Derivatives fundamentals course question, knowledge, overall

pogo

Hi all,

I have a question for the Canadians who took level 2 and have taken (or have knowledge of) the CSI's Derivatives Fundamentals Course (DFC). I just took the level 1 and, while I feel confident overall, I found my weakest area to be derivatives. Given that this area grows in level 2, do you think it's beneficial for me to take the DFC this summer as a prep for the l2?

Thanks!
GG

LorrinCFA

This course will not help your resume unless you are going into the retail side.

If you are looking to work on the institutional side, like magicskyfair said, his credential is pretty mch useless, unless you work on the retail side.

The two times I see this as being a useful course (and I have worked in Toronto on the retail side, and now institutional) is:

1) you need to get licensed (trade options and/or futures)
2) you want something (Derivatives Market Specialist, CIM) to put on your wall to add credibility in the case htat you're either new to the industry, or you are new AND young.

The return on investment is terrible for this particular course if you don't need it for 1) or 2).

chunty

Thanks all - great advice. Not looking to pad my resume beyond the CFA!

busterbluth

magicskyfairy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Conclusion: The CSI courses are about a milimeter
> deep vs the CFA's mile. Any overlap of material
> will be a very light, not so helpful skim.


very true! I work at a bank in Toronto.. and the only reason I did the DFC OLC and FLC was to look good on the resume.

It's definitely helped with getting me interviews and what not..... but in terms of te material and difficulty itself, not at all comparable to the CFA

SFoyil

The DFC will prepare you very well for the CFA derivatives...The CFA derivatives section is hardly anything at all!!

Analyze_This

Do the courses if you want to pad your resume; both the options one and the DFC courses go towards the Derivatives Market Specialist designation (need 5 courses, i forget which other ones).

I don't know much about how well that designation is viewed in the industry. I imagine some HR types seeing it on a resume and being impressed, then forwarding it to the portfolio managers who see it and then shrug their shoulders and say "meh. what else you got?".

cv4cfa

I'm working in toronto, and I see the CSI courses as a nice way to fluff your resume with credentials/education that sound impressive, but are not actually very difficult to obtain.

In terms of the actual learning that results from those courses; and even the derivaties/options courses specifically... I'd say they will be marginally helpful to you with respect to the level 2 cfa exam. I've taken the following courses:
- Canadian Securities Course
- Investment Management Techniques
- Portfolio Management Techniques

And this earns me the Canadian Investment Manager designation. sounds fancy, right? reality is, it can be earned in about a month and a half of study, and no work experience is required. Each one of the courses above is about 1/20th the work to complete as any one of the CFA levels (if that).
The designation looks good on a resume tho, and it shows some ambition, so that's why I did it.

Conclusion: The CSI courses are about a milimeter deep vs the CFA's mile. Any overlap of material will be a very light, not so helpful skim.

Carson

i would only take one of the two courses, or both for that matter, if i am required to take them for licensing purposes. Not to prep for CFA L2.

Chuckrox

Thanks Iginla and Wangz - of the two do you think that the Options course would be more beneficial?

ruchita

Iginla2010 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you are planning to take it only as a prep
> course for L2, don't bother. It's a different
> story if you are required to take it for work.
>
> It will help you but won't be enough for level 2,
> esp. not the swaps portion.
>
> You should also look into their (CSI) Options
> Course if you have spare time, if not the L2
> curriculum is pretty good itself.

Totally agree... DFC and CFA are in totally different league...

Although I think DFC may be important if you want to work in the industry in Canada, because certain jobs requires you to be licensed.