| The CFA® program is widely recognized as the gold standard in investment education. The qualification which started off nearly four decades ago in the US has now become a globally recognized designation with 90,000 + charterholders worldwide. |
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| It's a self-study, graduate-level program for investment professionals. There are three levels in the program: |
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| Steps to earn the CFA® Charter |
- Sequentially pass level 1, 2, and 3 examinations
- At least 4 years of investment profession experience
- Join CFA® Institute as a regular member
- Apply for membership in a CFA® Institute Society (CFA® Emirates) Comply with CFA® institute conditions, requirements, policies and procedures
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| Subject Covered |
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| There are 10 Topic Areas in the CFA® exams. The Topic Areas are: |
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- Ethics & Professional Standards
- Quantitative Methods
- Economics
- Financial Reporting & Analysis (FRA)
- Corporate Finance
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- Portfolio Management
- Analysis of Equity Investments
- Analysis of Fixed Income Investments
- Derivatives and Alternative Investments
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| Ethical and professional standards are emphasized at every level. |
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Each Topic Area is further divided into Study Sessions, each Study Session into Readings and each Reading into Learning Outcome Statements (LOS).
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| In Level 1, there are 18 Study Sessions and 73 Readings for the 2010 Level 1 CFA® Exam. For example: |
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| Topic Area |
Study Sessions |
Reading |
LOS |
| Quantitative Methods |
2 |
8 (Probability concepts) |
8 (d) - Distinguish between conditional and unconditional probabilities |
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| Format for the Exams |
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- Each exam includes morning and afternoon sessions.
- The Level I questions are all multiple choice with 3 choices. The morning session covers all Topic Areas and has 120 questions to be answered in 3 hours. The afternoon session also covers all Topic Areas and has 120 questions to be answered in 3 hours.
- The Level II questions are all item set (or "mini case") questions.
- The Level III exams contain essay questions in the morning session and item set questions in the afternoon session.
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| Topic area weights |
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The CFA® Institute (CFA®I) has assigned different levels of importance for each topic area, depending on the level. As of date, the exam weights by Topic Area are set out below:
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| Topic Area |
Level I |
Level II |
Level III |
| Ethical and Professional Standards (total) |
15 |
10 |
10 |
| Quantitative Methods |
12 |
5-10 |
0 |
| Economics |
10 |
5-10 |
0 |
| Financial Reporting and Analysis |
20 |
15-25 |
0 |
| Corporate Finance |
8 |
5-15 |
0 |
| Investment Tools (total) |
50 |
30-60 |
0 |
| Equity Investments |
10 |
20-30 |
5-15 |
| Fixed Income |
12 |
5-15 |
10-20 |
| Derivatives |
5 |
5-15 |
5-15 |
| Alternative Investments |
3 |
5-15 |
5-15 |
| Asset Classes (total) |
30 |
35-75 |
35-45 |
| Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning (total) |
5 |
5-15 |
45-55 |
| Total |
100 |
100 |
100 |
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Note: These weights are intended to guide the curriculum and exam development processes. Actual exam weights may vary slightly from year to year. Please note that some topics are combined for testing purposes.
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| Time limit |
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You do not have to complete the CFA® Program within a specified time frame, and there is no limit to the number of times you can take an exam. You do not need to repeat an exam level that you already have passed, regardless of the time that elapses between exams.
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| Exam dates and locations |
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| Exams are held in June (all levels) and December (Level I only). |
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| The exam is normally held on the first Saturday of June and December. So the next Level exam is on 5 December 2009. |
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The CFA® institute has released the test centers for December 2009 and June 2010. The MENA region will see a large number of new centers, especially for the June 2010 exam. Dubai has been added as a test center from the December 2009 exam.
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