CFA

The CFA Institute

In the competitive, rapidly evolving profession of investment management, few achievements will say more about your commitment to knowledge and high ethical standards than earning the right to use the CFA designation.
 
 
The CFA  program was first administered by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA), one of AIMR (Association for Investment Management and Research) predecessor organizations.
In June 1963, after successfully passing the first CFA examination, 268 securities analysts emerged as the inaugural class of CFA charter holders. This distinguished group of investment professionals took an inherent risk of failing an exam that dealt with     subjects on which they were already presumed to be the experts. They put aside their self-interests to establish standards of competence and integrity for the profession of investment management.
 

Nearly 40 years later, the CFA charter has grown far beyond what any members of its inaugural class could have predicted. Since 1963, AIMR, which was formed by the combination of the ICFA and the Financial Analysts Federation in 1990, has administered nearly 400,000 CFA examinations and more than 35,000 investment professionals have earned the right to use the charter.

Course Objectives

Employers understand the dedication that the CFA program entails, which is why they often make the CFA charter an eligibility requirement for seniorlevel positions and, frequently, are willing to pay for their employees to participate in the program. The broadbased curriculum of the CFA program compels you to build a working knowledge of principles across core areas of the investment industry, from portfolio management and asset valuation to derivatives and quantitative analysis. Virtually no other designation within the profession of investment management carries as much prestige as the CFA charter. The employers with the highest number of CFA charterholders are Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse Group, JP Morgan Chase, UBS etc.
 
Devoting three years of your time to earn a CFA charter is an investment, but the effort will change your career in ways that pay dividends for a lifetime. And employers are willing to pay a premium for those who’ve earned the CFA charter.
 
Some of the Benefits that will be earned are the following:
  • International Recognition - Employers and media around the world praise the CFA designation.
  • Credibility - Clients and colleagues regard you with a presumption of expertise.
  • Respect - Your efforts connect you with the prestige of existing charterholders.
  • Competitive Advantage - Employers and clients require professionals who demonstrate competence in implementing international investment strategies.
  • Knowledge with a Global Perspective - A practice analysis is conducted every five years to determine a globally relevant, broad-based curriculum.
  • Connections - When you earn the CFA designation, you’ll join the more than 69,000 charterholders around the world who are active investment professionals with senior responsibility.

Entry Requirements

Fulfill the entrance requirements. You must:
 
  • Have a U.S. bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree, be in the final year of your bachelor’s degree program, or have four years of qualified, professional work experience or a combination of work and college experience that totals at least four years,
  • Meet the professional conduct admission criteria (during the application process, you will be asked to sign statements of Professional Conduct and Candidate Responsibility),
  • Be prepared to take the examinations in English,
  • Sign up for your first exam. Enrolling for the first exam also registers you as a candidate in the CFA Program. Requires one-time registration fee in addition to exam enrollment fee,
  • Basic Entrance Requirements:
              - The CFA program is postgraduate; curriculum in the study program and questions on the  examinations are designed for individuals prepared for advanced level course work,
              - There are no specific prerequisite courses for the CFA program but applicant should have a mastery of concepts typically presented in introductory level- college economics and accounting courses.

Course Duration

A minimum of 3 years is required (1 year per level) candidates cannot proceed to the next level without successfully completing the previous level.
No exemptions are awarded.

Globaltraining delivers a “Block Release System”, accommodating working individuals.
 

Important Dates

Application Deadline:
March of each year. Please note that registration fee varies depending on month application is submitted to CFA institute.

Exam Sitting:
Exams for all levels are held in locations around the world. Level I exams are held in June and December. Levels II and III are only held in June.
  • June - July: Examinations graded
  • Late July: Examination results available online for Level I candidates
  • Late August: Examination results available online for Level II and III candidates

Course Structure

CFA has three levels of examinations. The material covered in the CFA education scheme is designed to reflect a “Body of Knowledge” that keeps pace with the ever-changing dynamics of the global investment
industry. The body of knowledge includes the following general topic areas and are allowed to the three levels as follows:

 

 

Examination Rules

  1. Candidates may not sit more than one level per year.
  2. Candidates must use a specific type of scientific calculator during examinations (for more information please contact the CFA Course Leader, or the CFA Institute website on www.cfainstitute.org).
  3. Examination results are reported as pass or fail (usually two months after the exam session).

 

Download the full CFA leaflet