CFA full form: Course Details, Eligibility, Duration, and How to Become a CFA in India

CFA is universally recognized program with global benefits to an individual, headquartered in United States. It is a program developed for candidates with the knowledge and skills required to compete and excel in today’s world. It is fit for professionals who have an interest in finance, accounting, economics, or business.  

The program promises benefits to all with a good salary package. It is a program which is divided into three parts with self-pace efficiency. Any individual who is working can join this course for beneficial achievement.  

This article helps you to know what exactly CFA is, its eligibility criteria, syllabus, duration and job opportunities upgradation that you can make.  

Table Of Content

What is CFA ? 

The CFA full form of CFA is Chartered Financial Analyst. CFA is a US-based Insititute, which was earlier AIMR, which offers postgraduates certification to investment and financial professionals worldwide. The program offers a generalized understanding of various courses including finance, accounting, economics, and business.  

The exam is held four times a year: February, May, August, and November. The CFA Program is divided into three levels which test the fundamentals of investment tools, portfolio construction, valuation across assets, and much more.  

The curriculum is developed by the CFA Institute. One level takes an approximate time of 9-10 months for completion. So, the CFA course duration is 3 years approximately. The total testing time at the end of every level is 4.5 hours. 

CFA Eligibility Criteria 

CFA’s certification is widely known and recognized in 160 countries. A CFA full form is Chartered Financial Analyst has an earning between 3.5 lakhs to 35 lakhs per annum. The eligibility criteria for enrolling in CFA Exam is as follows: 

• The course is a postgraduate one, hence, the requirement of a recognized bachelor’s degree or equivalent in any course is a crucial criterion.  
• Candidates must have work experience of 4,000 hours completed in a minimum of 36 months, related to investment decision making process. 
• Candidates in the final year of their bachelor’s course are also eligible to apply for CFA course. 

CFA Course Syllabus 

As you must be aware by now that CFA course syllabus is divided into three levels. All these levels focus on enhancing different skills, with the difficulty extent increasing with each level. Below given are the syllabus level-wise course details of CFA: 

Level I
The first exam contains 180 MCQs with a time limit of 4.5 hours. the syllabus broadly includes 10 main topics as written below:  

1.Ethics & Professionals Standards
2. Quantitative Methods
3. Economics
4. Financial Statement Analysis
5. Corporate Finance
6. Equity Investments
7. Fixed Income
8. Derivatives and Risk Management
9 Alternative Investments
10. Portfolio Construction

Level II
The second exam consists of Vignette-supported multiple-choice questions, and the exam duration is 4.5 hours. It emphasizes asset valuation and practical application of investment tools and real-world scenarios. the following are the exam topics for level II: 

1.Ethics & Professionals Standards
2. Quantitative Methods
3. Economics
4. Financial Statement Analysis
5. Corporate Finance
6. Equity Investments
7. Fixed Income
8. Derivatives and Risk Management
9. Alternative Investments
10. Portfolio Construction
 

Level III
The third exam consists of Vignette-supported multiple-choice questions and constructed response (essay) questions. It focuses on applying their knowledge on wealth management and portfolio construction. One of the three pathways can be chosen. The following is the syllabus for level III: 

1.Ethics & Professionals Standards
2. Derivatives and Risk Managemen
3. Portfolio Construction
4. Asset Allocation
5. Performance Measurement 

Pathways (any one can be opted from all): 

1.Portfolio Management
2. Private Markets
3.Private Wealth 

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Preparation Tips 

Individuals who are planning to appear for the CFA exam for any tier should be focused and serious towards their studies. It requires serious commitment and an equal amount of motivation from friends and family. Below are some of the preparation tips provided by us: 

• Making of Study Plan: Developing a Study Plan six months or before is usually recommended for a positive outcome. Make sure to divide the different sections of the exam into different time slots, providing equal commitment to all. It will help in covering all the sections of the syllabus to help you ace it.

• 300 Hours Target: Trying to have a plan target of 300 hours is helpful and makes an individual focused. As the syllabus is more than vast, it requires a lot more time than one can imagine.

• Prep Couse: Usually for such a complicated course, it is important that an individual enrolls themselves into a prep course to help themselves. This will help them to stay on track and along with that prepare them for a class full of students who all have the same dreams to pursue.

• Financial Calculator: An individual appearing for the exam should be prepared to use only the calculators recommended by CFA organizers: Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including BA II Plus Professional) and Hewlett Packard 12C (including the HP 12C Platinum, 12 C Platinum 25th Anniversary edition, 12C 30th Anniversary edition and HP 12C Prestige). Individuals should practice calculations on either one of these to have a habit of growing used to this. 

CFA Job Opportunities and Salary 

The finance industry has seen a rise in job opportunities after clearing out the CFA Exam. The CFA full form of CFA is Chartered Financial Analyst who specializes in finance. CFA in India is hyping with the success in all three levels of exam, individuals are experiencing a rise in their job position, with various sectors in need of them. 

Individuals can work in various areas including banking, auditing, companies, and firms. Below is a small, compiled list of job options that a CFA exam qualifier keeps: 

• Research Analyst: Research analyst is a professional who analyses the financial data and findings, to provide recommendations to their client/ company. They earn approximately INR 3-7 lakhs per year.
   

• Investment Banking Analyst: Entry-level job wherein the professional is responsible for supporting senior banking managers in financial tasks including financial modeling and client communication. Their earnings as an Investment Banking Analyst are approximately INR 6-30 lakhs per annum.

• Portfolio Manager: Portfolio Managers are responsible for implementing investment strategies to meet a client’s goals while managing their portfolio. Their earnings are usually between INR 15-30 lakhs per annum with professional working experience.

• Credit Analyst: Credit Analyst’s role is to assess the creditworthiness of an individual or a company. They gather financial information from the client on earnings or past repayment history. They earn an approximate INR 10 lakhs per annum.

• Equity Research Analyst: These individuals evaluate financial data and trends to provide recommendations for individual stocks. Their earnings are approximately INR 10.5 lakhs per annum.

• Private Wealth Manager: They advise an affluent individual or family to invest in their portfolios and plan their finances to meet their financial goals. They offer a range of services including estate and retirement planning and tax services. The salary of a private wealth manager is INR 10-29 lakhs per year.

Conclusion 

With this blog one can gain an idea of what CFA full form  is Chartered Financial Analyst  and what are the steps to becoming one along with the abundant job opportunities that are available. CFA is recognized for its rigorous standards and global reach among financial professionals. The diverse career paths further compel an individual to take part in the CFA course.

Frequently Asked Questions