Skip to main content

FRM vs CFA: Battle of Financial Certifications


For all the students going for International Finance Certifications, it is the most common point of debate whether to go for CFA or FRM or both. Both certifications have international recognition and offer a wide range of enriching and rewarding career prospects. This is where the question arises "CFA vs FRM: Which certification to go for?"

CFA Certification


The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA® Program) was originally intended for equity analysts working in the investment banking sector. Over a period of time (since its inception in 1963), its scope and importance has been recognized to the level where the CFA Program now is often compared to Masters in Business Administration (MBA).

It has become one of the de-facto certifications that a professional graduate goes for when trying to target some specific positions in the investment and banking industry.

Career Prospects and Roles as a CFA charterholder:
  • Portfolio Managers
  • Fund Managers
  • Risk Managers
  • Financial advisers
  • Private bankers
  • Consultant
  • Research Analysts
  • Accountants
  • Chief Executives
  • Auditors
  • Hedge fund Research
  • Investment Banking
  • Investment Management
  • Relationship Manager

Eligibility Criteria for CFA exam:


A bachelor's (or equivalent) degree or be in the final year of your bachelor's degree program


Four years of professional work experience (does not have to be investment related)


A combination of professional work experience and education that totals at least four years (part time experience not counted).


FRM Certification



The Financial Risk Manager (FRM®) certification was originally intended for candidates who wanted to pursue the profession of a risk manager in financial institutions.

With increasing business competition and rapid changes in the finance industry, businesses require professionals who can manage risk, money and investment efficiently. This has raised the importance of Financial Risk Management and thus given this certification a recognition which it deserves.

Career Prospects and Roles as an FRM charterholder:

  • Chief Risk Officer
  • Senior Risk Analysis
  • Head of Operational Risk
  • Director
  • Investment Risk Management

Eligibility Criteria for FRM exam:

No educational or professional pre-requisites required to sit for either part of the FRM Exams


Minimum of two years of full-time professional experience required in risk-related profile.


FRM vs CFA comparative analysis


The course contents of FRM and CFA Program also vary a lot from each other. The CFA Program covers more on financial analysis, ethics, asset valuation and portfolio management, whereas FRM covers more topics on risk, valuation at risk, models of risk, credit risk and so on. There is some common overlap between these two courses which are areas like credit derivatives, hedge funds, fixed income, basic statistics, risk/return metrics and correlation.

NOTE: The areas which do not overlap are as diverse as the careers they cater to.

Head-to-Head comparison


FRM
CFA
Conducted by
GARP
CFA
Exam Parts
FRM Part 1 
FRM Part 2
CFA level 1 
CFA Level 2 
CFA Level 3
Fee (indicative and overall)
FRM Part 1 - $650 to $950 
FRM Part 2 - $350 to $650
CFA Level 1 - $1080 - $1660 
CFA Level 2 - $1070 to $1650 
CFA Level 3 - $1060 to $1610
Pass rate (Approximate)
40% to 45%
35% to 42%
Exam Months
May/Nov
June/Dec
Relevant For Candidates looking for jobs in
Banking, Risk Management, Financial Institutes
Research, KPO, Investment banking
Course Stucture:
Emphasis on
Quants,derivatives, Portfolio Management, 
Market Risk, value at Risk, Credit Risk, Operation Risk & Basel
Quants, FSA, Ethics, 
Economics, Corporate Finance, Equity, Fixed Income
Kind of Qustions Asked
Multiple choice questions
Multiple choice questions
FRM vs CFA Salary (Average)
US - $70,000 
India - INR 5,00,000
US - $75,000 
India - INR 6,00,000
EduPristine Official Course Provider
Yes
Yes


"Happy learning"

Comments

  1. Unknown25 June 2015 at 08:09

    Grt mr.D ...this is a good field for management aspirants. Liked the way u explained it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dushyant Sharma25 June 2015 at 08:18

      yes , indeed it is ... thanks for your appreciation :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Hey !! Speak your heart below ....

Popular posts from this blog

Big Boss: Nothing but a pointless show with a stupid host

In the midst of the Sushant Singh Rajput death case and the nepotism debate, people have decided to boycott Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss 14. Salman has been bearing the brunt of these trolls ever since he has shared the first teaser. In nutshell the show is nothing but a bunch of loosers who were kinda popular for a very short amount of time for one or the other reason! Dhinkchak Pooja.. seriously?  Salman - Host? Nope! Favouritism Moreover, the host of the show, Mr. Salman Khan is a very judgmental person, and he expects and wants everyone to respect him, and if one doesn't, we can see list of people who went on record to say how Salman destroyed their careers!!! Well, Salman thinks that he has the right to pass judgment over those people, and is surely biased when it comes to making his judgemental remarks. Big Boss - Negative | Negative | Negative It might have been entertaining for many people but have you ever thought that what value does it add to your life? What are...
Post a Comment
Read more

RAISE YOUR PAW :- #StopYulin2015

Many of you might be wandering what’s this Yulin festival all about. Peeps, Over 10,000 dogs every year in southern china are tortured alive, skinned alive, boiled alive, even cut/stabbed and then been ultimately eaten. This `festival` is not a festival as the name suggests, The Yulin Dog Meat Festival is, contrary to what many might believe, not even a tradition. It was initiated only in the 1990's by the corrupt looking to find a way to profit off the selling of lychee. Perhaps you might be wandering why the slaughter of Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and all the Fish don’t get so much of focus too , guys the case here is not of being eaten and killed but the Dogs are killed for the "pleasure" of taste and "diversity" of meats. These animals are tortured as much as possible, deliberately. They are skinned alive, and then they are cooked alive. Again, let me repeat that the torture is deliberate. In fact, it is the entire point of the dog & cat me...
2 comments
Read more

Going Global: Will ‘One Brand’ approach will share the equity of #Coca-Cola?

From '#Open Happiness' to '#Taste The Feeling' ,#Coca-Cola has taken all it`s four sub-brands Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life under one umbrella. No more company is going to market them separately ,back in march 2015 company took a pilot project in UK ,and calling it a 'success’, company decided to take it globally. To support the changes, the soft drink brand has worked with four different agencies – Mercado-McCann, Sra. Rushmore, Santo, and Oglivy & Mather New York – and will launch 10 TV ads across 2016.Campaign begins with the global TV spot ‘Anthem’, which shows Coca-Cola’s impact on social situations such as ice-skating with friends, a first date, a first kiss, and a first love. CMO Marcos de Quinto said that the ‘One Brand’ strategy will provide consumers with ‘more choices’ as the brand aims to promote responsible health choices in light of global calls for a crackdown on sugar. adding on He further said "So far our s...
Post a Comment
Read more