The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program is a professional accreditation offered by the American based CFA institute. On completing the three levels of exams and after completing the professional working requirements a candidate is awarded a ‘CFA Charter’ and becomes a ‘CFA Charterholder’.
If finance is up your street, and you are at ‘that’ major crossroad in life. Consider enrolling for the CFA program. Especially if you want to enter asset management, equity research or hedge funds. While there are hundreds and thousands of Finance degrees available world over, there is only one CFA degree which is internationally recognized. It can add a lot of value to ones profile. While it may not guarantee you a job. It will help you get a job and enhance your finance career path.
CFA requires a lot of hard work. The course is very vast and the challenge is retaining all that you learn. On an average, each exam requires about 300 hours of study. The Level 1 exam takes place in June and December, while Level 2 and Level 3 happen only in June each year. Each of the three exams is 6 hours long. To be eligible to sign up for CFA, one has to be a graduate or in the final year of graduation.
The programme is designed in such a way, that you can prepare for the exams in a self-study method. You can prepare while working. To gain a CFA charter, in addition to passing all three Levels, you need to have gained 48 months of relevant work experience.
The interest in CFA is growing and there is a significant benefit in terms of career growth and compensation for those who obtain it. There is a lot of hard work and rigorous study required. If your ambition, interest and strengths lie within the careers or industries which require a CFA designation, then it is seriously worth considering!
