Info : About Chartered Financial Analyst Programme

World renowned Chartered Financial Analyst® Programme offered by the CFA Institute, U.S.A. has set the global standard for education, testing and ethical conduct among investment professionals.

Astute investors know that finding the right solution requires solid professional expertise and hence they often look for the three letters 'CFA' after their investment advisor's name. It's a proof you're working
with a professional who has not only passed the industry's most rigorous examinations, but who also – every year – makes the commitment to put investor interests first.

Increasing awareness about the CFA charter amongst Indian finance professionals and students has led to as many as 4000 plus students taking their level exams this December.

About CFA level 1:

The level one exam conducted by CFA is a pen and paper exam. There are two sessions in all. Both sessions comprise of 120 questions distributed among various topics like Quant, Financial Statement Analysis, Ethics, Corporate Finance, Derivatives etc and are of 3 hours duration. The candidates are graded into 3 categories in each topic <50%, 50-70%,>70%. Although there is no set cut off one should aim for 70% in the heavyweight sections such as Financial Statement Analysis and Ethics. The exam tests subject knowledge and application in detail and thus candidates are advised to practice concepts thoroughly. Given that only 42% of the candidates who appear for the level 1 exam are able to clear it planned preparation and adequate practice are a must, not only does this require hard work it also calls for working smartly. Successful candidates are often found to adopt certain strategies in order to maximize their scores keeping in mind the time constraints that most CFA exam takers grapple with (a minimum of 250 hours of study is officially prescribed). Devising a suitable strategy for yourself calls for a thorough assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, once you have identified these you can easily prioritise your time within various topics; coupled with this successful exam takers also vouch by regular and unbiased practice; not only is prioritising imperative when it comes to learning about various topics, candidates also need to learn how to manage their time during the exam, especially since the second half gets extremely exhausting for many.

It is very difficult for many of us to get rid of our inherent fear of certain topics which typically comprise of Financial Statement Analysis (FSA) and Quant sections of the exam, but regular practice ideally in a simulated exam environment leads to familiarization and eventually enables us to feel comfortable with same. On the contrary it is often observed that candidates become somewhat lax with the less technical topics such as Ethics, which is perhaps the most important section of the exam and end up losing marks purely on account of frivolity. 

Hence, all candidates are advised to think through their study plan and strictly follow it.

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