A Chartered Financial Analyst is the name given to people who have finished the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program and met the standards for work experience. The CFA Program is an exam with three parts that test your knowledge of financial tools: figuring out how much something is worth, managing a portfolio, and planning your wealth.
Taking the CFA Exam
The Level I test, where you can use a CFA Level 1 study guide, has 180 multiple-choice questions spread out over two 135-minute rounds. The session time is only an estimate, and you can take a break between sessions. In general, you should give each multiple-choice question about 90 seconds. How much time you need will depend on the question and how well you understand it.
Preparing for the CFA Exam
Following the CFA program’s lessons and giving yourself enough time to learn them in the way that works best for you is the best way to prepare for the CFA Level I Exam. Giving yourself enough time to study using a CFA Level 1 study guide is also helpful and highly recommended. Individual candidates for the CFA Program can tailor their studies to fit their own wants and situations.
The Level I exam for the CFA Program focuses on how well you know and understand investment tools and asset classes, along with how to handle your portfolio and follow professional and ethical standards. On the test, the questions are grouped into the functional groups shown in the chart, and the order of the questions is not fixed.
