Differentiate between CFP and CFA

For those who are willing to make a career in the field of finance, there are a number of opportunities for the person who is rightly qualified to be so. Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) and the Chartered Financial Planners (CFP) are two of the most coveted finance courses which can be undertaken by the candidates interested in core finance. These two are different from the MBA, where the focus is more on the correct administration of the business and finance is taught from that perspective only. CFP and CFA are more specialized in their course and content than the MBA.


But, since both are coveted, the candidates are often not aware of the key difference between them. To begin with, their names tell the difference prime facie. One deals essentially with planning and the other is more towards analysis and research. The Chartered Financial Planner title can be got after passing the examination conducted by the International Board of Standards and Practices. They give advice mainly to individuals with respect to the way the planning of their finances shall be done in order to achieve their financial goals. It concerns mainly with the retirement planning, stock investing, real-estate investing and other similar avenues of financial planning at the level of an individual. Their role is to deal comprehensively with the planning part with an objective to reduce the tax liability of the individuals as well as to secure their investments.


The CFA is the person who is considered to be a specialist rather than a generalist, like the CFP. The Chartered Financial Analyst title is conferred by the Association for Investment Management and Research after a person passes the three exams. Their role is essentially of the institutional advisors as they offer the advice to various institutions like mutual funds, insurance companies, etc. Their knowledge is of a more specialized nature, focusing on the stock market analysis and likewise specialized financial analysis work. The key focus of their work is on the development and management of the investment portfolios.


If you are willing to pursue any of these courses, you need to ascertain your true interest and inclination. You shall also consider your knowledge of mathematics, since if it is good you can go for CFA which requires better knowledge of mathematics. You can have the option of either working independently or seeking employment with some financial institution or bank. If you are a CFP then the role will be oriented more towards the handling of the clients and offering their expert advice to them. In case you are a CFA, you are more likely to get a back end job where the work is more towards managing the portfolios, seeking the investments in the different areas as per the risk tolerance of the clients.


Since these titles can be had only after the due procedure of clearing the required examinations, therefore complete focus shall be on clearing the exams and also maintaining good ethical conduct and practices since these are highly valued in this profession.

Best reasons for people to get CFP and CFA admissions

The moment people are out of their graduate courses, be in the sciences, arts or commerce streams, there is an element of cloudiness related to making of a career. While the ones graduating from the top management colleges Delhi do not have to scramble that hard for their careers the fight for the others is quite an onerous one. A graduate degree in the present situations is not sufficient to make a fruitful career and climb up the ladder. Therefore, people seek to get their post-graduation done to make a growth oriented career for themselves. MBA and CFP is one of the most sought after post-graduate career choices in India .The finance degrees are the most sought after career choices by the candidates from all the streams. The mains reasons for its popularity are:

There are better career prospects when you do an Certified Financial Planner for the simple reason that you take in the managerial level.  The people expect to open up more avenues for the jobs by getting a qualification in business administration. They might already be working somewhere and might prefer doing the CFP course to climb up the ladder of success and hierarchy more quickly.

2.    Better salary packages: Having a Master degree in the management can mean that you might land up a very handsome salary package. In fact, when people hear the CFA grads from reputed institutes getting hefty salary packages, they are obviously inclined to go their way. So, you can see that the number of students seeking Diploma in finance is growing steadily.

3.    Out of their interest and/or requirement to manage their own businesses: There are so many small, medium and large businesses in India who require professional management. The candidate opting for doing the CFA could be the business owners or their heirs apparent who need to get honed in the art of finance management so that they can direct and manage their own businesses. Even the ones who are willing to be entrepreneurs of the new businesses might first  like to go through a professional course in business administration so that they come to know what all is contained in the art and science of management.

4.    As a mid-career development programme: Sometimes, the organizations provide some of their employees with the opportunity to undergo the mid-career training in certain functional aspects of management. This is considered to be vital for their growth to do some specialised course in finance and CFA from a particular institute.

Therefore, the candidates seek Financial Certification with the aim to getting better employment as well as with the aim to be better entrepreneurs. After passing out of the graduate courses, the students are in a confusion as to whether first do some job and then take up MBA subsequently depending upon your likes of the field in which you are working, or to do CFA first and then take up the job afterwards. There is no established rule to determine what the best course to opt is and therefore, the same depends on the personal choice of the candidates unless the same is mentioned in the eligibility criteria laid down by the CFA Class.

Benefits of MBA Education in India

Some of the business schools of the world are renowned for the quality of candidates that they churn out consistently over a number of years. These very candidates are able to take the positions of significance and importance in the large organizations having global reach. Their faculty, their training and teaching methods, their infrastructure and their global reach gives a very wide perspective to the management of global businesses. In fact, this is what makes them the most famed and sought after institutes of the world.  Some of these institutes are here in India as well. There might be some who are a cut above the rest and there might also be some others which are not that famous but provide quality MBA education nevertheless.

The global corporations are always on the look out for talented people all over the world who are not only capable of managing their operations but also capable of guiding and directing them well into the future. They are actually looking for the people with new ideas, practical reasoning, vision to chart out the course in the future and to make their business adapt to the changing realities so that their relevance is never lost. The business schools in India have produced such promising candidates in the past and that is why these global organizations, while on the talent hunt, also arrive on their campuses. It is not surprising therefore to see that not only the Indians but also the foreigner candidates prefer to take admissions in these business schools.

It is not just the job factor which makes them the most sought after MBA institute, but also a number of other factors that can be summarised below:

1.    Quality of Education: The course curriculum designed by these institutes if future-oriented. Apart from the course material, the nature of training methodology, management exercises and a number of other methods are also used to give practical insights into their workings.

2.     Price factor: This is one of the most important factors why the candidates like to do MBA in India. It is very expensive to get MBA admissions into the other world renowned institutes but in India, the management education can be had at a very less price. Since the fees is quite affordable, there are less hassles in taking bank loans for the same.

3.    Job opportunities in India: Some of the Indian companies having global operations are hot favourites for some of the foreign employment seekers who are even willing to come, work and settle in India. For them, the growth of the Indian economy holds a lot of promise for the future. That is also the reason why many of them want to do MBA in India.

For the Indians, getting the MBA in Delhi can mean that you do not have to leave your family in lurch. Even if at a far away distance, you are still at home.