Jamaica M.

De Lara
BSBA FM-2A

Overview
The CFA charter is a 3 stage exam, that covers many areas of finance. The exams are
administrated by the CFAI (CFA Institute) written globally twice a year for Level 1 (December
& June) and once a year for Level 2 and Level 3 in June. Each exam is 6 hours long, split into a
morning and afternoon exam of 3 hours each. Exams are normally written at 9am - 12pm / 2pm -
5pm. To be eligible for the charter, apart from passing all the 3 levels, individuals must attain 4
years of experience in Finance Industry.

Historical Pass Rates

Exams have been administered since 1963 and as membership growth increased, the pass
rates have fallen steadily to a low of 35%, 32% and 46% for Level 1 (2005), Level 2 (2004) &
Level 3 (2010) respectively. Since those lows, pass rates have slightly increased with an upward

trend.

Level 1 Overview
Cost: $450 One-time Enrollment Fee, in addition to an Early ($700), Standard ($1,000),
or Late ($1,450) Registration Fee.
Level 1 is offered twice per year, once in June and once in December.
The Early Registration period for the June 2020 exams ended on October 2, 2019; the
Standard Registration period will end on February 12, 2020; and the Late Registration period
will end on March 11, 2020.
 December 2020 exam registration is now open, Early Registration period will end March
25, 2020; the Standard Registration period will end on August 19, 2020; and the Late
Registration period will end on September 9, 2020.

Current Exam Format

Duration: 6 hour exam time, one three hour AM session from 9 am to 12 pm followed by
two hours break and then another three hour PM session from 2 pm to 5 pm
Question Format: 240 multiple choice questions with 120 per session. There are three
answer choices per question.

New Computer-based Exam Format (after December 2020 exam)

Duration: Two sessions, AM and PM, each session consisting of 90 questions in 2 hours
15 minutes.
Question Format: 180 multiple choice questions, computer-based test. There are three
answer choices per question.

Topics Covered
There are 10 topics covered in the exam, below are the topic areas and their
corresponding weights:
Topic Area Weight
Ethical and Professional Standards 15%
Quantitative Methods 10%
Economics 10%
Financial Reporting and Analysis 15%
Corporate Finance 10%
Equity Investments 11%
Fixed Income 11%
Derivatives 6%
Alternative Investments 6%
Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning 6%
Topic Changes
Each year, select readings from the curriculum are removed and replaced. This allows for
the subject matter to stay up to date with the current practice of finance and has altered these
topic area weightings over time. As the readings and content are refreshed annually, after several
years there will be a material amount of new concepts introduced. Typically, the change year
over year may be manageable for those hoping to save on prep cost, though after several years
some information may be stale and ones time may be better spent reviewing the CFA Institute
material that is provided with the registration cost.
Preparation
 Materials become available once the previous years exams results have been released.
With the registration fee, an eBook along with an online study resource including study
resources, a large question bank, and mock exams. The eBook may be purchased in print for an
additional $150. For the 10 topics covered there are 19 study sessions across 57 readings
containing 3,295 pages of study content. 300 hours is the recommended study duration, but
ultimately it will depend on each individuals own pace.

Level 2 Overview
Cost: As the exam approaches, there will be either an Early ($700), Standard ($1,000), or
Late ($1,450) Registration Fee.
Level 2 is only offered twice per year, which differs from Level 1 that is offered quarterly

Exam Format
Duration: 6 hour exam time, one three hour AM session followed by another three hour
PM session.
Question Format: 20-30 vignettes (10-15 per session) supporting 120 multiple choice
questions (60 per session). Unlike Level 1, vignettes (item sets) are introduced in Level 2.
Vignettes typically have six multiple choice questions with three answer choices each and will
focus more deeply on specific readings than in Level 1.

Topics Covered
There are 10 topics covered in the exam, below are the topic areas and their
corresponding weights:
Topic Area Weight
Ethical and Professional Standards 10-15%
Quantitative Methods 5-10%
Economics 5-10%
Financial Reporting and Analysis 10-15%
Corporate Finance 5-10%
Equity Investments 10-15%
Fixed Income 10-15%
Derivatives 5-10%
Alternative Investments 5-10%
Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning 10-15%
The most prominent change from the Level 1 curriculum in the Level 2 curriculum is the
increase in Portfolio Management's weight from 6% to 10-15%.
Topic Changes
Each year, select readings from the curriculum are removed and replaced. This allows
for the subject matter to stay up to date with the current practice of finance and has altered these
topic area weightings over time. As the readings and content are refreshed annually, after several
years there will be a material amount of new concepts introduced. Typically, the change year
over year may be manageable for those hoping to save on prep cost, though after several years
some information may be stale and ones time may be better spent reviewing the CFA Institute
material that is provided with the registration cost.
Preparation
Materials become available once the previous years exams results have been released.
With the registration fee, an eBook along with an online study resource including study
resources, a large question bank, and mock exams. The eBook may be purchased in print for an
additional $50. For the 10 topics covered there are 17 study sessions across 48 readings
containing 3,250 pages of study content. 300 hours is the recommended study duration, but
ultimately it will depend on each individuals own pace.

Level 3 Overview
Cost: As the exam approaches, there will be either an Early ($700) or Standard ($1,000)
Registration Fee.
Level 3 can be scheduled twice per year from 2021 onwards, that is in May (25 - 27) and
November (23 - 25).
The Early Registration period for the May 2021 exams ends on November 3, 2020 and
the Standard Registration period will end on February 23, 2021.
The Scheduling Deadline is March 10, 2021 and Rescheduling Deadline is April 16,
2021. Rescheduling can be done after payment of a USD 250 rescheduling fee.

Exam Format
Duration: 6 hour exam time, one three hour AM session followed by another three hour
PM session.
Question Format: 8-15 essay questions followed by 10-15 item set questions.

Topics Covered
There are 7 topics covered in the exam, below are the topic areas and their corresponding
weights:
Topic Area Weight
Ethical and Professional Standards 10-15%
Economics 5-10%
Equity Investments 10-15%
Fixed Income 15-20%
Derivatives 5-10%
Alternative Investments 5-10%
 Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning 35-40%
The most prominent change from the Level 2 curriculum in the Level 3 curriculum is the
increase in Portfolio Management's weight from 10-15% to 35-40% in addition to the removal of
Quantitative Methods, Financial Reporting and Analysis, and Corporate Finance.
Topic Changes
Each year, select readings from the curriculum are removed and replaced. This allows
for the subject matter to stay up to date with the current practice of finance and has altered these
topic area weightings over time. As the readings and content are refreshed annually, after several
years there will be a material amount of new concepts introduced. Typically, the change year
over year may be manageable for those hoping to save on prep cost, though after several years
some information may be stale and ones time may be better spent reviewing the CFA Institute
material that is provided with the registration cost.
Preparation
Materials become available once the previous years exams results have been released.
With the registration fee, an eBook along with an online study resource including study
resources, a large question bank, and mock exams. The eBook may be purchased in print for an
additional $50. For the 6 topics covered there are 16 study sessions across 38 readings containing
2,564 pages of study content. 300 hours is the recommended study duration, but ultimately it will
depend on each individuals own pace.