{"id":1103,"date":"2019-09-24T13:51:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T13:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/?p=1103"},"modified":"2019-09-24T13:51:31","modified_gmt":"2019-09-24T13:51:31","slug":"what-are-the-cfa-exam-levels-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/what-are-the-cfa-exam-levels-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the CFA Exam levels? (2019)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Chartered Financial Analyst program is a globally-recognized graduate-level certification, held by over 150,000 professionals globally. The program helps to specialize in a broad range of investment specialties and helps set up a strong foundation for real-world investment analysis and practical knowledge which can be applied to today\u2019s markets effectively. It also emphasizes the highest ethical and professional standards that are required to be followed. The CFA Program is a self-study, graduate-level program divided into three levels of exams. One has to give a series of sequential CFA Exam Levels \u2013 Level I, II, and III.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 3 CFA Exam Levels differ in terms of difficulty, syllabus as well as exam format. While the Level 1 exam can be taken twice a year in the months of June and December, the subsequent CFA Exam Level 2 and 3 exams can only be taken once a year in the month of December. Below you can find all the information for all the CFA Exam Levels.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>CFA Level 1 Examination<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CFA Institute offers three exams, this is the first of the three. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prerequisites for this exam include a Bachelor&#8217;s degree or am equivalent. An exemption can be made where you can write the level 1 if you<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are in the final year of your undergraduate program, <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have four years of professional experience OR<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have a combination of both, equating to at least four years.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Exam Structure<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Level I exam consists of 240 multiple choice questions, split between two 3-hour sessions. Candidates must attend both sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Morning session (3 hours): 120 multiple choice questions, covering all topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afternoon session (3 hours): 120 multiple choice questions, covering all topics<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Focus Areas\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In CFA Level I, candidates are asked basic knowledge and comprehension questions, and must perform some analysis. Tools and concepts that apply to investment valuation and portfolio management<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basic concepts regarding securities and markets<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Exam Wise Topic Weights<\/b><\/h4>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1107 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/studysid.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/image2-1-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/image2-1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/image2-1.jpg 369w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><br \/>\n<b>CFA Exam Level 2<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Level II deals mainly with asset valuation. You must be able to apply the tools and concepts emphasized in Level I to analyze and value investments, and should also have a thorough understanding of capital market theory and industry and company analysis.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>Exam Structure<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><strong>The Level II exam has a total of 20 item set questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Morning session: 10 item set questions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afternoon session: 10 item set questions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the Level II exam, you will have a total of 120 questions compared to 240 multiple-choice items on the Level I exam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Level II exam is worth 360 points, corresponding to the number of minutes on the exam. The 120 Level II items are equally weighted, 3 points each, with no penalty for incorrect answers. In the Level II exams, some topics are covered in the morning session only and other topics are covered in the afternoon session only.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each item set on the CFA exam consists of a case statement and six multiple choices (questions). Each multiple-choice question has three possible choices: A, B, and C. All questions are equally weighted and there is no penalty for wrong answers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Focus Areas<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of focusing on Investment tools as in level 1 exam, the focus of CFA Level II curriculum is on asset valuation. The learning focus also changes, from knowledge and comprehension (Level I), to application and analysis (Level II).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>CFA Level II Examination focuses on:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asset valuation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Application of tools and techniques of investment valuation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Industry and company analysis<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><b>Exam Wise Topic Weights<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1106 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/studysid.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/image1-259x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/image1-259x300.jpg 259w, https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/image1.jpg 396w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>CFA Exam Level 3\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To become a CFA chart holder an individual must pass this exam (in addition to other requirements). Level III explores portfolio management in great depth. You must demonstrate a working knowledge of the portfolio management process, from calculating investor constraints, objectives, and capital-market expectations to making asset-allocation decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Exam Structure<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><strong>The Level III exam consists of an item set and constructed response (essay) questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Morning session: Constructed response (essay) questions (usually between 8 and 12 questions, each with several subparts) with a maximum of 180 points.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afternoon session: 10 item set questions<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Level III exam uses the essay format in the morning, and the item set format, with 10 item sets, in the afternoon similar to the CFA Level II exam. Each item set on the CFA exam consists of a case statement) and six multiple-choice items (questions). Each multiple-choice question has three possible choices: A, B, and C. All questions are equally weighted and there is no penalty for wrong answers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Focus Areas<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Level III Examination focuses on:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Management of institutional and individual portfolios<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Management of specific asset class portfolios<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Risk Management using derivatives<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><b>Exam Wise Topic Weights<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1108 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/studysid.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/unnamed-237x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/unnamed-237x300.jpg 237w, https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/unnamed.jpg 374w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 237px) 100vw, 237px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Good Luck!<\/b><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chartered Financial Analyst program is a globally-recognized graduate-level certification, held by over 150,000 professionals globally. The program helps to specialize in a broad&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[23,57,58,66,77,100,101,123,124],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studysid.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}