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Innovative program equips finance professionals

MBA with Complete CFA Integration leads to two designations at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business
October 4, 2013
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By Joel Barde

Earning a coveted John Molson School of Business (JMSB) MBA degree provides a distinct advantage for those looking to move up in the business world. And receiving a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation can give a real boost to those entering the financial industry.

Thanks to a pioneering JMSB program, students can do both simultaneously.

The MBA with Complete CFA Integration program, offered through the Goodman Institute of Investment Management, delivers MBA courses that fully integrate requirements towards a CFA charter, an exclusive finance credential The Economist magazine calls the “gold standard.”

Ali Abid Recent MBA/CFA program graduate Ali Abid won the 2013 Gold Medal MBA Award. | Photo by: Josée Lecompte

The three-year full time program’s classes are held Wednesday evenings and all day Saturday, giving students the flexibility of a part-time program by allowing them to work while they study. The specialized curriculum prepares students to write CFA exams, which include three levels of intensive tests, each six hours long and based on six volumes of readings covering a range of investment-related topics.

Lucy Wong, the program’s assistant director, says many joint MBA/CFA program students pass all three levels. “Completing the program increases a person’s chances of success. Students receive more than instruction — they get structure and the support of fellow classmates,” she says.

Students are tested throughout the year and attend a prep week prior to writing CFA exams. “They write mock exams and review topics,” Wong explains. “We hire CFA instructors who have written and passed the exams. It’s very structured and intense.”

Wong notes that Concordia’s joint MBA/CFA program was the first of its kind in Canada. It was developed by JMSB in coordination with and through the generous support from Ned Goodman, an investment professional who recognized a demand for students possessing both an MBA and CFA.

That double benefit persuaded Ali Abid to attend JMSB. “I realized the CFA is accepted globally and will open doors wherever I go. I view it as a way to distinguish myself, to develop a well-honed finance skill-set instead of just learning how to manage investments,” he says.

Clearly, Abid flourished. In 2013, he won the $10,000 Scotiabank Fellowship in Finance for having the highest cumulative GPA in his graduating class. He also took home Concordia’s prestigious Gold Medal MBA Award, given to the highest-ranking graduating MBA student. That made him the fourth MBA/CFA program student to win the award in the last six years.

Abid has now landed a plum research associate position in Toronto at the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, an organization that investigates companies’ governance practices.

Balancing MBA studies with CFA exam preparation was a challenge, he admits, but the opportunity to earn both credentials at the same time was worth it. “An instructor can explain a concept to you in 30 minutes that could take three hours to learn on your own,” Abid says. “That’s very useful.”

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