How do I become a Chartered Financial Analyst in 3 Steps

Enter the CFA^® Program:

To enroll for the CFA® Program and register for your first level of exam, you must have one of the following criteria:

Education: A bachelor’s degree or be in final year of any bachelor’s degree is needed to pass all the levels of CFA® exam.

Work Experience: Four years of Professional work experience

Now the question is what kind professionals can become CFA. What kind of work experience is required to get the CFA Institute membership is the main concern in your mind right now.

As per CFA Institute, there are limited professionals who can become CFA:

• You have at least 4 years (48 months) of experience in the field of investment
• Any type of decision-making process; supervising persons who conduct such activities; or teaching such activities related to investment will be eligible for CFA membership
• Operations in big investment banks, deals with processing of the trades and record it in Accounting Systems will be eligible as well
• As per CFA institute, trading, economics and corporate finance such type of fields are also acceptable as your working experience
• Minimum 50% of your 4 years of working experience should be spent directly involved in the investment decision-making process
• Work must be full time and can be earned before, during, or after participation in the CFA Program
• Managing investments for yourself or your family or friends does not eligible

Combination of Education and Experience: 4 years in addition of education and work experience in total to passing the Level I CFA® exam.

Pass three levels of CFA^® Exam:

CFA exams are world known finest finance exams, which test you on your core financial and technical knowledge. To get CFA charter, you have to pass the all the levels of CFA® exam such as; Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. All the exams are held in the month of June and CFA® level 1 exam held in the month of December as well.

CFA exam syllabus: Main Subjects and topics of CFA® exam are include Ethical and Professional Standard, Economics, Equity Investments, Fixed Income, Portfolio Management etc.

CFA Pass rates: According to historical data average pass rate of CFA exam is about 48%
CFA Level 1 Pass rate
CFA Level 2 Pass rate
CFA level 3 Pass rate

Membership process to become CFA®:

One of the most important part to become CFA® charter holder is to get membership of CFA® Institute. The CFA® Institute offers two categories of membership, namely, regular and affiliate.

Regular Membership:

The CFA candidates who enroll for the CFA program and pass CFA Level 1 exam must submit a regular membership application. Following are the processes to get Regular Membership.

• Have a bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree from a recognized institution
• Pass the CFA Level 1 exam or pass the self-administered Standards of Practice Examination
• Have a relevant professional work experience of 48 months in investment decision making process.
• Submit professional reference statements.
• Sign the Member’s Agreement and agree to follow the Professional Conduct Statement
• Pay your annual dues
• Must follow the OFAC Compliance Policy. Residents of certain countries may be prohibited by law from becoming a CFA Institute or Society Member.

Affiliate Membership:

The affiliate membership application should be submitted by those who are investment professionals. If you apply for affiliate membership you are not required to enroll for the CFA program and can pursue CFA Charter holder.

• Become a member of a local CFA society
• Submit professional reference statements.
• Sign the Member’s Agreement and agree to follow the Professional Conduct Statement
• Pay your annual dues
• Must follow the OFAC Compliance Policy. Residents of certain countries may be prohibited by law from becoming a CFA Institute or Society Member.
• The applicants can track their applications using the link ‘My Account’ on the applicant’s home page
• Once your online application is completed with all the details, you will receive an e-mail. This email contains a link to an online form. You can forward this e-mail to each of your sponsors
• The sponsors must complete the online form. The requirements of a sponsor are also mentioned in the e-mail. The applicants can track their applications using the link ‘My Account’ on the applicant’s home page
• On the approval of the application by a society, an automated e-mail is sent to the applicant confirming the status. The applicant is accordingly instructed for membership activation
• The applicants are required to pay their dues and file a Professional Conduct Statement/Member’s Agreement during the Activation stage to activate their membership

The benefits of an affiliate membership and regular membership are same, but the affiliate members cannot be awarded a CFA Charter and may not cast their votes on CFA institute Proxies. Society membership is must to become an affiliate member of the CFA Institute.

CFA institute Code of Ethics and standards to become CFA:

The Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct are the moral principles for investment professionals around the world. As a CFA Institute member or CFA Program candidate, you are required to follow the Code and Standards. All CFA Institute members and CFA candidates must abide by the Code and Standards and are encouraged to notify their employer of this responsibility.

PDF of Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

On the internet you can find plenty of tips that will help you in making the CFA exam preparation easier. It is important that you plan a strategy for each level as each one of them is different from one another. If you have already made the decision of going for CFA Program and are looking for a CFA Course training ,then EduPristine is a great option as we are CFA Institute authorized training providers

If you have any other queries then mention them in the comments box below and it shall be solved at the earliest.

EduPristine provides high-quality training for CFA exams. Candidates can opt for the CFA exam training at EduPristine at least six months before the CFA exam attempt. The CFA exam training at EduPristine is divided into three parts similar to the levels of the CFA course.

For Level I CFA exam training, candidates can opt for either full-time training or part-time training. Full-time CFA training is suitable for candidates who are fresh graduates or aren’t working. The full-time CFA exam training is conducted over the weekdays between Monday to Friday. The purpose of full-time training is to provide in-depth mentorship to the students. The full-time training covers all the topics in-depth since the majority of the students appearing for the CFA level I exam are fresh graduates or in the third year of graduation. The part-time training is conducted over the weekends and is suitable for candidates who are working professionals.

The CFA exam Level II training is conducted over the weekends only since all the candidates are working professionals and can manage to attend the lectures over the weekend only.

For more details on the CFA exam Level I training and CFA exam Level II training, you can directly walk in at our center in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, or Pune. You can also contact our career counselors over a call for a counseling session.

How Full-Time CFA Training Gives You an Edge Over Others

Full Time Preparatory Program for Level I CFA® Exam