The CFA®charter is a credential that is recognized worldwide as a symbol of excellence in the investment management profession. It is awarded by the Association of Investment Management and Research (www.aimr.com/support/about/), a leading international organization comprised of more than 68,000 investment professionals residing in more than 100 countries.

Since the first charter was awarded in 1963, almost 50,000 have earned the CFA charter. In order to earn a CFA charter, candidates must: 

The CFA exam is comprised of three sequential levels–Levels I, II, and III.  Historically, the examinations have been given annually at the end of May or June. Historically, the examinations have been given annually at the end of May or beginning of June in more than 80 countries around the world. Last year, for the first time, Level I was also offered at 26 test centers around the world in December. The CFA exam is designed, administered, and graded by AIMR. In order to sit for the CFA exam, you must register with AIMR. In order to become a CFA, you must pass all three levels of the CFA exam, and fulfill the experience, ethical, and other requirements mandated by AIMR. You can only sit for one level of the CFA exam at a time. You must pass each level before progressing to the next level. Passing all three levels of the CFA exam is at least a three-year experience.

          Level I is comprised of 240 multiple-choice questions;

          Levels II and III are comprised of multiple-choice questions, problems, and essays.

          The examinations are graded on a curve; to pass, you must be at or above the minimum score that AIMR designates in 2004 for Level I candidates.

          The pass rates of the last three Level I exams administered have steadily declined from 44% in 2002 down to 37% in December 2003.

          The percent of Level II and Level III candidates passing the Exam tends to be higher than the Level I pass rate.

The Study Guide is in an integral part of your CFA preparation. Besides listing the Primary Readings, the Study Guide, lists what AIMR refers to as "Learning Outcome Statements." These are the concepts that AIMR regards to be the most important from each of the sessions contained in the Study Guide. They represent the bare minimum that you should get out of each session. Since AIMR thinks that they are important, and AIMR creates the CFA exam, you should regard them to be important. Some candidates prepare for the CFA exam by designing notes around the Learning Outcome Statements.

You must purchase the Primary Readings separately. Most are textbooks that are commonly used in college and graduate school; some are published by AIMR. The books are not provided by AIMR, nor are they furnished by review courses. They can be purchased online by AIMR’s designated agent (http://www. pbdbookstore.com/webapp/ commerce/ command/ExecMacro/ AIMR/macros/main.d2w/report). Those books that are not published by AIMR can also be purchased, sometimes at a lower cost, from other online sources as well as at retail bookstores. Your largest investment in books will be for Level I. The cost of the Level I Primary Readings is $665, if you purchase them from AIMR’s agent. However, to give candidates a small break, AIMR attempts to use many of the same books for Level II and Level III. The cost of the additional Level II Primary Readings is $155, and the incremental cost that candidates must bear for the Level III imary Readings is $88. These costs do not include handling and mailing. Also, they are generally higher for candidates purchasing the books outside of the United States. In the Study Guide for level I, you will also see something known "Preliminary Readings." They are intended to be helpful for candidates who are weak in particular subject areas. They are intended to make it easier for candidates with a weaker educational background to gain a better understanding of the Primary Readings. Knowledge of the concepts contained in the Preliminary Readings is presumed by AIMR. There is the possibility that some questions on the CFA exam could be based on information contain in the Preliminary Readings. Review the Learning Outcome Statements associated with the Preliminary Readings precede sessions 4, 5, 7, and 13 to determine whether the Preliminary Readings are useful to you. They are also summarized in the Notes.

The Level I Study Guide is broken into 18 sessions. Each session is comprised of various readings. Level I can be likened to a survey course; Levels II and III explore certain topics in greater depth. An overview of the session topics is provided below.

Each session is not of equal importance. For example, Ethics will certainly be worth more than 1/18th of the Level I Exam, whereas Economics will probably be worth less than 3/18ths. Passing the exam is based on total points regardless of distribution. However, you should not overlook any sessions just because you may not be good in a subject. The CFA exam rewards more for breadth of knowledge than for depth of knowledge. To pass, you need to know a little bit about several subjects. It is similar to the decathlon in the Olympics. To win, you do not need to be world class at anything; but you should attempt to rack up points in each area.