The new 2025 CFA curriculum has been released for all three levels. This article will summarize all of the important changes to the curriculum and how it affects your preparation.
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From humble origins in the early 1970s, index investing has become the 800-pound gorilla of investments. First derided, then accepted as a technique, these days, money moves out of active equity management and into passive vehicles every day.
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I would like to address some of the common mistakes made by candidates during the CFA® exams and how those mistakes can be avoided so that you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of taking the exams multiple times in order to pass them—which unfortunately was the case for me. While I am not proud of the fact that I had to take the exam multiple times, and some might consider it foolish to talk about failures, I learnt much from those failures.
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Ethics is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of professionals in the financial services industry. As trusted advisors, we are given a mandate by our clients to manage, preserve, and grow their assets and to operate in their best financial interests.
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In the weird world of alternative investments, private equity is perhaps the most recognizable and most easily understood of the major asset classes. Individual investors, regardless of market experience, are generally familiar with venture capital-backed companies like Google, Facebook, Uber, and Snapchat.
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Anxious is just one of the many words that describe how I felt in the final weeks and days leading up to the CFA® exam. Fortunately, I found having a general idea of what to expect on exam day relieved some of that anxiety.
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The overall purpose of performance measurement is to help us select an investment and provide ongoing information about how our investment is doing so we can make good decisions
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On test day, it is completely natural to be excited, nervous, worried, anxious, or some combination of these states of mind.…The point I want to make is very simple: for top performance, there is an optimal level of nervous energy that is not zero, and maybe not even close to zero.
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Technology is a disruptive force that creates challenges for established business models in many industries. Job losses in manufacturing are largely attributable to advances in technology, but the impact of technology isn’t confined to manufacturing-related industries.
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It is difficult to offer advice to aspiring charterholders that is applicable to all three levels of the CFA® exam series. As you may have already discovered, each level is fairly unique. Level I and Level II are far apart in difficulty while Level II and Level III differ greatly in format.
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It sounds pretty ominous: A 300-hour study commitment over the course of four to six months, which works out to be roughly between 12.5 and 18.75 hours per week. Oh, and that 300-hour assumption is an average; any individual might need to put in considerably more effort in order to master the material well enough to pass the test.
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When I first began pursuing the CFA charter, I was a lone wolf. I didn’t do any prep courses. I didn’t get any materials other than the curriculum books. I didn’t talk to other candidates. I didn’t look at forums. And despite not having had much background, I didn’t engage with my local society.… Not surprisingly, I failed.
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When I left a well-known consulting firm in Paris and moved to Toronto, I knew immigrants in Canada usually struggle to get their first job because of the lack of Canadian experience or Canadian education. I had neither of these, so naturally I felt lucky that I was able to land my first job quite easily. Even though I had what was considered a good experience in treasury risks, hedge accounting, and financial risk management in general, I felt that I needed an additional asset education-wise to fully compete in the Canadian job market on Bay Street.
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It’s 7:30 p.m. and I had been in the office since 7:30 a.m. I was staring at a blank PowerPoint slide on one screen and a Bloomberg homepage on the other. For the last several weeks, I had been working tirelessly as our firm prepared to go on the road and raise capital from investors.
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I started the journey to becoming a CFA charterholder when I was a first-year finance doctoral student. Like all CFA candidates, I had strategically researched the topic area weights and allocated my study time. I had purposely put a hold on my social life and committed to the 300-hour study. I had carefully completed the assigned readings and attempted the practice questions.
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The general public’s awareness of such issues as climate change, labor practices, and corruption has greatly increased in recent decades. We’ve all heard of huge multinational corporations caught (and fined for) polluting the environment, bribing government officials for permits and contracts, or exploiting outsourced workforces in developing countries.
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While it certainly may feel like your entire existence is engulfed by this test for six months out of the year, it is naïve to think that the rest of the world cares or it will place itself on pause until you are less busy studying.
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Many of the CFA charterholders and candidates I have met seem to have always known that it was the path they wanted to take. Finance degree, CFA charter, job at a bigtime investment firm. It was different for me.
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I’d like to share some mindset hacks helpful in passing the CFA exams, along with some pointers on how to approach this daunting and rewarding experience. As a charterholder myself, I’ve had the privilege of mentoring candidates through all three levels, and I hope this helps you in your studies.
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Considering the CFA charter? Wondering whether you should get an MBA or a CFA charter (or both)? Trying to decide your career path in the world of finance given changing industry trends and the rise of FinTech?
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