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• CFA Institute is based out of Charlottesville, Virginia• Formerly known as AIMR (Association of Investment Management and Research )• Global, Non-profit organization• Nearly 108,000 members world-wide• Leads the investment profession globally by setting the highest standards in ethics,
education and professional excellence
• Globally recognized gold standard in investment management• Global in design and outlook• Rigorous broad based intensive self study graduate level program• Benefits include:
• International recognition and competitive advantage in job market• Solid knowledge base and skill sets• Respect and Credibility• Connections – over 95,000 charter holders across the globe!
• CFA Charter consists of :• 3 Exams also called 3 Levels• Sequential program: Candidates have to pass Level 1 before Level 2• Self study driven, based on reading assignments designed by the CFA Institute
• Level 1 : Foundation • Focus is on the knowledge of the Investment Tools
• Level 2 : Valuation• Focus is on understanding of the Asset Valuation techniques
• Level 3: Application• Focus is on Portfolio Management
• Exam Type• Level I is 100% multiple choice• Level II is 100% item set• Level III is 50% item set, 50% essay• Exams is conducted in two sessions of 3 Hours each (Morning and Afternoon)
• Eligibility• Graduate from any discipline• Final Year students may also register to give the Level I exams• No Work Experience requirements for appearing for the exams• Minimum of 48 months relevant experience to receive charter
• Current & Application driven• CFA Program is developed by practitioners. At the end of the program, candidate
should be ready with knowledge and skills required to perform professional responsibilities such as constructing a portfolio or conduct valuations independently.
• Global scope and Opportunity with global firms:• CFA Program is global in scope and not country specific. Candidate should be in a
position function in markets across the globe. This further opens up job opportunity.
• Life Long Learning Program• Once a student acquires a CFA, then he/she can access all of the materials developed
over time from CFA website such as videos, research articles, conferences etc.
• Regulatory Waivers• The Monetary Authorities in Singapore, Greece, Turkey, Hong Kong, Thailand, the
United Kingdom, and in seven Canadian provinces• U.S. SEC grants blanket exemption for CFAs from passing licensing examination.
• The work performed by a CFA can be extremely challenging and rewarding in
monetary terms and in terms of professional satisfaction.
• The areas where a CFA can use his skills are: • Security Valuation • Portfolio Management• Investment management• Venture capital management• Credit rating • Corporate Finance• Risk Management• Financial Management • Business Analysis• Operations Analysis• Analytics• Consulting• Project Management• Information Technology
• An increasing number of employers worldwide are requiring the CFA charter (or at least participation in the Programme) for hiring and promotion
• An increasing number of employers worldwide are substituting the CFA charter for graduate degrees when establishing job specifications.
• Employers with largest number of charter holders• Bank of America Merrill Lynch• Barclays• Morgan Stanley• Citigroup• Prudential • Goldman Sachs• J P Morgan• Deutsche Bank• Credit Suisse• Fidelity Investments• Northern Trust• State Street
• Most of the above firms have their offices in India hence providing attractive employment opportunities for the CFA candidates
• Contact classes on Sunday• In each class key concepts and problems will be discussed• Around 50-75 questions per topic area will be given as home work• Candidates are expected to complete the homework before the next class• Online sample test for each topic area to be completed by candidates• Interactive and collaborative environment
• High Quality Content• Class handouts and notes which focus on key points • Homework assignments (in total more than 1500 problems)• Topic wise mock tests with feedback for improvement• Full length offline tests – Detailed analysis & comparison • Recorded CFA Level 1 videos from Dr. Jayanta Sen, CFA, PhD• Pre-class video content• Review Notes – Condensed notes for review
• Hard Work• All of us are employed, but to grow in our career effort is required• 10 – 12 hours of work per week is the minimum requirement• CFA Institute recommends 250 hours of preparation – In our view you
would need around 400-500 hours for preparation
• Planning• Identification of strength and weak area topics by weight• Master the area that carry higher weight and excel in easy topics
• Review the concepts covered in class• Focus on what the instructor is stressing, read the concepts• Get your doubts covered in class – no doubt is silly• Work in a team to understand the difficult and tricky area
• Solve exam questions• Fully understand the concepts and their application to problem solving• Without solving questions, it is very difficult to pass CFA
• Practice makes man perfect!• Complete the online sample examination• Take 2 offline tests to ensure that you are geared for the grueling 6 hours• Take CFA mock exam paper