CFA Chartered Financial Analyst Course, A Comprehensive Guide on CFA Course

Willing to push your career in finance to the next level? We recommend you earn a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. It is one of the most renowned certification courses in finance. Though difficult to achieve, once earned the benefits of becoming a CFA will change your career. If you are passionate about finance, look no further! We have gathered a few yet necessary credentials for CFA qualification. The details after the 12th can bet you on a CFA-oriented decision. The CFA professional certification course is highly regarded as a difficult exam bus gets you a job in a field such as investment management, financial services, hedge funds, or investment banking career path. Truly speaking, it's worth the effort. Let's discuss the CFA exam, the benefits of the CFA course, and why you should take the course if you want to build your career in the finance or investment sector.

Key Takeaways

• Chartered Financial Analyst

• CFA Exam Program

• Who Should Pursue the CFA

What is the CFA Exam Program?

The CFA program comprises three-level exams: Levels I, II, and III. Every level is built on the prior level. Thus, the level of difficulty gets more complex with each passing level. Let's review the CFA course details. 

CFA Course Duration: Minimum 2 years 

• CFA Exam Frequency
• Level 1: 6 times
• Level 2: 6 times
• Level 3: 6 times

CFA Program Eligibility: Completed graduation in a relevant discipline or at least 4 years of work experience.

CFA Exam Result Availability: Within 5-8 weeks of the CFA exam dates

CFA Exam Structure: Multiple-choice questions

Mode of Examination: Online

How do I become a CFA Charterholder?

To become a CFA Charterholder, you must carefully follow certain steps. 

Pass the CFA exam

Firstly, passing all three levels of the CFA exam with the relevant practical skills module and following the CFA exam tips is mandatory. It is a basic requirement to achieve the charter.

Attain qualified and relevant work experience

Secondly, it is required to complete the work experience. It can be done before, during, or after the CFA program participation. The work experience must be relevant to the CFA program. It should be related to the investment decision-making work or the preparation of reports related to adding or informing value to the investment process.

Submit the reference letters

You must submit 2-3 reference letters to the CFA institute to achieve the CFA charter. The references are required to provide information on the work and professional character of the candidates. For this, NorthStar Academy is at your save.

Apply for the CFA Charter

Lastly, you must apply to become a member of the CFA Institute. If your application gets approved and you join the CFA Institute, you will earn the CFA charter successfully. 

Who is a CFA Charterholder?

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charter is a world-renowned designation entitled by the Institute of CFA to an individual who passes the CFA exam. To earn the CFA charter, you must complete the CFA program, which tests the competence and integrity of financial analysts. With an average pass percentage of merely 11% of the potential CFA candidates, this course is regarded as one of the most difficult in finance. 

Who Should Pursue the CFA Charter Program?

The CFA Charter program is highly useful for any professional wanting to build a finance career. It is one of the highest finance courses individuals can pursue to enhance their career. Anyone can pursue the Chartered Financial Analyst program;

• Finance Professionals: Pursuing a CFA program and obtaining the charter is ideal. If you're a financial professional like a financial analyst, investment advisor, risk management analyst, etc. This will prove to be a career booster for such professionals. With this curve in your career graph, you can become a successful research analyst, portfolio manager, financial strategist, or investment banker. If you are the one, then you must have a minimum work experience of 48 months in the relevant field to earn the charter successfully. 
• Non-finance professionals: Non-finance professionals like accountants can also pursue the CFA program to earn the CFA charter. It will undoubtedly be added as a complementary component in your career. It boosts the careers of such professionals by broadening their horizons of expertise in leadership roles. It must be noted that almost 7% of the overall Charterholders belong to the C-level executive profession. 
• Undergraduate Student: If you are a student and certain about your finance career, go for the CFA charter! You need not be required to be a working professional for it. The CFA program will give you an edge over others. Also, it will shine through in your CV.  
  
  
  

Top 10 Benefits of Pursuing the CFA Qualification

Every certification course carries with it an objective to boost one's career. The CFA certification course is no less, indeed. There are greater advantages to pursuing the CFA course. Moreover, this certification course has more benefits in its bucket.

Let's have a look at the benefits of CFA course. 

• Better Career and Job Prospects

The CFA certification course is worth pursuing due to its greater job prospects and career advantages. Many top consulting firms are looking for candidates who have earned CFA charters in their careers. If you worry about pursuing expensive courses for that professional career push, go ahead with the CFA certification course. You will find way better job opportunities than you would have imagined. The Charterholders mainly get into companies that work on asset management, investment analysis, mutual funds, and other buying practices.  

• High Return on Investment

The utmost edge should be known about the CFA exam, i.e., the universal truth is that earning the CFA charter would give you a better pay scale than others. You will be provided with other benefits, too. Once equipped with CFA certification, you will also get senior job roles and responsibilities in consulting firms. The ultimate pay you receive from the CFA course will exceed your primary investment in the CFA exam. It is because the companies highly regard the CFA-certified candidates. 

They treasure such candidates. That's why companies look for such candidates, and they hire them. Moreover, they give higher salary packages to such candidates so that they can increase the turnover of such employees in the company.

• Affordable in nature

You might doubt it. However, we suggest you look at the wider spectrum of the picture. For a clearer picture, the CFA exam and registration fees are ₹78,065.92 as per the cycle until February 2024. Quite high, right? However, you will find it affordable by looking at the value and career push it can bring.

 Surprisingly, you will find it way more affordable than an MBA course in India. Apart from the registration CFA exam fees India, you might spend on CFA coaching classes, CFA study materials, and the number of times you attempt the exam. Yet you will spend only 50% of the fee on an MBA course. Thus, pursuing a CFA course is a win-win and affordable option! 

• Offers Respect and Credibility

Truly speaking, the amount of hard work and patience the CFA exam demands make this exam a golden badge in the finance and investment world. Many people working in higher positions in the company have mostly earned CFA certification. It is because this exam imparts deep knowledge of various challenges the industry lets you face and gives a good understanding of your industry as a whole. Therefore, if you earn the CFA charter, the company values your work and determination on certain things because of the advanced knowledge this course provides.

• A Boost to Resume

The CFA course syllabus gives an edge to your resume and academic accomplishments over others. Students and professionals prefer this course because it imparts certain industry knowledge that other professional courses don't teach. Moreover, it is a highly sought-after finance professional course because it lets you find a job more easily due to the high-level knowledge and skills the course provides.

• Manageable with Job

You will be glad to know that you are not required to leave your job or stay unemployed while preparing for the CFA registration. However, it solely depends upon your will and planning on how you can manage the course study and the job. Moreover, it is mandated to have suitable work experience to earn the charter. Therefore, you can work and prepare simultaneously.

• International Presence

The CFA certification has a presence and greater value in over 30+ countries and territories. A few countries don't value an MBA, but the CFA certification is valued. Thus, you can apply for jobs in international countries as well. Moreover, you will find a networking base through the CFA course.

• High Networking Opportunity 

The CFA certification course is complex yet beneficial. Passing the exam will make you a part of an elite community of financial professionals worldwide. These communities can share a range of good job opportunities with you. This will also allow you to be a part of a society where you can learn more about the industry. 

• Real-World Value

The CFA course provides knowledge on investment and finance like no other professional course. It gives a real picture of the industry and imparts knowledge on the learning to operate it. Moreover, the analytical skill provided is the cherry on the cake. Thus, the real-world value of the CFA course is more than any other finance course. 

• Flexible

The CFA course is always updated based on the changes in the industry or the CFA certification. For example, the current CFA course is updated with big data, AI, Python, and other languages and machine learning. These additions will help students work efficiently in the industry.

Conclusion

Becoming a successful CFA charter holder is a life-enriching experience for investment and finance professionals. It showcases your advanced investment analysis and portfolio management knowledge and displays your invaluable potential to earn this charter. NorthStar Academy has the best instructors to make CFA an easy-going course.

NSA has taught 15,000 students under the guidance of our founder, Mr. M. Irfat sir. As a CFA, CPA, CMA, and experienced teacher, he supports our students greatly. He leads our genius team of industry experts and professional teachers for providing individualized attention to each student.

As per the past 10 years' trend, approximately 50% of the total CFA candidates pass the exam. NorthStar Academy offers CFA online courses that can be extremely beneficial for being part of these elite candidates. The CFA charter holder process takes time, effort, and dedication! If you are ready to get along with CFA in your career, look no further! Get Started Today with the NorthStar Academy.