CFA PROGRAM – AN INTRODUCTION

Kate Lander, CFA

Head, Education, EMEA

18th November 2014

To lead the investment profession globally by promoting the

highest standards of ethics, education, and professional

excellence for the ultimate benefit of society.

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Educated, ethical

investment professionals

Financial markets that reflect CFA

Institute beliefs

Global financial markets that

serve the public interest

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CFA INSTITUTE PROGRAMS

3

Claritas® Investment

Certificate

Essentials of finance,

ethics, and investment

roles, providing a clear

understanding of the

global investment

industry.

One exam

No experience required

CIPM® Program

Investment performance

and risk evaluation; risk

management; financial

planning; manager

search and selection;

investment analysis; and

client relations.

Two exams

Two years of

professional experience

CFA® Program

Investment decision-

making and strategy;

portfolio and wealth

management;

institutional investing;

and investment analysis.

Three exams

Four years of

professional experience

See program details at www.cfainstitute.org/programs

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CFA® PROGRAM

DEMAND FOR THE CFA CHARTER

Candidate exam registrations

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50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014

GLOBAL MEMBERSHIP &

CANDIDATE REGISTRATIONS

EUROPE, MIDDLE

EAST, AFRICA Members: 23,809

CFA Program

Registrations: 45,328

Societies: 39

AMERICAS Members: 77,004

CFA Program

Registrations: 73,956

Societies: 86

ASIA PACIFIC Members: 19,964

CFA Program

Registrations: 92,373

Societies: 17

+ CFA China

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A RICH HISTORY

Courtesy of Rip Payne

THE MODERN EXAM

THE CFA EQUATION

Bachelor’s degree or in final year of bachelor’s

Level I, II, III Exams

4 years work

experience

CFA Charter

THREE LEVELS OF CFA PROGRAM EXAMS

EXAMINATIONS

Level Format Grading Process Typical Number

of Questions

I

June/

Dec

Multiple Choice Machine graded;

Extensive sampling

240 Questions (120 in

AM & 120 in PM)

II

June

Only

Item Sets cases - 6

related multiple choice

questions

Machine graded;

Extensive sampling

20 Item Sets (10 in

AM & 10 in PM)

III

June

Only

Constructed Response

(essay) Item Sets

Item Sets –Machine

graded; extensive

sampling

Constructed Response

Graded by teams of

charterholders

Variable number of

constructed response

questions

• Level I: 42% (10-year average: 39%)

• Level II: 46% (10-year average: 44%)

• Level III: 54% (10-year average: 53%)

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JUNE 2014 EXAM RESULTS

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TIPS AND MYTHS

TOP 11 EXAM TIPS

1. Start early, create a schedule, and prepare for about 300 hours

2. Use the CFA Program curriculum as your primary resource

3. Study the Learning Outcome Statements (LOS)

4. Practice using end-of-reading question, mock exams, and sample exams

5. Rest the day before the exam

6. Show up on exam day and answer all questions.

7. Listen carefully to announcements and pre-exam day communications

8. Watch your time and pace yourself

9. Stay calm

10.Get the ethics right

11.Tell your friends and family about your commitment to the CFA program

TIPS FOR LEVEL II

1. You may mark up your exam book. Circle or underline important information

in the vignette and write down your equations.

2. Proceed more slowly on Level II than on Level I.

3. Mark your answers on the answer sheet as you complete each question.

4. Each question requires information from the vignette to answer correctly.

5. Questions are independent from each other.

TIPS FOR LEVEL III

1. Use short phrases and bullets. Grammar, and spellings are not graded.

2. If the template is provided, use it. Don’t waste time writing more than is necessary or

providing more items or responses then requested.

3. Focus on the command words. Don’t spend too much time writing an answer.

4. Avoid introducing irrelevant information. Only answer what is asked.

5. State your recommendations clearly and do not hedge or contradict in justifying them.

6. Common abbreviations and symbols are okay, but when in doubt write it out.

7. Show your work when the question asks you to do so.

8. Avoid spending too much time on your areas of expertise.

9. You may circle or underline important information and write down your equations or logic.

10. You may change your answer, but cross out content you do not want the grader to consider.

TOP 10 EXAM MYTHS (NOT TRUE!)

1. The question writers look at what prep courses are saying and test the opposite.

2. The question writer is trying to trick me.

3. Questions that nearly everyone got right and wrong are thrown out.

4. The CFA Program assumes markets are efficient.

5. You must finish the program within a certain time frame, so you must take the

exams in consecutive sittings.

6. A month is plenty of time to study.

7. I do not need to read the assigned curriculum – I already do this stuff at work.

8. A friend’s prep notes from three years ago are good enough.

9. CFA Institute has a targeted pass rate.

10. The minimum pass score is 70%

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CANDIDATE RESOURCES

CANDIDATE RESOURCES PAGE

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CANDIDATE RESOURCES PAGE:

MOBILE APP (APPLE AND ANDROID)

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CANDIDATE RESOURCES:

STUDY PLANNER

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• Allows users to track their

progress

• Uses topic area weights

• Dynamically adjusts

CANDIDATE RESOURCES:

PRACTICE TESTS

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• Topic-based exams

and mock exams

• Track your score

history

• Unlimited access and

dynamic

SOCIAL MEDIA

Twitter ̶ twitter.com/cfainstitute Facebook ̶ facebook.com/CFAInstitute LinkedIn ̶ linkedin.com/company/cfa-institute

Sina Weibo (China) ̶ e.weibo.com/cfainst Seeking Alpha ̶ seekingalpha.com FT Alphaville Long Room ̶ ft.com

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CFA Institute maintains an active and growing

social media presence on:

BLOGS

Enterprising Investor

Market Integrity Insights

www.blogs.cfainstitute.org

• Written by subject matter experts with deep industry knowledge

• Expert analysis and perspective on economics, emerging

markets, derivatives and more…

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