What is CFA®?
Chartered Financial Analyst® is a mark of excellence in the finance world. With almost six decades of history, the CFA® Charter is the most recognized credential in the investment sphere. It is the most desirable and now an essential certification by many employers all over the world. The CFA® curriculum equips the successful candidates with the most required skills in the global finance industry.
Who is it for?
The CFA® Certification will be a game-changer for someone who is:
| Working in finance and wants to climb up the success ladder | Willing to switch career to finance but doesn’t know where to start | A Student who has a plethora of options to choose from |
| Develop your skills and enhance your professional status and skills | Give those expensive degrees a ditch! Break into finance with CFA as this is the most sought after certification in the finance world. | Start early and acquire the in-demand skills to succeed in finance. |
5 Steps for becoming a CFA® Charterholder
1. You must have a bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree or your CFA Level I exam must be within 23 months of your graduation month (i.e B.Com, BBA students can take CFA Level I exam in Second Year of Graduation, Start Preparing in the First Year).
OR
2. You may fulfill the entrance requirements with 4,000 hours of qualified, professional work experience or a combination of work experience and education that is accrued over a minimum of 36 months. To qualify under the combination requirement, the dates of education and professional work experience cannot be overlapping.
Follow these two steps:
STEP 1: Register for the CFA® Exam on www.cfainstitute.org through a very easy process.
STEP 2: Schedule for the Exam on (Pick a date , time and location) on CFAI/ Pro-metric Portal.
If you need any help before, during or after registration, just walk into one of the FinTree centers or call us.
We are happy to help regardless of whether you’re a FinTree student or not.
Let FinTree take care of this one!!
We will be with you at every step of your CFA® journey.
Live Classes (In Person or Online), Dedicated doubt clearing session (with Utkarsh Jain, CFA), Videos on Demand, Weekly Test, Mock Exams, Notes etc
Trust us! We have your back!
FinTree is a CFA Institute Prep Provider, you can check our listing here.
Take the three exams from anywhere in the world (Passport mandatory).
Starting from the February 2024 exam, Level I candidates will need to fulfill the Practical Skills Modules (PSM) requirement.
You have the flexibility to select a PSM topic (Python/ Financial Modelling) at any point during your exam preparation period, but it must be completed before the exam results are announced.
Each PSM typically requires 10-15 hours of study time.
The CFA Institute will supply the necessary study materials for the PSM.
- Agree to follow the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
- Pass the CFA Program exams for Levels I, II, and III.
- Have 3 years of qualified work experience (Investment Related, Call us if you need any help).
- Become a regular member of CFA Institute and apply for membership in a CFA member society.
So what are the Levels all about?
The exam consists of 180 questions, divided equally into two sessions, 2 hours and 15 minutes each.
| Level I | |
|---|---|
| What is it all about? | CFA® Level 1 is focused on basic knowledge of the topics and simple analysis using investment tools. |
| What is the exam pattern? | Level I is a MCQ based Exam:
|
| When? | Four times a year in February, May, August and November |
| FinTree Tip |
|---|
|
CFA Exam style is going to be unlike any other exams you have taken
|
| CFA® Level I Exam at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Topic | Exam weigh (%) |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 15 to 20 |
| Quantitative Methods | 8 to 12 |
| Economics | 8 to 12 |
| Financial Statement Analysis | 13 to 17 |
| Corporate Issuers | 8 to 12 |
| Equity Investments | 10 to 12 |
| Fixed Income | 10 to 12 |
| Derivatives | 5 to 8 |
| Alternative Investments | 5 to 8 |
| Portfolio Management | 5 to 8 |
Again MCQ based exams, but this time in a case study (vignettes format).
| Level II | |
|---|---|
| What is it all about? | CFA® Level II is focused on the application of investment tools and valuation techniques for all types of assets. |
| What is the exam pattern? |
|
| When? | Exam is typically three times a year, May, August and November |
| FinTree Tip |
|---|
|
Level II exams are tricky business! You need to be conceptually strong, like very strong! And you need to learn to apply concepts in real life-like scenarios! How? We’ll see this inside the prep course! |
| CFA® Level II Exam at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Topic | Exam weight (%) |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10 to 15 |
| Quantitative Methods | 5 to 10 |
| Economics | 5 to 10 |
| Financial Reporting and Analysis | 10 to 15 |
| Corporate Finance | 5 to 10 |
| Equity Investments | 10 to 15 |
| Fixed Income | 10 to 15 |
| Derivatives | 5 to 10 |
| Alternative Investments | 5 to 10 |
| Portfolio Management | 10 to 15 |
Level III requires completely different skills as compared to previous two levels. Candidates say that It feels almost like a different course all together.
| Level III | |
|---|---|
| What is it all about? | CFA® Level III focuses on synthesizing all the concepts and analytical methods in a variety of applications for effective portfolio management and wealth planning. |
| What is the exam pattern? |
|
| When? | Twice a year, February and August. |
| FinTree Tip |
|---|
|
Essay section in the morning is a completely different ball game. You need to learn to articulate your thoughts and put them on paper within given time. Most importantly, learn to write what they want you to write. |
| CFA® Level III Exam at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Topic | Exam weight (%) |
| Ethical and Professional Standards | 10 to 15 |
| Quantitative Methods | 0 |
| Economics | 5 to 10 |
| Financial Reporting and Analysis | 0 |
| Corporate Finance | 0 |
| Equity Investments | 10 to 15 |
| Fixed Income | 15 to 20 |
| Derivatives | 5 to 10 |
| Alternative Investments | 5 to 10 |
| Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning | 35 to 40 |