I decided to go for the June 2008 CFA level one test, due to several reasons:
1) Learning: I am interested in learning more about finance, since it is not practical for me to enroll a formal academic program, nor do I have the discipline stick to my own study plan. Enrolling in CFA exam and learn from the program itself is better suited for me.
2) Basics: I do have some previous training on economics and accounting, no formal courses on finance (financial management) though. I did took other fundamentals such as statistics in college.
3) Recognition (and potential benifits): I believe CFA will bring some credential for a guy like me if he/she wants to be a fund manager, or managing an investments partnership.
In today’s world, people simply won’t hand money to a person without formal finance education and/or investing experience. Although personally I still believe successful track record in investing matters more (vs. education), when I look at fund managers for my 401k 🙂
(picture above: Schweser CFA study guide, from schweser.com)