Over the years, CFA as a course has gained a lot of popularity, more so in India. The growth in number of candidates registering for CFA in India has been rising at 30% YoY for the last 7 years, and today India is the 3^rd largest market for CFA after China and US. 

This brings a lot of competition among the candidates, both in terms of clearing the exams as well as securing a job. It’s safe to say that the Job seekers in the industry has increased but at the same time finance companies have only started to grow in India.

According to NSE (National Stock Exchange) only 2.3% of the entire Indian population has invested in capital markets where as the figure is close to 78% in US. Now, just imagine the amount of inflow capital markets we will witness when the Indian population gradually starts to move their money from their savings and other asset classes towards capital markets.

Hence, going by all these data points one can easily conclude that there is going be big demand for skilled finance experts for the foreseeable future. 

CFA Salary in India

We all know how well the banking industry pays, one of the most highly paid industry is banking. In US the average pay of a banker with fair amount of work experience and with any big conglomerate firm is north of USD $ 200,000. 

Pay is in par with other industries in the initial 3-4 years of your career but it starts to grow exponentially once you reach a certain level.

A CFA charter with about 15+ years in the industry typically makes a minimum of INR 50,00,000 annually in India. Also the best part about CFA is that recognition starts from level- 1 itself and you can start working while prepping for level 2 and level 3.

As you move up the ladder, the salaries also moves parallel. Given below is data of salaries which a CFA Candidate gets after clearing different levels of examination, in tabular format

Disclaimer – These figures are based on an average data and vary by a wide margin depending on the work experience, skillset, personality, firm employed in, etc. 

Scope of CFA in India

CFA is a very generic finance course and it is not particularly specified to any particular asset class. CFA covers every asset class on an in depth basis in terms of its core fundamentals and uses. This results in an array of opportunities as it is not confined to just equity or bonds or real estate or derivatives.

CFA opens up career paths in almost every asset class and you will come across CFA(s) in every domain in the industry. Although most CFA candidates want to build their career as a buy side equity analyst and portfolio management but there are a lot many other choices like Quantitative data analyst, Trader, Consultant, Alternate investments, Real estate, Fixed income, Investment banking, Private equity, etc.

So, clearly the scope post CFA is huge, and one can pick their own choice of interest and specialize in that. The scope further widens if one acquires other skill sets necessary in the industry which CFA syllabus does not cover – Financial modeling, Pitch Books, Valuations etc. 

Employers

This data is collected from CFA institute career website, Indeed, monster, Naukri, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and some other job portals. 

Some of the top Employers looking specifically for CFA are:

• JP Morgan Chase and Co. (JPMC)
• United Bank of Scotland (UBS)
• Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
• HSBC
• Wells Fargo
• Citi Group
• Morgan Stanley
• HDFC, Kotak Mahindra, ICICI
• Barclays
• Bloomberg
• Carlyle Group
• Blackstone
• Goldman Sachs
• Fidelity
• Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PWC
• Standard Chartered
• Jefferies
• Bluecrest Capital
• General Atlantic
• Deutsche Bank
• Bank of America
• Merrill Lynch
• BNP Paribas
• Bajaj Finance
• Nomura

These are some of the top firms that recruit CFA Charter holders and anywhere between 1% to 6% of the entire workforce in these organizations are a CFA.  

Roles offered by top employers

Roles are mainly in the capital markets, divided across different asset classes within the market. Roles are in the entry level during the start of your career and post you gain your Charter you can expect to move up the ladder into mid-level and executive level roles going ahead. Don’t be shy to grab internship opportunities in these roles at the start of your career as it is very crucial to understand what exactly that role entails and what responsibilities they come with.

Below are some of the most aimed at roles and also the ones with the highest number of CFAs currently present in:

• Buy Side Equity Research 
• Research Analyst
• Portfolio Management 
• Risk Management
• Financial Advisory
• Consultancy
• Trading in various asset classes
• Investment Banking
• Accounting/ Auditing
• Corporate Finance 
• Private Equity/ Venture Capital 
• Merchant Banking 

This is probably the first thing that pops in one’s mind before taking up this exam- Is CFA worth it?

Apart from the cost, it is actually the time and the effort it requires to become a CFA and that is why these questions come to mind – Should I really peruse it? Does it really pay off in the end?

Let’s find out. 

I researched a lot on Quora, Reddit, analyst form and many other platforms to gain an insight as to what other Charterholders have to say about pursuing CFA as a career option and to what extent has it helped them in their careers.

And the result is just like any other thing, there is the good and there is the bad. So let’s try and cover both the experiences and try to get a very clear picture on CFA as a career option, by the end of this article. I will also share my personal views on CFA and what I would recommend to the ones planning to take up CFA.

THE GOOD!

First of all, going by the data and the statistics the good reviews outnumbered the bad reviews by a mile. So this clearly helps and gives the article a good start and for those, who are already half way in the course I can imagine how glad you must be after reading this, because I was in a similar spot not very long back. 

Just to give you a glimpse I’m sharing some of those reviews from those platforms with you here:

• “Putting all those hours and those sleepless nights and the countless coffees have all been worth it when I look at the CFA designation before my name”
  
• “ It is safe to say that CFA designation is treated with respect in the industry”

• “One of the greatest moments of my life was being awarded as a charter”

• “All of the knowledge I gained through CFA is coming to work now”

• “I’m working as an analyst now with one of the largest investment banking firm and I don’t think I would have made it here without CFA”
  

So as you can see, most of them are very much satisfied with their decision of taking up CFA as their career choice.  There were many other reviews stating how it helped them move up the ladder and because of the recognition some were able to start their own venture, as being a CFA gave the clients somewhat satisfaction and trust towards them. I would say about 90% of the reviews were in the favor of choosing CFA as a career option, and that it helped them build their career in the financial industry. 

THE BAD!

Although the negative comments were only a fraction in comparison to the good ones but there were a couple of bad ones as well. This is only natural, everything has a mixed review and just like everything else CFA also does. Let me share some of the negative comments also, again picked up from the above mentioned platforms: 

• “CFA does not guarantee you a prestigious finance job”

• “I don’t think CFA had any major impact on my career as a finance executive”

• “The exams were very brutal and it was not worth all that effort”

These were some of the ones who don’t really appreciate CFA and that it was not worth all that effort and time and money. Some of the reviews were completely baseless and meaningless in my opinion, for example- let’s take the first one stating that being a CFA dose not guarantee a finance job. This is applicable in every field, does MBBS guarantee a doctor? and does LLB guarantee you a lawyer? This is applicable in every field, the courses are only to prepare your base and clear the fundamentals rest all is up to an individual as to what one does with that knowledge and how one creates a difference with it. If perusing a course would guarantee a lucrative job everyone would jump into that.     

MY PERSONAL OPINION!

I’m a CFA Charterholder and am working as an analyst with a boutique Investment Banking firm. Now you might say that my opinion will be biased in favor of CFA given I’m a CFA myself. But I will try to be as true to you as I can be.

In my opinion CFA as a career option should only be chosen if you are really passionate about finance, numbers, investments and capital markets. 

CFA does a very good job in terms of imparting knowledge on various asset classes on an in depth level, I would say. The part which CFA does not cover is the practical approach and what actually happens in a finance job.

Does being CFA will make you an expert stock picker? Obviously no, that will come over the years. You will go through multiple business cycles and understand what works and what does not, and over the period you will gain that expertise. But will CFA help you in that process in understanding the basics and fundamentals? Definitely yes.

In terms of a lucrative Finance job, just being a CFA won’t land you anywhere. It’s the skills along with it which will help you get there. Some of the skills I would say would be financial modeling, Power point presentation (PPT) skills, effective communication, staying up to date with the industry news about what’s happening around the globe and how all that is affecting capital markets.

I hope this article will help you make an informed decision.

CFA and CPA are two courses that are both recognized globally and is of the highest standard in their respective industries. Let’s try and understand each course in detail and then decide as to what suits you the best.

Which one is more suitable – CFA or cpa?

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) as a career is advisable for people who want to make a career in portfolio management or investment banking and other related fields. It is organized by the CFA Institute headquartered in Virginia U.S.A. which was established in the year 1947. It is a globally recognized course and is of the highest standard in its industry. A CFA Charter is very highly respected and appreciated in the industry. Most of the career paths that that a CFA degree opens up are:

• Equity Research
• Investment Banking
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Private Equity
• Corporate Finance
• Portfolio Management
• Consultants
• Financial Advisory

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a course that specializes in the field of Accountancy and Taxation. The CPA is similar to the Indian CA qualification, the only difference is that while Indian CA focuses on IND AS (Accounting Standards) the CPA focuses on the US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). So perusing CPA adds a lot of benefit if you are planning to work in the US or a US based Firm.  CPA is organized and administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) a body which is headquartered in North Carolina U.S.A. and was established in the year 1887. CPA also is recognized and respected across the globe and is considered of the highest standard in its industry. Once you have cleared all the papers of CPA with a minimum score of 75% in each paper you are eligible to apply for the CPA License also.  Some of the career option that CPA opens up is:

• Internal Audit
• External Audit
• Tax Consulting
• Corporate Accounting

Conclusion – To sum it all up you should opt for CPA as a career option if you want to build your career more towards auditing and taxation related roles whereas CFA as a career option should be chosen by those who want to be in the investment based and capital markets related roles.

Key Difference between CFA and CPA Exams

Which is more Difficult – CFA or CPA?

As clearly seen in the passing rates CFA is more difficult in comparison to CPA. On an average about  50% of the registered candidates clear CPA exam whereas about 7% of the candidates clear all the 3 levels of CFA. In terms of course also, the course of CFA is much more lengthy and detailed in comparison to CPA.

CFA and CPA Subjects

In total CFA has 10 subjects for Level 1 & Level 2 and 7 subjects for Level 3

The CFA exam question paper covers multiple choice questions for level 1 & 2, and multiple choice and essay writing both for level 3 exam.

CPA has a total of 4 subjects and hence one paper for each subject.

 The CPA exam question paper cover multiple choice questions, written communications and Task based simulations for all 4 papers.

Average CFA Salary/Package Vs CPA Salary in India

As you can see, salary wise CPA and CFA Jobs pay relatively the same amount. A major benefit of CFA is that recognition starts from Level- 1 itself and hence you can start working simultaneously while preparing for your Level 2 & 3, but in case of CPA you need to clear all 4 papers for recognition and job to start. Although it has been observed that a Licensed CPA makes about 15% – 20% higher than an Indian CA mainly due to the global validation of CPA.

the CFA + CPA Combo

Right after college pursing both the courses simultaneously is not recommended as there is very little or no upside pursuing both, as both are two very different courses and are from different industries. Also both are also very expensive on the pocket.

Hence , maybe a couple of years down the line you may consider doing the other but pursuing both the courses right after college will not yield you any extra returns. This may sound a little wrong but that is the ground reality, focus on any one initially and save up that money and time for future.

With the help of this article. you might get a better idea as to how you should approach the CFA Exam in a planned manner and come out winning.

I’m writing this article based on my personal experience with CFA and many of my fellow friends and colleagues who hold a CFA Charter today.

I know what you’re looking for – A ready made calendar with CFA topics marked for each day for preparation.

I will obviously give you that at the end of this article. BUT, there are few things that will work and few that won’t, while you follow the study planner.

Let’s talk about them in detail.

What Works?

• First of all it’s all a mind game, if you decide it in your mind to become a CFA you will eventually no matter the attempts. So, only move forward when you have made up your mind and you want to be a CFA by your own choice, it won’t work if you are being forced into it by your parents or relatives or anyone, it should come from within you and you should be passionate and determined and motivate to get a hold of CFA Charter someday.  
• Carry out a detailed time frame with provisions for some contingencies, as in Let’s suppose you are in the final year of your graduation, let’s suppose 2021 and if you decide to appear for your CFA Level- I in June 2021 then the if you clear all three levels successfully in your first attempts you will be done by August 2023 and you can keep a contingency of maybe 1 year in case any kind of emergency. This will help you prepare and move forward in a much more efficient manner. (Believe me having a detailed plan goes a long way as it creates deadlines and hence brings more seriousness towards the exam)
• Understand the Concepts– this is the key to cracking CFA exams, mainly because CFA is a completely analytical exam and there is very little theory to memorize or mug up, mostly it’s conceptual and analytical and hence, in order to clear the exams you need to understand the concepts and be prepared to apply them under different situations. Understand the concept behind every formula and you never have to memorize any of them, you will be able to create the formula by yourself in your mind, if you can understand the concept behind them.
• Practice as many questions as you can– much of your time should be devoted towards practicing questions rather than reading books. This is because practicing more questions automatically covers most topics which are more significant from exam perspective. Also, practicing gives you an upper hand in time management as it is a very crucial element. Practicing prepares you to answer questions in their given time and also gives you an experience as to what kind of questions are asked and in what fashion are they asked. Solve as many mocks and question banks as you can and more importantly go through the answers of the questions you answered wrong and understand the concept behind them. This way you will never make the same mistake twice and remember things much better as opposed to reading them.
• It’s ok to leave some topics- The CFA course is vast for every level having about 4000-5000 pages of writings, and it’s only natural to leave some concepts which you are having a hard time understanding. Understand this – it’s not possible to know everything. You only need to get 75% of the answers wright to clear the exams, hence it’s ok if you are not able to get a hold of some of the topics, leave it and rather make a stronger hold on the topics you are comfortable with to be a 100% sure about them.
• Get a hold over your calculator- It is very crucial to understand the functions your calculator possesses and how to use them in a timely fashion. This will come with practice again. The more sums you solve and make use of your calculator the more functions you will learn about it and the more speed and confidence you will build up.
• Guidance from your Seniors-Always seek counsel from your senior who have cleared CFA or the level for which you are studying. This gives you insights as to how did they prepare and where did they face issues. This gives a real hand experience and hence better equips you with the understanding of the exam.
• Focus more on heavy weight subjects– This is only natural and obvious but most tend to ignore the exam weightage each subject holds. Let’s say you are bad at derivatives and hence having a hard time getting a hold over some of the topics, you can choose to ignore them and give a simple reading before the exam just in case. The probability of that topic being asked in the exam is very less and moreover the probability of that answer affecting your overall score is even less. But on the other hand if that is the case with something like Equity or Financial Reporting you have no choice but to study it any ways because of the weightage it holds and the probability of that topic being tested in exam is very high.

What does not work?

• Starting late- This is a complete no. Many intend to devote only the last 2-3 months for the exam and ignore the significance of time. This is not the way to approach the exams, first of all if any kind of emergency arises you have no option but to suffer. Secondly, you don’t get a lot of time to practice and understand where you are going wrong and rectify them which is a very crucial part of preparation.
• Do Not Ignore Ethics- Skipping Ethics is a very common mistake candidates make in their level 1 but it is only after the exam they realize the importance of the subject CFA puts. Keep the subject aside for the last couple of days as it is mainly theory and requires a lot of mugging up.
• Do not just read and memorize-  I mentioned this point above also because many candidates take CFA like a B.com or BBA exam and tend to focus and devote more of their time towards reading and memorizing but that is not going to help here.

The Study Calendar

Finally, I will be giving you what you had been looking for all the while before reading this article. You can get the tried and tested study calendar that we recommend to our students to clear the CFA Examination by filling in the form below.

If you are reading this article it means either you have already registered for the CFA Level-I exam or you are planning to. So before jumping on to the syllabus and how to prepare for the exam let’s understand the exam first.

The CFA exam is organized and conducted by the CFA institute headquartered in Virginia, USA. It is a Non-Profit Organization established in the year 1947. Since then CFA as a career option has gained a lot of attention especially in the financial world, and has covered a long journey in becoming the most prestigious degree today in the finance industry.

Today CFA is recognized and respected in over 165 countries and hence is best suited for people who want to move overseas as it is a course which is recognized globally. The CFA Level- I exam as the name suggests is the first exam in your path to become a CFA Charter holder. 

Plan out a study routine and strictly follow it

Most Charter holders give credit to their study routine and plan behind the success of becoming a Charter holder. Since, CFA is a completely analytical exam you not only need to read the material thoroughly but also understand it in such a way that you can apply the concept in different situations because that is how you are tested in the exam.

To achieve this you need a lot of hours of preparations hence it is recommended to start early and follow a routine. An average candidate studies for about 450 to 600 hours to be exam ready. Also you need to keep the last 30 days only for the practice questions and mocks and other question banks.

Typically it is suggested to divide your timing in the below manner once you have a schedule ready:

 Exam Weights and topics

There are a total of 10 subjects and each subject has a different weightage in the exam and it is very crucial to keep that in mind and prepare accordingly. Every topic is divided as Learning Outcome Statements (LOS).

 CFA institute places Ethics as a characteristic to the highest priority and hence it is important to focus on Ethics as many candidates avoid it assuming to be a sub topic and leave it for later. Make sure you get a strong hold over Ethics.

Also the exam pattern and weightages keep changing every year so make sure to use the latest materials and videos and stay updated. At the start of every LOS the institute mentions what is the main objective of that LOS, so make sure to read that and study that LOS accordingly, for example- if the LOS says calculate, it means you will be asked to solve numerical from that topic, if the LOS says describe the institute only wants you to understand that topic and no numerical will be asked from that topic.

Hence, it is very crucial to first analyze what exactly the institute is trying to impart from a particular topic and then prepare accordingly.

Mocks and questions

This is literally the key to cracking the exam, going through the material and videos won’t help clear the exam. Practicing as many questions as possible giving as many mocks as possible is the key to clearing the exam.

The end of chapter questions of the CFA Institute and the practice questions in the CFA website should be answered at least 2-3 times and analyze which ever questions you answered wrong.

Coming to mocks, appear for all three mocks available on the CFA website and all 3 mocks provided by Kalpan Schweser as these are prepared in the exact same format and weightage as the exam is and is usually slightly difficult than the real exam and hence are perfect to give a real feel of the exam and show where exactly do you stand and which areas do you need to focus more on.

Appear for some of the mocks about 15 to 20 days before the exam so that you can improvise on the areas where you are lacking behind and then give some mocks 3 to 4 days before the exam to see the improvement.

Also never be demotivated by looking at the score of the mocks, that is not the purpose of giving mocks rather try to see where did you go wrong the reasons behind those mistakes and improvise on them.

Pro Tips

• Prepare a formula sheet subject wise and if possible understand the formula rather than memorizing.
• Follow your planned routine and do not deviate from it.
• Make your own notes subject wise and keep them handy.
• Go through the questions you answered wrong.
• Focus more on practicing rather than studying.
• Take a day’s break after every 10 days to release stress.
• Do not take Ethics lightly.
• Watch videos if reading feels exhaustive.
• Be a part of CFA groups in whatsapp as a lot of important information is shared in them.
• Last but not the least Study Hard and Study Smart.

List of study materials and a brief on them

CFA Institute books- When you successfully register for the Level-I exam CFA institute provides you with 6 books covering all the 10 topics.

The institute provides a soft copy of the books and if you wish to get a hard copy of the same you need to pay an additional $150 for it.

The CFA institute books are the best study material but only if you have plenty of time, if you have a minimum 6 months left for the exam only then should you refer the CFA Institute books because there are a total of about 4,000 pages and you cannot afford to skip topics.

The End of chapter questions on these books are the best to solve some questions after understanding a topic to get a feel of the type of questions asked in the exam.

Kaplan Schweser- This is probably the most widely used material for CFA Level- I exam. The best part here is that it covers every topic but briefly, so it is not as lengthy as the CFA Institute books.

The end of chapter questions here also is very crucial from the exam perspective. You get 3 additional mock papers within the book set which is very useful and gives a real feel of the exams.

Wiley- This is another 3^rd party prep provider and again is very widely used among the candidates. Although the language here is not as easy as Kaplan and hence, beginners might struggle here initially to get hands on.

The WallStreet School’s Online Course covers all aspects of the preparation as it a CFA Approved Prep Provider, which is a good option for the students who don’t want the hassle of going through all different resources and want everything at one place.

Firstly many congratulations on clearing your CFA level- II Exam, I’m sure it must have been a very proud moment for you and your family.

Now, the CFA Level-III Exam is the last exam of the 3 levels and there are quite a few changes to it from every perspective and hence it is very crucial to understand everything about it and then move forward with the preparations.

Although this journey comes to and end with the end of this exam but the memories of the same will remain forever with you, those sleepless nights, multiple coffees every night, high pressure, focus and devotion, endless mocks and whatnot.

So let’s understand everything there is to know about it and end this beautiful journey with flying colors.

Syllabus

So there are 7 subjects in total in the CFA level-III curriculum, unlike Level-I & II which both have 10 subjects. Below are the subjects along with their respective exam weightages:

As you can clearly see Portfolio Management here carries the highest weightage with 40% weight and hence is the most important subject in Level-III exam and in-fact the key to clearing Level-III Exam is to look every question, every content from a portfolio manager’s point of view. Also as there are only 7 subjects in Level-III, so the content is also less compared to other levels which is why it is highly suggested to read the entire CFA Curriculum for Level-III.

Fees

There is the standard registration fee for the CFA Level-III Exam just like there was previously for level I &II which again varies depending on the time of your enrollment.

Exam Pattern

The CFA Level-III Exam is not a completely Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) based exam unlike the other two levels, here apart from MCQ Questions there is also essay based questions which is why it is crucial to understand how to frame the answer and go about it as this is where most candidates face the issues, i.e. – despite knowing the answers many are unable to frame the answers in a structured manner, the key to which is to think like a portfolio manager and then answer it.

In simple terms the answer should be from a firm’s view and not just a department of it. It is an Offline exam just like previous exams. It is a 6 hour based exam which is divided into two parts of equal time. There is a 2 hour break in between for your lunch and other activities.

• Morning session– This is the 1^st part of the exam and is called Structured Response Exam sometimes also called Essay Exam of 3 hours which consists of (8 – 12) questions, each with several subparts and has a maximum of 180 points (The point value of each question is provided in the exam booklet) and the questions can be based on any of the subjects.
• Afternoon session– This is the 2^nd part of the Exam which also is of 3 hours and consists of 11 item sets also called vignettes, 8 of them have 6 questions each and the remaining 3 item sets have 4 questions each making a total of 60 questions just like in Level-II, which again can be based on any of the subjects.

Documents and Eligibility required to enroll for the CFA level- III Exam

All the documents that were required to appear for Level-I & Level-II are required for Level-III also.

Average Salary of a CFA Level- III cleared

These Figures are for the ones who have no prior work experience and have just started with their careers:

• In India: Average Pay for a CFA Level- III cleared in India is around 7 – 15 L.P.A. for someone who has just started out with his career. Note- getting into a core finance profile such as Valuations, Investment Banking, etc. right after CFA Level- III is not very easy and you might have to gain some prior work experience or right connections in the industry, financial modeling skills is a very crucial skill for most of the roles.
• In US: Average Pay for CFA Level- III cleared in US is about $50,000 – $75,000 annually for a newbie who has just stared out.

JOB Profiles post Level- III

Most of the job profile one can expect after completing all 3 levels are-

• Equity Research Analyst
• Corporate Financial Analyst
• Portfolio Manager
• Credit Research Analyst
• Valuation Analyst

How much time it requires to study for CFA Level- III:

On an average it is estimated by the CFA Institute that a minimum of 300 hour preparation is required for CFA Level- III, although this is a very ballpark figure as it very much depends upon prior knowledge, experience, grasping skills and various other factors. On an average candidates say it takes about 450- 600 hours to completely grasp the concept and be confident about it.

How to prepare for CFA Level- III

The part where most candidates make mistake is that they take Level III slightly for granted by looking at the passing rate and getting over confident by clearing Level II. The passing sure is 50% for Level III which is the highest among all 3 levels but the part to consider here is that it is 50% of those who have already cleared the previous 2 levels so you are already competing amongst the best students.

Also, another factor here is that candidates are not used to the essay writing exams of the morning session and this is where most candidates suffer. It is very crucial to prepare well for the morning session especially, as we are well versed with the MCQ type questions but not the essay questions.

One major point here is to frame the answers very structurally and answer every question from the perspective of a portfolio manager, considering effects on every asset class. Also answering more and more questions and giving a minimum of 10-12 mocks is also very crucial to get hands on the timing and type of questions.

Things you should carry in the Exam hall

• BA Plus II Calculator/ Ba Plus II Professional Calculator
• A set of Pencils
• A set of black ballpoint pens
• A rubber
• A Pencil sharpener
• A watch (Not a Smart Watch)
• An extra battery for your calculator along with a screwdriver