What is CFA? All you need to know about CFA Program

CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst. Conducted by The CFA Institute, it is globally considered to be a gold standard in the field of finance. It aims to develop skills and acumen to meet the growing demands of society by specializing in areas like financial analysis, portfolio, and investment management. CFA Charter is one of the most sought-after and common accreditations similar to a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Being accorded its coveted Charter is a testament of expertise and top-level skills in investment analysis, portfolio management etc. CFA is also an internationally recognized degree thus giving its members and students all across the world an equal footing. In India, it is considered to be at par with NSQF (National Skill Qualification Framework) Level 9 out of 10 – indication of advanced knowledge and skills. In most other countries like USA, Singapore, Japan – it is considered to be at par with a Masters’ Degree.

Who should do CFA?

We strongly discourage students to enter a rat race just for the sake of earning a degree or certification. This holds more value when the course in question is a highly specialized and demanding one like CFA Certification Course. Finance professionals and firms are trustees of the financial and investment industry. Banking on their expert guidance, clients take investment decisions. Hence, the responsibility at hand is big and powerful at the same time. If you are looking to making a career in trading, investment management, portfolio and fund management, wealth management then CFA is just the right choice for you.

Scope of CFA Exam

It is important to understand the scope of CFA course before jumping into a decision to undertake it. CFA course is divided into three levels namely Level I, Level II, and Level III. Across each of these levels, candidates are tested in the most advanced technical and application skills required to excel in the financial industry. Some of the most famous topics covered across each level are Derivatives, Economics, Alternative Investments, Portfolio Management and Financial Statement Analysis.               

Exams are conducted round the year in an online mode at designated Procter exam centres. Apart from the metropolitan cities, candidates can appear for CFA exams across 16 cities including Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities like Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kochi, Indore. This provides students with ample opportunities to prepare and appear for exams according to their schedules and time needs.

Excited? Seemed to have found the course for your career?

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates seeking CFA Charter, need to first enrol themselves with the CFA Institute for the Level I exam. In order to meet to enrol, a candidate must meet all the below listed requirements:

• Enrolment Requirements – Candidate must have either:
  • Completed a Bachelor’s Program or equivalent program in any field
  • Undergraduate student with maximum 23 months left for completion of graduation* 
  • Cumulative work experience of 4000 hours and/or higher education completed over a minimum time period of 3 years**

*Note: Students must complete their graduation studies before appearing for Level II exams.

**Note: Acquired work experience may not be in the field of investments. Internships/articleships are also accepted, provided they are in nature of being paid.

• International Passport – CFA candidates must possess a valid international travel passport. Owing to its same international standards, this serves as your identification card during exams.
• Attest Professional Conduct Admission Criteria – Candidates must attest a Professional Conduct Admission Criteria to uphold the integrity of CFA Institute’s membership, designations, and exam programs.
• Live in a Participating country – Candidates must not belong to a country that has been prohibited by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (“OFAC”).
  

CFA Exam Windows & Dates

CFA exams are held round the year, with more options available for the Level I & Level II exams. Level III exams continue to be conducted twice every year.

Below are the general available exam windows depending on the level for which students would like to appear:

Within each window, exams are generally conducted over a period of one week to give candidates sufficient choice according to their preference. Typically, exams are held in the 3^rd or 4^th week.

Registration and Exam Fees structure

CFA Institute being a US-based body, requires payment of course fees in US dollars. Candidates will have to pay a one-time enrolment fee of USD 350 (around Rs. 28,000-30,000) to register for CFA exam and Level I exam. This is a non-refundable fee payable to the CFA Institute.

Subsequent successful registration at CFA portal, candidates may schedule their exam for relevant level and window of choice by paying fees of USD 900-1200 (around Rs. 70,000-1,00,000) depending upon the period by which you apply by. Essentially, below are two exam registration periods with exam fees varying considerably:

• Early Registration – Registration typically opens about 10 months before exam date and closes three months later. For example, early registration for May 2023 opened on 9^th August 2022 and closed on 9^th November 2022. All registrations for Levels I & II within this time period costs USD 900 (around Rs. 70,000).
• Standard Registration – Standard registration opens after close of early registration period and remains open till around 4 months before exam date. Registration fee during this period increases by USD 300 for Levels I & II costing USD 1,200 (around Rs. 1,00,000).

Rescheduling Fees: Candidates also have an option to reschedule their examination by paying a rescheduling fee of USD 250 (around Rs. 20,000). Candidates must note that rescheduling date feature generally closes around a month before the actual exam dates.

EMI Options: For candidates registered in India, the CFA Institute has recently come out with an EMI facility as well by partnering with education loan provider – Eduvanz. Candidates can avail this option by selecting the option of ‘Pay by Invoice’ as the preferred method of payment.

Available Exemptions

Almost all self-paced major professional courses have some form of exemptions available for the students to take advantage of. This helps them kickstart their journey from an advanced stage. However, the CFA program currently does not have ay scheme on offering exemptions to students with varying level of academic background, i.e., everyone throughout the world needs to go through the same journey of Level I > Level II and then Level III.

So, do not fall prey to any false rumours on exemptions.

Syllabus in CFA

Now that we are done with registration, let us take a deeper look at the topics that candidates are tested in CFA across each level. Level of depth, application of skills goes up across each level so that by the time you clear CFA Level III, you are an expert in everything related to financial management and advisory.

CFA Exam Pattern level wise

As with most transparent bodies, the CFA Institute too has a pre-determined weight of questions for each topic to be tested across each level. We will know see what candidates can expect in each level of exam.

Level 1 Exam pattern 

Level 2 Exam Pattern

Level 3 Exam Pattern

CFA Level Details

Exam Structure

Each level in CFA exams tests you uniquely to ascertain if you are truly worthy of being regarded as a trustee of financial markets.

Level I

• First session is for 2 hours and 15 minutes having 90 MCQs covering the topics of ethics & professional standards, quantitative methods, economics, and financial statement analysis
• Second session is for 2 hours and 15 minutes having 90 MCQs covering the topics of corporate issuers, equity fixed income, derivatives, alternative investments, and portfolio management.

Level II

There are two sessions of 2 hours and 12 minutes each which consists of 11 item sets across each session. Twenty of these item sets are scored, while remaining two will not be scored.

These item sets comprise of vignettes with 88 MCQs. By vignettes, one is essentially referring to small description of situations formed into a case-study type question. Unlike Level I wherein there is a clear demarcation of topics to be tested in each session, within Level II, candidates can expect random placement of all topics across each session.

Level III

Starting February 2023, there will be two sessions of 2 hours and 12 minutes each which will consist of a total of 11 item sets and 11 essay sets. Each session will either have 6 item sets and 5 essay sets or 5 item sets and 6 essay sets resulting in total 11 item sets and 11 exam sets to be tested in total.

Answers to all questions in Level III will be based on the information provided with the vignette. These item sets comprise of vignettes with 44 MCQs. Candidates can expect random placement of all topics across each session.

Apply for CFA Charter

Candidates must follow below four steps to receive their CFA Charter:

• Pass CFA exams – clear all three levels of CFA exams.
• Achieve qualified work experience – must have at least 4,000 hours of experience which has been attained within a time period of 36 months. Relevant experience must be directly related to the investment decision-making process or producing an output that informs or provides value add to the process.
• Submit reference letters – require 2-3 professional reference letters wherein references would be required to comment on your work experience and character.
• Apply for Charter – apply to become a regular member which will be approved by the CFA Institute, paving way to you earning your Charter.

Career Opportunities

CFA being a renowned professional degree, provides qualified candidates with numerous golden opportunities in their career. Successful candidates can look out for below types of roles:

A: Transaction-based Opportunities

• Investment Banker
• Chief Investment Officer
• Sales & Trading
• Investment Strategist
• Stockbroker
• Portfolio Manager

B: Front Office Opportunities

• Financial Analyst
• Private Wealth Manager
• Investment Consultant

C: Quantitative and Analytical Opportunities

• Equity, Fixed Income Research Analyst
• Risk Analyst and Manager
• Forex Trader
• Data Scientist

Career Opportunities

Some of the biggest employers of CFAs in India are listed below:

• JP Morgan Chase & Co.
• Goldman Sachs
• Citigroup
• Nomura
• HSBC
• United Bank of Scotland
• Morgan Stanley
• Wells Fargo
• HDFC Group
• Kotak Mahindra Group
• ICICI Group
• Bloomberg

CFA average salary in india

Salaries for CFAs is one of the most attractive available in the market. Even CFA Level I cleared candidates can easily look to get hired for jobs. At the same time, the number of years of relevant experience and the level of hiring has a big impact on the total salary. Over time, students can also look to get into the shoes of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Investment Officer (CIO).

Below is an estimate of salaries at various stage of exams:

If you have any further doubts about CFA course or want to check your eligibility, please feel free to Contact VG Learning Destination @ +91 9700000038 or mail us at contact@vgldi.com