Mutual Fund Analysts

Certification or Licensing

Becoming certified is a good way to increase your chances of landing a job, earning higher pay, and keeping your skills up to date. Many analysts earn the chartered financial analyst (CFA) credential—especially if they want to advance to the position of portfolio manager. The CFA program, which is offered by the CFA Institute, has three levels of examinations and measures the candidate’s ability to apply the fundamental knowledge of investment principles at the professional level. To enroll in the program, applicants must meet one of the following criteria:

• have completed a bachelor’s program or equivalent program and received a degree
• be a current university student who is within 23 months from completing their undergraduate degree
• have a combination of 4,000 hours of work experience and/or college/university education that was acquired over a minimum of three sequential years and achieved by the date of enrolling for the Level I exam

Other certifications are provided by the:

• Association for Financial Professionals (certified treasury professional, certified corporate financial planning and analysis professional)
• Investments & Wealth Institute (certified investment management analyst)
• CMT Association (chartered market technician)

Some companies require analysts to obtain their Series 7 (General Securities Representative) and Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law) or 66 (Uniform Combined State Law) credentials from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the self-regulatory arm of the investment industry.