Levels of CFA and its Details

CFA stands for Chartered Financial Analyst, which is a globally recognised professional course, specially designed for the financial market-related subjects like equity markets, derivatives, money management and security analysis. Here we will discuss All level of CFA exam.

It is one of the most prestigious courses in the world, widely considered to be the gold standard in the field of investments. To become a CFA, a candidate must pass three levels of examination and at least have four years of experience in the relevant field.

Currently, in 2020, there are more than 167000 CFA in the world. This course has a huge scope of job opportunities abroad as well as in India.

The eligibility criteria for becoming a CFA is that one should have a bachelor degree in any field, only then you will be eligible for this course.

Level 1 can be given while you are pursuing a bachelor's degree but level 2 should be compulsorily be given after the bachelor's degree 

Let's understand the CFA exam details of each level:

There are three levels of CFA examination.

CFA Level 1

CFA level 1 is held twice in a year ie. June and December. This exam mainly concentrates on the analytical and understanding skills of a candidate. 

There are a total of 240 MCQ based questions. There are two sessions held for the exam i.e. morning and evening, each for 3 hours.

The topics of Level 1 are as follows:

1. Ethical and professionals standards
2. Quantitative methods
3. Economics
4. Financial Reporting
5. Corporate Finance
6. Equity investment
7. Fixed income
8. Alternative investment
9. Portfolio management
10. Wealth planning 

CFA Level 2

This level is held only once a year in June. This exam concentrates on the valuation of an application based concept of CFA.

The topics of Level 2 are as follows

1. Ethical and professionals standards
2. Quantitative methods
3. Economics
4. Financial Reporting
5. Corporate Finance
6. Equity investment
7. Fixed income
8. Alternative investment
9. Portfolio management
10. Wealth planning 

The topics for these exams remain the same as the previous one but there is a lot of up-gradation in terms of concepts.

The format of this level is in the form of item sets or mini-cases.

It focuses more on the application of investment tools and concepts with a focus on the valuation of all types of assets.

CFA level 3

This exam is also held once a year during June. In this level, a lot of concentration is given on the portfolio part of the subject and also the overall of all the levels that include level 1,2,3.

The topics of Level 3 are as follows:

1. Ethical and professionals standards
2. Quantitative methods
3. Economics
4. Financial Reporting
5. Corporate Finance
6. Equity investment
7. Fixed income
8. Alternative investment
9. Portfolio management
10. Wealth planning 

This level consists of essays as well as multiple questions based format.

The exam format for level three is similar as the level 2. There are 10 to 15 essay type questions in the morning session. In the afternoon session, there are 19 item sets. This was all level of CFA exam that one needs to know.

This was All about CFA exam and its levels. CFA is a tough nut to crack but with your dedication and disciplined schedule, you can surely be a successful CFA. I always say one thing to everyone: If you give your heart to what you want, you can achieve anything in this world. Good Luck!