According to FinancialPlanning, Wall Street's aspiring asset managers need to have stone-cold mastery of skills in valuing stocks and analyzing financial statements in order to earn the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter. 

And while the CFA route has been viewed as a no-nonsense, low-cost path to getting a foot in the door in the exclusive world of high finance, it never has been tougher to pass all of the required three CFA exams, according to FinancialPlanning 

As CFA candidates, on average, take four to five years to obtain their charters, spending more than 300 hours studying for each exam level, some wonder whether the MBA is a better alternative.

FinancialPlanning studied the option. First, the cost difference between the CFA Program and tuition for a full-time MBA is enormous. A candidate can pass all three exams and earn the CFA charter for less than $3,000 while studying around their work schedule. Tuition for a full-time MBA is upward of $140,000 at top universities, including potential costs for room and board, books, and lost wages for two years spent attending classes.

Second, business schools and the CFA Institute regularly pitch the incentive of high salaries to those who complete their curriculum. However, the self-reported statistics do not reveal a clear winner. According to a CFA Society Chicago survey, more than one-fifth of charter-holders are portfolio managers, with bond traders boasting a median total compensation of $213,000 and those inequities earning $251,500. By comparison, the highest average combined salary and bonus among 2020 graduates of top MBA programs was upward of $170,000. An MBA, which includes classes on leadership and marketing, typically offers a wider potential career path than the CFA.

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