Help On Picking A Course

I want to be a stock investor. Does the CFA course help me to gain knowledge?

The course content or CFA curriculum is excellent and the self study mode makes it even better. If you are new to the finance world, then CFA is your key to have a broad understanding of it.As far as stock investing is considered, CFA will help you to with the theoretical fundamental analysis. But you need to polish it with real job experience. If you have identified you calling (i.e. to be an equity investor) then:Start reading the CFA L1 books and when you find yourself comfortable then register for it. Remember that it has three levels and is a long journey.Start applying for jobs in relevant profile. On job training is always the best. Don't worry about getting into a big name or hefty package in first go. It takes time to gain revenant skills, build knowledge and been indispensable.Read - about the economy in general, financial news papers, good books, surf over net. This will keep your appetite strong.And importantly, always keep yourself open. If all is good, in couple of years you will be in the right place.

Do CFA courses really help in stock market trading?

Yes, and no…One of my more cynical friends whom is also a charterholder summed up the charter’s effects best by saying “I’m not sure if I’m making more money but I damn sure know why I lost money.”Market trading is unpredictable and volatile in the short term – even if you’re highly knowledgable about the markets and the specific investment, it’s impossible to know future developments and the market’s reaction. That’s why I eshew short-term trading.Because of that being a great long-term investor is as much temperment and humility as it is knowledge – Warren Buffett isn’t a CFA charterholder and he’s widely considered the greatest investor ever.That said, I feel having an CFA does add value. Before you buy an investment you have a thesis why this will outperform an alternative. It is during this deductive process where the knowledge gained during CFA study helps.The CFA knowledge helps you more effectively develop theories, test them, and quickly understand what you got right or wrong and how to proceed going forward.Finally, I think being a CFA charterholder gives you a built-in BS meter. The financial infotainment complex has misaligned incentives as it’s more about clicks and viewership than helping investors, so big personalities and overly bullish/bearish analysis tends to dominate coverage.You can sniff this out rather quickly when a TV pundit is using poor logic (buy this stock because Trump/Democrats/Labor/Conservatives will win the election!), seemingly using an aggressive call to elevate his profile (bitcoin will be at $2 million next year!), appears to care more about his/her sales pitch and appearance schedule than the markets (buy my new book/seminar/trading course!), or only recites repetitive pablum (the growing cadre of behavioral finance bloggers that point out investing mistakes after the fact).When I watch financial pundits, I do look for the CFA designation because it tells me this person has put in the requisite study time. However, I fully understand that doesn’t make them (or I, for that matter) infallable. Maybe they are a great trader, maybe not – but I consider most charterholders financial professionals…and in the long run I’d rather have them running my money than a guy on TV hyping gold and short-term stock picks.

Can stock brokers do CFA course? How does it help in their career?

Yes, anyone can do the CFA course but they must ask themselves 2 questions - (1) What are they doing to do with a CFA certification (2) Can they put in enough effort to pass the difficult theoretical questions that are required for CFA examIf a person is already well versed with concepts of Accounts, Finance, Capital Markets, (in my opinion) he/she doesn’t need to do CFA unless he/she is looking for a job with a reputed multinational firm.Secondly, CFA exam requires lot of preparation to deal with really tough theoretical questions. The pass percentage used to be very poor earlier.In India, a Chartered Accountant is more valued than a CFA for all kinds of jobs related to Accounts, Finance, Capital Markets (though Chartered Accountancy is different from CFA, still it is preferred qualification in India). In US and other countries, CFAs are preferred for jobs in Finance and Capital Markets, while CPAs are preferred for Accounts related jobs.If a stock broker is self-employed and can manage to generate good business, why would he/she want to do CFA? It adds value only in resume / CV.

What is best online course to start on stock investing?

There are wide number of courses on investing but look for course which is a certified program and led by an subject expert. One such course is NSE Academy Certified Equity Research analysis which explains equity research from very scratch and will be a detailed program covering various areas of Equity.Apart from the course, you may also some free resource which are discussed below-You can start with by reading ebooks, blogs or by watching youtube videos if you are looking for free online material.Books should always be the first step. Here are some books on investing with which you can start with-1. The Intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham2. Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter3. The Essays of Warren Buffett by Lawrence Cunninghan4. Buffettology by Mary Buffett and David ClarkApart from books, you can also start with good blogs on stock market investments. Blogs are good source of learning in today’s era where we are so busy with so many work. Reading blogs or articles helps you gain a lot of understanding on the subject and building storehouse of knowledge. Some of the blogs you can start with are given below-a. http://blog.elearnmarkets.com/fu...b. https://fundooprofessor.wordpres...c. https://www.farnamstreetblog.com/d. http://www.safalniveshak.com/Last but not the least comes the YouTube videos, which are a very good source of learning. Here are some youtube channels you may start following-1. https://www.youtube.com/channel/...2. https://www.youtube.com/user/tra...3. https://www.youtube.com/channel/...You may also download elearnmarkets app to view courses in a much simplified manner and has an lot of courses on various aspect of Capital markets.

How digital marketing course will help engineers?

Digital Marketing course can help an engineer in two scenarios:there are some really smart marketing platforms on the market which loads of big companies use for promoting their products. If you intend to work in any of these marketing platform based companies having a good understanding of digital marketing is a huge advantage. Digital Marketing activity in any organisation generates a lot of data and companies are in need to find ways to make sense of that data to improve their marketing activity, a good engineer with marketing knowledge can build platforms which enable these companies to make sense of all this data.If you are an engineer and are potentially looking to start your own tech business in future, it is always better to learn digital marketing. Startups usually do not have budgets for marketing and the founders have the responsibility to build the product and market it as well. Having some knowledge on digital marketing means that it gives you a good base to start marketing your product while you are building it.

What is the best course for a CPA to study?

According to me, the best course is one that helps one in understanding the concepts. Being an international student with no background in US accounting or US tax, I could anticipate the challenges. Moreover, since these courses are expensive and involve a lot of cost so, cost was also a considerable factor for me while picking the course. So, I wanted a course that comes easy on the pocket and gives the necessary knowledge.Another true fact is that no review course can make you pass or fail, our own efforts also play a major role. It has to be a mix of picking the right course, following it properly and studying regularly.I took trials of different review courses, however, I found Crosswalk CPA lectures comprehensive, easy to understand and contain all the necessary information needed to pass the CPA exam. Faculty speaks at a normal pace while explaining concepts so that anyone can easily understand from the lectures. Subtitles in lectures helped a lot in staying connected.The online system is very easy to navigate and hard copy study books and work sheets go well with the online materials. Having smaller focused sections made studies much more manageable and I never felt overwhelmed because of lot of content.Faculty tips on how to solve Simulations and how to weed out unnecessary information also helped a lot while solving MCQs and Sims. The most important thing that always gave me the confidence and helped me stay disciplined was the faculty support for all my queries and doubts.I would suggest you to have a look at the trial classes available and decide on a review course that you think can help you in understanding.