IMC or SII

[nick_kjaer]

Hi,

I am looking at doing either of these courses but not sure which one would be more relevant.

I want to gain a broad understanding of all aspects of the financial markets, both sell and buyside, front - middle office. Which would you recommend for a more general overview?

Thanks for any advice. Nick.

 

[arabianights]

In one of my regular fits of stupidity, I bought the SII course text (and their website is one of the hardest to use I've ever seen) for the Securities and Financial Derivatives course and to be honest I wouldn't bother, it's aimed at the lowest common denominator and you won't learn anything that helps you trade. If you want the qualification for some other reason then do it, but in terms of teaching you anything helpful it's useless. My understanding from a friend of mine working for a fund manager is that the IMC is the same.

 

[nick_kjaer]

Ok thank you for the information. What course would you recommend then for a general all-encompassing base? The CFA is fairly well recognised I know, but I thought that maybe that's a bit too full-on to attempt straight out of the box and that perhaps I should build up to it by doing some other course first. Thanks for any guidance. Nick.

 

[arabianights]

Why are you doing the course? If it's to learn how to trade then I wouldn't recommend any of them. If it's for career progression I wouldn't have a clue but doubt any of them are of that much use. On the other hand I can give you a "reading list" if you like. It would be rather different from that which most people would give you. As a starter: If you get one book get either"Fooled by Randomness" or "Evidence based technical analysis" and, very importantly, once you have read them get most of their bibliography.