CFA Program Level I Courses

A CFA is suitable for anyone interested in making a long-term commitment to working in the investment management industry. However, this includes a broad range of investment advisors, accountants, analysts, and managers. People who assist individuals or companies with structuring their finances and making investment choices often find significant financial and personal benefit, but the same can be said of accountants, risk analysts, and auditors. Once you have a CFA charter, you enter a group of professionals that many organizations feel comfortable hiring. For this reason, anyone associated with the financial profession — even as a part-time consultant — can benefit from the CFA program. Another draw for CFA applicants is that it gives you access to the most recent research, professional development content, and a directory of other members.

The material and analytical skills get more demanding as you go up the CFA levels. For instance, in CFA Level 1, you are presented with straightforward, brief questions. At Level 2, you read and analyze vignettes, which are short, hypothetical situations that involve a problem you're then required to solve. You can't just fall back on past knowledge at Level 2. It is necessary to apply more specific financial principles and use them in more creative ways to address each question's requirements. CFA Level 2 requires more analysis but less memorization than Level 1. This is to challenge candidates to apply their knowledge as opposed to simply recalling it. CFA Level 3 has a morning session consisting of constructed responses, which is again more advanced than what's expected in Level 2. However, Level 3 has 38 reading sessions as opposed to Level 2, which has 48 readings. Level 3 has more study sessions than Level 2, however, with 16 rather than 14.

A CFA is useful for a wide range of jobs since many employers see it as the pinnacle of investment management certifications. For instance, a CFA charterholder may be in a good position to land a job as a portfolio manager, a researcher, or someone who develops investment strategies. They may also qualify for roles involving a range of analytical skills, such as risk management and analysis or consulting for companies that need to fine-tune their investment strategy. A CFA is often also qualified for a variety of jobs involving investment management. These can include private wealth management, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, or insurance. In addition to helping clients make decisions regarding their investments, a CFA might also work for a brokerage that acts as a "middleman" between entities and investment vehicles. CFA charterholders are particularly valuable in emerging industries like fintech, which focuses on technology-based investment solutions.