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CFA Exam Preparation
• Average Hours Spent Studying for the
exam – 307
– Level 1: 283 hours
– Level 2: 313 hours
– Level 3: 324 hours
• Based on Assigned Readings
• Oriented to Learning Outcome Statements
CFA Candidate Growth
• 1963 284
• 1973 2,000
• 1983 6,000
• 1993 19,000
• 1998 60,000
• 2003 104,000
• 2013/4 211,000
The CFA Program is a
Rigorous Undertaking
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
1963 1973 1983 1993 2003 2011
Year
5
Pass Rates
• 2014 pass rates
– Level 1: 42% (December 2013 – 43%)
– Level 2: 46%
– Level 3: 54%
• 148,927 candidates (plus over 62,000 in
December 2013)
• 179 countries exam sites worldwide
• 25% no-show rate
– Source: CFA Institute
CFA® Candidate Preparation –
What Defines Success?
• Non-CFA Institute Study Notes (89%)
• Non-CFA Institute Review Course (87%)
• Topic-based practice tests (86%)
• CFA Program end-of-reading problems
(85%)
• CFA Institute Free Mock Exam (85%)
• Non-CFA Institute practice exams (83%)
• CFA Program Curriculum (81%)
Hardest Topics
• Fixed Income (75%)
• Derivatives (73%)
• Portfolio Management (70%)
• Alternative Investments (66%)
• Economics (65%)
• Financial Reporting (65%)
Registering for the CFA Program
June 2015 Examination
24 September 2013 First Deadline
18 February 2014 Second Deadline
18 March 2014 Final Deadline
11
CFA Level 1 Exam
• Focus: Tools and concepts that apply to investment
valuation and portfolio management; basic concepts
regarding asset classes, securities, and markets; Ethics
• Exam:
– 120 Multiple Choice Questions Morning
– 120 Multiple Choice Questions Afternoon
– 3 hours per session
– 90 seconds per question
Exam Tips for Level 1
Examination Weights
15% Ethics (SS 1)
12% Quantitative Methods (SS 2 – 3 )
10% Economics (SS 4 – 6)
20% Financial Reporting and Analysis (SS 7 – 10)
7% Corporate Finance (SS 11)
7% Portfolio Management (SS 12)
10% Equity (SS 13 – 14)
10% Fixed Income (SS 15 – 16)
5% Derivatives (SS 17)
4% Alternative Investments (SS 18)
Level 1 Question Format
• According to the CFA Institute, each item on the Level 1
Examination consists of a stem (question, statement,
and/or table) and three distracters, A, B, and C. There
are three basic formats used:
– Stems using sentence completion with three unique
distracters;
– Stems phrased as questions with three unique
distracters.
challenging goal.
You will discover that the process is…