Ok guys... let me make a contribution, CFA is not anything close to an MBA the difference is commonly captured by the anology CFA is a foot wide and a mile deep and MBA is a foot deep and a mile wide. CFA test some derivative but not enough, Msc in finance and Phd in finance do not cover enough derivative either unless you take Standford PHD finance, the rest are a couple of finance and economic classes. The mail program that covers derivative is Master in finance engineering if you want enough derivative you can get it in that but again the cost is absolutely over the roof, the cheapest school is maybe Illinois institute of technology, Chicago around $35k a year otherwise top quant schools charge around $80k to $120k. I took Msc Finance engineering from University of Michigan in 2007 and the fee total $70k, The good thing in going to these top programs is that signing bonus alone can cover the loans you took to pay and average salaries for the first years top $90k with 100% placement rates in most quant schools but if you wanna get to these schools you need to have an impressive resume coz most applicates have masters and phds in hard science like engineering, Math, Economics, computer science and finance together with impressive work experience and CFAs.

@CapitalMarketsGeek well, what you are saying is that the CFA program does not in itself cover derivatives well enough? which aspect of derivatives does it not cover well? because unlike the CFA course it is Professional as opposed to the Masters in financial engineering that is academic.

Aspects such as distressed securities,commodity markets insurance weather and energy derivatives, are adequately covered in the CFA program.Moreover the sensitivity analysis of options hedging and portfolio insurance are tested in greater detail with a case study approach that matches no other investments and securities course world over!

Te CFA program has an investors approach factoring in emerging issues,the international tax environment and equips its students with skills of how to effectively perform the functions of an investments professional.

in light of the above though a Masters in financial engineering is an excellent degree in the finance field, the creativity and dynamism matches no other.

Emlyn..
I from the way you defend CFA, I can tell you probably a CFA or heading there, well I am a CFA, I have been for just about a year now. Like you said, CFA is a very unique program and most prefered by the investment professionals and I agree, CFA is bigger tha MS in Finance and is bigger than PhD in finance in my own view but a MS in finance engineering is a whole different program that was designed to solve financial problems that ordinary finance programs like CFA and MS finance and ordinary quant programs like math,finance math, statistics, software engineering, computer scie could not answer. Ms in finance engineering is an hybrid program design specifically to solve derivative problems( the most complex area of finance), so its by far better than any finance program in finance quants related areas i.e Derivatives coz thats what it was designed for. The markets also value MS financial engineering high than CFA and MBA combined this is shown by the average starting salaries for MBA and CFA with average around $60k a year and MS financial Engineering averaging around $80k with additional signing bonus averaging around $30K. Again CFA is a great program, I wouldn't have enter into it if I didn't think so but CFA alone cannot push anyone to a higher level considering the competition and how some MBA schools have responded to threat by CFA by teaching off the CFA programs!

http://financialeng.engin.umich.edu/careers.html
Look at 2007 employment statistics for University of Michigan program

boy oh boy! mba courses in kenya have become a fad every one seems to be doing an mba in strategic management,or in finance or in project management. I have read the info and the msc in fin engineering looks pretty good!. but can it be contrasted to an msc in finance? as far as course content and coverage?

I tell you guys that CFA is not something to just contrast with the british charterd institute for securities and investments (cisi) Or any other investment course.

click on the link below for a unit by unit past paper exam

http://www.secinst.co.uk...9848780&url=Diploma

To become a cisi is also involving but Compared to th CFA? NO the hell way!

check out my post if anyone is interested in msc in finance from Kemu or KU or ckick the link below

http://www.ku.ac.ke/scho...p/programmes/graduate/31

check out the coverage for the charterd institute for securities and investments(syllabus)vide the below link.

http://www.secinst.co.uk...8780&URL=syllabuses

The variety seems wider than the cfa course

Emilyn..
I look wide to me, but I don't know the depth of it, one unique thing about CFA is the depth of its exam. Again it could be deeper than CFA but as long as the market doesn't value it deaper than it doesn't matter.... The courses look more operational to me, CFA is more decisional.

Merchent......
What I can tell you is, yes some hedge funds are founded by people with less credentials but these people have one thing that you cannot learn in school, charisma, our down fall is when we start chasing people and comparing ourselve with people with this unique chararistic, the earlier we realise that we might not be these unique people the better since we can concentrate on building those abilities that we have that can be complemented with these people's abilities, remember that all these gifted pple hires the best minds to work behind the scence and they pay them good. Yes I can join any hedge fund manager no matter how less educated they are as long as my best interest is served and yes I work for an Hedge fund/ trading firm but not in Kenya.
..You being a Prop trader, is a great thing, I know some prop traders who trade millions of thier own capital and if you're those kind of prop traders, you don't need no ones advise, but if you're a young man out of college with no much capital, you might wanna try to first find a working and profitable trading strategy, once you do that, call some of the big prop traders or trading firms and if they think you can make money for them they will hire you and you can trade their own capital that is every trader dream! Good luck

Emilyn...
You asked the difference btw MS finance and MS financial Engineering, the difference is the quantitative nature of the program, MS finance tries to mimick cfa exam, most of them teaches off the CFA program, MS finance is also offered under business school and follows the less quant nature of business programs. MS Financial Eng, on the other hand if offered by college of math or college of computational science or college of engin and expect every entering student to have a formal programming course equivalent to a complete two to three semester programming courses beyond C and an equivalent to a Minor in Mathematics( most engineering and computer scienc student qualify for these while Business student don't have enough maths in their program). In short it is impossible to succeed in the program if your undergraduate is from a business school you don't even get admitted unless of course you got you undergra from a business school and went back for more math and programming.