Investment management certificate-study advice

Hello everyone,

I am planning to take up IMC exams. Could anyone please advice on the following.

a)How feasible is self study(for someone with finance background) without joining any training course.Will the official training manual be enough to pass the exams

b)If training course is advised, which is the most recommended for distance study(7city,BPP,Kaplan..)

c)How preferred is the IMC qualification for the employers.For those who hold this certificate has it been any easy to fetch a job in the current economic climate.

Thanks.

a) If you have a finance background and are reasonably bright it should be do-able. it's not a hard qualification

b) can't remember which one I did - it was a loooooong time ago (over 10 years now). Think may have been BPP but not sure. And different people I know have had differing experiences with all of them so it's tough to pick a winner.

c) Preferred to what? And what job are you talking about? It's basically an entry level fund management exam. So if you want to be an FX market maker for example it's going to be of very little use. What it chiefly shows is some get up and go on your part (particularly if you self study rather than being mandated and / or sponsored to do it by your employer). Can't tell you for sure how much extra clout it would give you though. Wasn't particularly relevant when I did it - my employer said I should go and get it, so I did. End of story. Was the same for all their FX traders - we weren't actually required to have it by law, but the firm decided we should all get it. Everyone in the history of our firm had passed 1st time so was a bit of pressure, but it wasn't that bad in the end.

GJ

Hi,

Thanks for the above information.

I have been working with financial information services but would like to get into portfolio analysis, investment management job. Would IMC qualification help to fetch a starter job in this field?

Also I am planning to take each unit exam at a time .Please advise ideally how much study time will be necessary for each unit.

Thanks

Hi there,

Like GammaJammer I took my IMC approx 10 years ago. From memory it wasn't too hard but you do need to put the hours in and the key to success is doing loads of practice papers. It used to be a mulit-choice exam. I worked for a fund management company and was told to do it to broaden my knowledge of the industry. I don't think it really qualifies you to do anything however, although it might be the tipping point between yours and another candidate's CV. As GammaJammer said it isn't hard to pass but you do need to study as there is a lot to cover. IMO it is a really good qualification.

Not sure they even exist anymore but I did my course with Hyperion.

Good luck
KJ

Do it all in one go rather than each unit at a time imho (I wasn't aware you could even do it piecemeal - maybe that's a new thing). As for how long it'll take you, that really depends on you to be honest. But it's not difficult (and all multiple choice).

And as a statement of intent if you are attempting to break into investment management I think it's a decent start.

GJ

Think you might have your advisors confused...

I took the IMC in my spare back end of last year. It is very much a foundation level certificate representing knowledge of both regulations and markets which can be learned, crammed and regurgitated in the multiple choice exam. 30 hours should be suffice for this, of course dependent on your memory. The more interesting part is the longer 2 hour 15 exam on investment practice which covers everything from bonds, equities, futures, accounting, economics (micro, macro) etc this would need about 60-80 self study hours. If you are a hard worker do both at the same time, i did mine seperately and found it relatively easy over an 8 week period while working.
Do plenty of past papers and get to the stage of passing 80%+ and you should be fine.
I have heard good things on BPP and borrowed a friends training manual from their course. In relation to taking a course or self study, this is purely based on your motivation to gain the qualification, whether you have discipline to do yourself or want to pay to be spoon fed.
Solid starting certificate for career paths in fund, asset, investment management, and also helpful to gain an understanding in the financial markets, providing you with empowerment for your own future investments, and can give you idea what specific area you would be more passionate about.

Thanks everyone for your inputs...very useful! On going through the syllabus it seems like Unit 1 is more theoretical and Unit 2 deals with valuation methodologies. Could someone please advice on the level of mathematics involved. Also the mathematical questions asked in the exams...are those quite straight forward or tough nut to crack?

Besides I am planning to apply for distance learning course from 7City. Though I intend to take each Unit exam separately, I may enroll for 7city's Distance learning for Full IMC version(cost £365) whereas each unit costs £270 each(very expensive). Has anyone done a course from 7City.Is there any difference with regard to study material for full IMC version and individual unit versions.

Any suggestion will be great.Thanks