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LM01 Alternative Investment Features, Methods, and Structures

LM01 Categories, Characteristics, and Compensation Structures of Alternative Investments

LM01 Corporate Structures and Ownership

LM01 Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features

LM01 Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession

LM01 Fixed-Income Instrument Features

LM01 Fixed-Income Securities: Defining Elements

LM01 Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis

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LM01 Market Organization and Structure

LM01 Organizational Forms, Corporate Issuer Features, and Ownership

LM01 Portfolio Management Overview

LM01 Portfolio Management: An Overview

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LM02 Analyzing Income Statements

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LM02 Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct Profession

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LM02 Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments

LM02 Introduction to Corporate Governance and Other ESG Considerations

LM02 Investors and Other Stakeholders

LM02 Organizing, Visualizing, and Describing Data

LM02 Performance Calculation and Appraisal of Alternative Investments

LM02 Portfolio Risk & Return: Part I

LM02 Portfolio Risk and Return Part I

LM02 Security Market Indexes

LM02 The Firm and Market Structures

LM02 Time Value of Money in Finance

LM02 Understanding Business Cycles

LM03 Aggregate Output, Prices and Economic Growth

LM03 Analyzing Balance Sheets

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LM03 Corporate Governance: Conflicts, Mechanisms, Risks, and Benefits

LM03 Derivative Benefits, Risks, and Issuer and Investor Uses

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LM03 Guidance for Standards I-VII

LM03 Guidance for Standards I–VII

LM03 Introduction to Fixed Income Valuation

LM03 Investments in Private Capital: Equity and Debt

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LM03 Portfolio Risk & Return: Part II

LM03 Portfolio Risk and Return Part II

LM03 Private Capital, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, and Hedge Funds

LM03 Probability Concepts

LM03 Statistical Measures of Asset Returns

LM03 Understanding Income Statements

LM04 An Introduction to Asset-Backed Securities

LM04 Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I

LM04 Arbitrage, Replication, and the Cost of Carry in Pricing Derivatives

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LM04 Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction

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LM04 Introduction to the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS)

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LM06 Fundamentals of Credit Analysis

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LM07 Pricing and Valuation of Interest Rates and Other Swaps

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LM08 Currency Exchange Rates

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LM08 Topics in Long-Term Liabilities and Equity

LM08 Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments

LM09 Analysis of Income Taxes

LM09 Income Taxes

LM09 Option Replication Using Put-Call Parity

LM09 Option Replication Using Put–Call Parity

LM09 Parametric and Non-Parametric Tests of Independence

LM09 The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves

LM10 Financial Reporting Quality

LM10 Interest Rate Risk and Return

LM10 Non-current (Long-Term) Liabilities

LM10 Simple Linear Regression

LM10 Valuing a Derivative Using a One-Period Binomial Model

LM11 Financial Analysis Techniques

LM11 Financial Reporting Quality

LM11 Introduction to Big Data Techniques

LM11 Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties

LM12 Applications of Financial Statement Analysis

LM12 Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling

LM12 Yield-Based Bond Convexity and Portfolio Properties

LM13 Curve-Based and Empirical Fixed-Income Risk Measures

LM14 Credit Risk

LM15 Credit Analysis for Government Issuers

LM16 Credit Analysis for Corporate Issuers

LM17 Fixed-Income Securitization

LM18 Asset-Backed Security (ABS) Instrument and Market Features

LM19 Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) Instrument and Market Features

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Should I Pursue the CFA® Program?

By Arif Irfanullah, CFA

Posted on 14-04-18 at 10:14 am

If you are interested in a career in investment analysis and portfolio management, I strongly recommend the CFA Program. It is the most recognized and respected investment management designation in the world.

If you are already in the investment management profession, the CFA Program will help strengthen your foundation. This is likely to accelerate your career progression.

The CFA Program also makes sense if you are a non-finance professional at a financial institution, such as a large bank, and want to move to the business side. For instance, imagine you are an IT consultant implementing a Treasury Management System at a large multinational bank and decide that you want to switch from IT to Treasury. Pursuing the CFA Program will certainly help with the career change.

For finance majors at universities, I recommend entering the program and taking the Level I exam in the final year. As a university professor myself, I’ve observed that students who clear the Level I exam have a better understanding of finance fundamentals relative to their counterparts and have an advantage during the job recruitment process.

While the CFA certification is logical for those interested in investment management, this does not mean that it is the only certification for any finance career. There are several other qualifications such as Financial Risk Management (FRM), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and Chartered Accountancy (CA). The certifications and qualifications you pursue should be in line with your interests and career aspirations. As an example, the increasingly popular FRM certification makes sense for people who are committed to an international career in risk management for financial institutions. FRM’s emphasis on credit risk, market risk and operational risk highlights the focus on risk management for financial institutions. While FRM is growing in popularity it still lags behind the CFA program in terms of global recognition. In browsing through job postings, phrases like ‘CFA certification required’ or ‘CFA certification recommended’ overshadow references to FRM. To learn more about FRM visit www.garp.org.

What specific jobs does the CFA Program prepare me for?

According to the CFA Charter Factsheet, published by CFA Institute, the top CFA charterholder occupations are:

Portfolio Manager
Research Analyst
Financial Adviser
Corporate Financial Analyst
Consultant
Relationship Manager
Risk Manager

Reference: CFA Charter Factsheet

What are the pre-requisites for entering the CFA Program?

According to the CFA Institute website, to enroll in the CFA Program and register for your first Level I exam, you must have an international travel passport and one of the following:

Undergraduate education: A bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree or be in the final year of your bachelor’s degree program (you must have completed your bachelor’s degree program in order to register for the Level II exam), or
Work experience: Four years of professional work experience (does not have to be investment related), or
A combination of professional work experience and educationthat totals at least four years (part-time positions do not qualify, and the four-year total must be accrued prior to enrollment).

Reference: www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/register/Pages/index.aspx

Am I too old for the CFA Program?

You are never to old to enroll in the CFA Program! I’ve worked with students who decided in their 50s that they want to transition into investment analysis and then went about earning the charter.

How do I earn the CFA charter?

To earn the CFA charter, you must:

Pass the Level I Exam (June or December).
Pass the Level II Exam (June).
Pass the Level III Exam (June).
Have four years of professional work experience in the investment decision-making process (accrued before, during, or after participation in the CFA Program).
Join CFA Institute as a regular member.

Should I Pursue the CFA® Program?

Next Article: The CFA Program® Exams