CFA: Chartered Financial Advisor
Split into three separate levels the Chartered Financial Advisor programme is overseen by the CFA Institute and enables those who have experience in the fields of finance, accounting or business to become qualified investment managers. The investment industry is an incredibly competitive industry therefore becoming CFA accredited is a great opportunity for candidates to stand out and boost their career potential. As a benchmark for financial advising globally, becoming CFA accredited allows potential future clients to feel confident in your ability. Whilst becoming CFA accredited is an incredibly challenging process which requires hard work and dedication, successfully completing the qualification can lead to a rewarding and high-paying career.
What is the CFA?
The CFA is divided into three levels, within each level there is an exam which changes in format as the levels progress. Enrolment for each of the exams is found on the CFA website.
Level I
To begin the process to becoming CFA certified candidates must either possess a bachelor’s degree, be a current undergraduate student (must be completed before Level II) or have over 4000 hours of relevant professional work experience.
The Level I exam format is multiple choice questions covering 10 topics such as economics, financial statement analysis to ethical standards and portfolio management. Only 43% of candidates taking the examination pass it, which is a testament to how challenging it is.
Exam format: The exam in split into two sessions both lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes with 90 multiple choice questions (this means it is expected that each question should take around 90 seconds to answer).
Level II
After successfully completing Level 1 candidates are then eligible to participate in the CFA Level II. Unlike Level I, this exam requires candidates to answer the questions based on the corresponding vignette which makes the examination more analysis and detailed-focused.
Exam format: The examination lasts for 4 hours and is based on 22 vignettes with accompanying multiple-choice questions.
Level III
The final level can be taken after successfully completing level I and II. This exam builds on the format of the previous exam and also uses vignettes but with the addition of essay-length response questions alongside the multiple-choice questions.
Exam format: One examination split into two sessions lasting 2 hours and 12 minutes.
How can we help?
Over the course of the CFA programme, students are expected to spend around 300 hours studying, at Mayfair Consultants we can guide you through this process and ensure you are effectively using this time to produce the best results possible. With one-to-one lessons that can be brought to your home, our tutors can help you to prepare for each level of the CFA and understand how each examination requires a different approach. This enables you to develop your skills for each specific examination format and topic allowing you to maximise the amount of time you spend learning.
If you would like to arrange private lessons or have any questions about our tuition services, please call us on Tel: +44(0) 207 665 6606 or you can send us an email via our contact form.
https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/programs/cfa/exam CFA institute exam information.
https://careers.cfainstitute.org/en-gb/jobs/ Career information and vacancies.
https://www.schweser.com/cfa/free-study-materials CFA exam materials.
https://www.libf.ac.uk/news-and-insights/news/detail/2019/02/11/how-to-become-a-financial-adviser
https://www.cfauk.org/careers-and-cpd#gsc.tab=0 Careers information
https://www.unbiased.co.uk/pro/articles/how-to-become-a-financial-adviser
Blog post outlining a career as a financial advisor
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/professionaleducation/07/cfa-charter.asp