The CFA (Certified Financial Analyst) program requires rigorous and hard work for clearing the exams. It mainly involves study of financial instruments, portfolio management and equity research. Before taking a plunge in this program, go through the following syllabus –
Subjects:
- The subjects are:
o Ethical and Professional Standards
o Quantitative Methods (only LI and LII)
o Economics
o Financial Reporting and Analysis (only LI and LII)
o Corporate Finance (only LI and LII)
o Equity Investments
o Fixed Income
o Derivatives
o Alternative Investments
o Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning - Level I: Focuses on basic concepts in finance. Highest weight on Ethical and Professional Standards and Financial Reporting and Analysis
- Level II: More complex type of analysis, focusing on the valuation of different types of assets. Highest weightage on Financial Reporting and Analysis and Equity Investments
- Level III: Highest weightage on Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning
Exam format:
- Level I: All multiple choice questions where you have to choose one out of three
- Level II: All questions are again multiple choice but they now appear in item sets (usually 6 questions for one item set) instead of singly.
- Level III: Item sets and Essay questions. Essay questions should not really be answered by ‘essays’, rather they should be 4-5 sentence subjective answers like the type we answered while we were in school
Exam difficulty level: Generally, the CFA exam is seen as a tough exam and the passing percentage is usually around 40%
- Of the 3 levels, level I is usually seen as the easiest and level II the toughest
- Candidates not making the mark can retake the test in the next season
Registration body
- CFA Institute https://www.cfainstitute.org/
Fees (do confirm with CFA Institute website for the latest fee):
- One-time enrollment fee: ~$450 (only at the time of Level 1)
- Level I, II and III registration: $600- $1200 per level (depending on if you register early or late)
Exam dates:
- Level I: Generally conducted twice a year on the 1st Sunday in June and December
- Level II & III: Generally conducted once a year on the 1st Sunday in June
Exam Duration: All levels are 6 hours long, split into 2 three-hour sessions each
- Morning session: 9:00am – 12:00pm (Candidates are required to be in the classroom by 8:30am)
- Afternoon session: 2:00pm – 5:00pm (Candidates are required to be in the classroom by 1:30pm)
Materials to bring to exam:
- Admission ticket
- HB pencils (or #2 pencils) and pens
- Eraser
- Calculator – only 2 types are allowed:
o Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including BA II Plus Professional)
o Hewlett Packard 12C (including the HP 12C Platinum, 12C Platinum 25th anniversary edition, 12C 30th anniversary edition, and HP 12C Prestige) - Valid Passport (required item, so do get one if you don’t have one yet)
o Do make sure the name you have on your passport matches exactly with the name on your CFA admission ticket - No type of paper or parchment is allowed inside (even as mundane as the paper lining the base of your pencil box or eraser cover)
- Smart phones or smart watches are not allowed
- Food and drinks are not allowed
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