  14. Hi Brian, I appreciate the hard truth and I do genuinely think unless a certification is demanded by employer it is useless doing it. I wanted your advice regarding what path I should go ahead with but before that some points to share with you. I am currently 22 years old I have completed my ACCA (cleared all exams) but still need 2 years of working experience to become a member I also have an undergraduate degree in accounting with 9.6 CGPA out of 10 (or 85% score for better understanding). I have landed a 3-month contract job with EY (one of the big fours) in the audit field due to this pandemic it was difficult to find a fulltime job (will try and get one in valuation) but I hope they will offer before the contract ends. I wish to join the Masters in Finance programme at a top university in London called Imperial college London or London Business school in 2022 in order to break into private equity. So my question is should I either

    1) Study and clear 2 levels of CFA before I join the masters, so it helps me get a scholarship which I really need, and the CFA will also help a little bit in private equity.

    2) Focus on getting a good GMAT score to get a scholarship when applying for universities as the CFA will not be helpful for me in the future if I plan to go in private equity.

    I can only do of them before I apply to the master programme.

    I will in the far future do an MBA from a top business school, but I hope by that time I am already in PE, and the company sponsors me.

    Sorry for the long question.

    P.S I am in India so I will be an international student.

    1. I don’t really understand your question because you don’t have the qualifications required for private equity no matter what you do. You need some type of deal experience first, ideally in investment banking, or maybe in the internal bank at a Big 4 firm or something similar. See: https://mergersandinquisitions.com/how-to-get-into-private-equity/

  15. Hi Brian!
    You’re so right.
    I’m a living example of what you’ve written about. Having a Master’s degree in finance with highest marks, CIPM certificate from CFA Institute, 13-year work experience in private banking and lots of financial modeling and investments analysis certificates, I cannot get a job as a financial or investment analyst because I do not have a practical experience. And I’m from one of the emerging countries where CIPM and CFA certificates are quite rare.
    So, experience and experience only.
    By the way, I considered getting a CFA certificate as well. However now I see that it’s useless unless your employer demands it. I wish there were intern opportunities to get some practical experience for those who are 35-year old :)

    1. Yup, certificates really don’t help that much. You might still be able to get in with an MBA degree from a top school, but even that’s a stretch if you’ve already worked for 13 years. Maybe just continue on your current path and aim for promotions or start a side business.

  16. Hi Brian,
    Thank you for your article, direct and ruthless. The truth hurts but sometimes is needed.
    What would you recommend to an average BSc Economics graduate from South Europe with long experience in commercial banking and Asset Finance in London, in his late 30’s looking to jump into IB or PE? No budget for a prestigious MBA, perhaps ACCA or FRM or CFA? Or maybe acquire skills in data (Python, SQL…)

    1. I don’t think those are viable options at this point, at least not without an MBA, so maybe think about related roles such as corporate banking, and see if you can transition into IB capital markets teams from there.

      1. Regarding training or extra education, what would you recommend to study? Happy to go the extra mile. I have important exposure to Business Analytics.

        1. None of that is going to help because getting into these fields is mostly about grades, work experience, university/MBA name, and networking. Certifications are designed to make the companies offering them rich, not to help you win specific jobs.

  17. Brian, what about for law students wanting to have a leg up in PE/M&A related legal work? I have good credentials and relevant work experience from a top PE firm. Where I’m lacking is my grades. Ultimate goal is to work in big law and one day open my own shop with my brothers who are IB/PE guys. What do you suggest?

    1. OK, so your goal is to move *from* PE into law? Hardly anyone does that, but if you do, a high LSAT score and top law school matter more than anything else. No one cares about the CFA, CPA, CAIA, or C-whatever certification in law.

  18. Muhammad Sarab Naveed

    Hi Brian,

    I am trying to download your free book but it is not downloading. I did fill out all details that required but still it was not downloading. Please help me out.

    By the way, you have tremendous thoughts in this field. No one would tell enough for free like you.

    Thank you so much.

    1. Please email us for a link if you cannot download it here.

  19. Hi Brian,

    Thanks for the wonderful content you create. So much useful information and insight.
    I wanted to assess my chances of breaking into IB and your opinion and recommendations are much appreciated.

    My profile:
    1. I come from CIS region, I am 40 and I have an MBA degree from a top European school with finance and PE path (completed 5 years ago)
    2. 15+ years of experience in commercial banking (sales, customer service, administrative)
    3. 2 years of experience in corporate finance
    4. some experience of valuation, financial modeling as a freelance consultant for small companies or startups

    5. I think of enrolling into one of the top LL.M finance programs because I like that subject and also I think that can increase my chances to get into IB or PE

    What do you think of my chances to get an IB or PE job?

    1. If you want to stay in the CIS region and work at a smaller firm there, it might be possible just because the entire market is more random, and you don’t necessarily need to follow a “path” in the same way as in places like NY and London. But I think it would be challenging to win an IB/PE role in a major financial center because you have too much experience, so they wouldn’t know where to put you. One option might be to win a corporate banking role at a large bank and then try to move into IB from there.

      1. Do you think the top LL.M finance program in one of the major financial centers (like Frankfurt, for example) would make a difference for me? I am asking because I was offered a place recently and have to decide within a couple of weeks.

        Also, I wanted to ask what do you think about roles in project&infrastructure finance? In my view that is a really interesting area as well. Do you have any articles related to recruiting in that industry? or do you think it is the same as for example real estate or PE

        Thanks

        1. I don’t know, banks usually recruit out of MBA and undergrad programs, not LL.M ones. I’m not sure how much it adds if you already have other degrees.

          Yes, project finance & infrastructure is a promising area. We’ve covered it before:

          https://mergersandinquisitions.com/?s=%22project%20finance%22
          https://mergersandinquisitions.com/?s=infrastructure

      2. Hi Brian,
        Thank you for your insights. I am a CA from India working with a Big4 in London as an external auditor. I’m also doing CFA and want to transition into Corporate finance M&A advisory. What do you suggest my approach should be? I am on work visa here so I guess that’s another challenge

  20. Helped a lot! Cheers from Brazil.

    1. Thanks for reading!

  21. No-Name school, terrible grades, no CFA. A quick mind, charismatic attitude, ambitious temperament and a thirst for knowledge and landed a high paying job in asset management. No affiliation with the Ivy League, except when they send me resumes, lol.

    The world is not some fixed, concrete structure. Play your cards right and you can attain it all, even if you are a 40-year old plumber.

    1. Yes… and asset management recruiting is very different from IB recruiting, which is what this article was about. Previous coverage on this site has discussed how AM firms recruit from a wider range of schools, are more open to different backgrounds, etc. But those points are not true of entry-level roles at banks.

      Plenty of people succeed in real life despite having no-name schools, terrible grades, and no CFA or other certifications.

      However, the focus of this site is investment banking and private equity. And in those fields, you are not going to have a good chance at getting in with a no-name school and terrible grades no matter how charismatic you are.

      P.S. Bonus points if you can show me a 40-year-old plumber who broke into investment banking.

  22. Thanks for posting from insider perspective and it’s a very informative explanation about hiring process. It is absolutely right that the standard certificate exams cant filter in terms of the soft skills like how to deal with tough guys or how to perform in high pressure environment but the high gpa undergrad from target school neither can prove any ability like that?? but at least CPA CFA teach the highly related topics while overall gpa reflects good performance in a lot subjects wont be applied to finance industry?? Hire a CFA 3 candidate definitely save a lot of training time. Smart and the real qualified person could have other options especially in the emerging countries, China, India, etc. It’s the silicon valley that keep domestic econ booming in the last decade and their hiring process is pretty inspiring. It’s not reasonable to not hire someone due to the school ranking or he or she didn’t get into some internship early enough. It could be a loss to the entire finance industry especially when software, big data, risk mgm those stem skills are in high demand and integrated into the finance field which means non-stem undergraduate w/o certificates like CFA FRM normally seems underqualified. It’s a tradition of the existing recruitment but doesn’t mean it cannot change?

    1. I’m not sure I understand your question or comment. It is true that attending a top university also doesn’t necessarily mean much about soft skills, *but* the difference is that it takes a lot more to get into such a university (well, barring the college admissions scandal…).

      You can’t just study and pass a single test to get in – you need good grades over 4 years, activities/clubs/sports, recommendations, and so on. So it’s still possible for people to fake their way in, but the chances of a complete misrepresentation are lower than with passing any single exam.

      Hiring someone who passed the CFA doesn’t mean the firm will save on training time because the CFA covers very broad topics but not the specifics of what you do in various jobs. It doesn’t even test Excel skills!

      Banks claim they’re trying to open up the hiring process, but I’m skeptical because there’s too much inertia for the top schools – they hire alumni, promote them, and then alumni bankers from those schools want to hire more people from the same schools.

  23. Deven Garg

    Amazing article and beilive me I am having this thought from past a year because of the experiences I had at interviews with company where candidate with more education applying for the same job position but qualification is something where I think everybody beats up.That could include a mba degree from Harvard, CA or CFA

  24. Hi Brian, thanks for sharing your views on certification and CFA in particular. I’m a recent grad, currently working in the back office operations team at IB. I tried to get an equity research role in either local fund or sell-side with failure, so I had to end up here. But I expect to move out of the back office sometime within the next 6 months if opportunities arise. In that manner, I would of course need to work on my own valuation/pitching project and prep for additional interviews, but I also wanna finish up my CFA next June (I plan to take LV3 on 2020 June). in the next half year, Do you recommend focusing more on my current role, working on my mini project and tailoring stories for future interviews VS. CFA LV III prep that I thought would greatly boost my chance of getting into equity research role at BB, if not other small funds and Boutique?

    1. If you already finished the previous 2 levels of the CFA, which I assume you did since they’re prerequisites for Level 3, sure, list them on your resume. Listing certifications will never hurt you.

      But if you’re asking about the value of finishing Level 3 over the first two levels, it’s almost 0 if you’re trying to make a back office to front office transition. They already know you are smart and motivated and put in the time to learn finance from those first two exams.

      Your time would be much better spent on your mini project, networking, and interview prep at this stage. And just say you’re a “Level 3 Candidate” or something like that.

      1. A bit negative and fear mongering.
        I got into a small PE fund as an associate cause I owned a business and was going to college for an Econ BA at age 20.

        Now I’m 23 and a junior/senior in college, sold the business and started working on all the certifications through a self employment financial management company. My gpa upon graduating should be 3.5 , with a few licenses including series 7, business experience, car sales, and private equity job on the resume.

        What are my blind spots here?

        I’m described as an attractive, thin, charismatic female and have been planning to go into IB for 8 years since age 15 when I started college originally. No trolling and yea it took me a long time to finish this Econ degree LOL. Was originally trying for a Dr. but then I’ve been stalling cause I need to get an internship in one of the big banks.

        What are my blind spots? The college has recruiting from the big 4 banks, is public, but it’s “social reputation” isn’t the best.

        What’s my blind spot or weakness that I need to fix before I loose this shot.

        Also I got past the resume screening at a big 4 but I didn’t take the screening test they sent yet.

        Thanks ur a god

        1. I think the biggest problem is that I have no idea what you’re asking. And communication skills are critical for any of these jobs – especially in writing.

          If your question is: “How can I get into IB / PE with my background?” then the answer is the same as always: school quality, grades, internships, networking, and interview prep. If you already completed a PE internship, that is a good start, but recruiting for IB roles starts very early, and you need to be ready years in advance. If you’re already a senior and you haven’t completed the IB internship, your best strategy is to win an offer at a PE firm, Big 4 firm, valuation firm, in corporate banking, or something similar, and then use that to move into IB as a lateral hire.

  25. Does this apply to the MENA region?

    1. It applies anywhere. Certifications such as the CFA might help a bit more in emerging markets, but they’re still not going to outweigh university name/reputation, grades, and work experience (along with networking to win the actual interviews).

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