IBTC

Registration with CFA

Once you have checked that you meet the entry requirements for the CFA Program, you will need to enroll directly with the US-based CFA Institute on their website. You cannot register via CFA South Africa.

Applicants pay an initial one-time enrollment fee upon entering the CFA Program. In addition, applicants are required to pay a registration fee for each exam. Payment is usually made by credit card, although it is possible to pay by foreign bank draft. If paying by bank draft you have to ensure a copy is faxed to the CFA Institute along with your registration form.

To find out more about the registration process, you can consult the CFA Institute website here.

Fees and cut-off dates

The enrollment and the exam registration fees increase with each deadline.

 

The earliest deadline for June exams is in September and the latest is March. For the December exams the earliest deadline is in March and the latest in September.

 

Returning candidates pay only the exam registration fee.

 

Click here to view current CFA Institute fees and deadlines.

Entry requirements

The CFA qualification has strict entry requirements. Please make sure you meet these requirements before enrolling in the CFA Program.

Applicant needs to:

• Have a US bachelor's (or equivalent) degree at the time of registration

- or be in the final year of your bachelor's degree program at the time of registration
- or have four years of qualified, professional work experience
- or have a combination of work and college experience that totals at least four years (Note: Summer, part-time, and internship positions do not qualify)
- If you initially enroll/register as a final year undergraduate student with a degree in progress, you must update your account education information prior to Level II registration.

• Understand the professional conduct requirements (you will be asked to sign the Professional Conduct Statement and Candidate Responsibility Statement)

• Be prepared to take the exams in English

• Effective 1 January 2011: Have a valid international travel passport (required for enrollment and exam registration). 

Exemptions

There are no exemptions for MBA or Honours students.

Exams

The CFA Program includes a series of three exams that are offered in test centers around the world. These three exams — Level I, Level II, and Level III — must be passed sequentially as one of the requirements for earning a CFA charter.

Candidates may register for only one exam at a time, and must wait to receive their exam results before registering for the next exam. Candidates who fail an exam are encouraged to re-take the exam.

When and where are the exams?

Level I exam take place in June and December each year.
Level II and Level III exams only take place in June each year.

CFA exams take place in Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa.

How much do the exams cost?

The exam fee varies depending on the date entered. The earliest deadline for June exams is in September and the latest in March. For the December exams the earliest deadline is in March and the latest in September.

Click here to view current CFA Institute fees and deadlines.

Examination details

LEVEL I EXAMS

• Consist of a 3 hour morning session exam and a 3 hour afternoon session exam on the exam day.
• All questions in the Level I exam are multiple-choice questions.
• All work will be covered in both morning and afternoon exams.
• Exam opportunities in June and December.

 

LEVEL II EXAM

• Consists of a 3 hour morning session exam and a 3 hour afternoon session exam on the exam day.
• The Level II exam is composed of item-set questions. (Item sets are sometimes called “mini-cases.” Each item set on the CFA? exam consists of a vignette (or case statement) and six multiple choice items (questions).)
• All work will be covered in both morning and afternoon exams
• Exam opportunities in June only

 

LEVEL III EXAM

• Consists of a 3 hour morning session exam and a 3 hour afternoon session exam on the exam day.
• The Level III exam is composed of item-set and essay questions
• Exam opportunities in June only

 

Please note:
Candidates must wait to receive their exam results before entering the next exam because the results will determine whether a candidate must repeat the current level or can advance to the next level.

The minimum passing score (MPS) for each level of the exam is determined by the CFA Institute Board of Governors each year after the administration of the exams. No one method of establishing the MPS is utilized. Neither the MPS nor individual candidate scores have ever been released.

Practical experience requirement

Becoming a CFA Charterholder is not simply a matter of passing the exams. In order to earn the CFA charter you are also required to be a regular member of CFA Institute. Four years of relevant work experience is required for regular membership. (Summer, part-time and internship positions do not qualify.)

What is relevant work experience?

Acceptable work experience includes activities that consist to a majority extent of evaluating or applying financial, economic, and/or statistical data as part of the investment decision-making process involving securities or similar investments, which includes, but is not limited to, publicly traded and privately placed stocks, bonds, and mortgages and their derivatives; commodity-based derivatives and mutual funds; and other investment assets, such as real estate and commodities, if these other investment assets are held as part of a diversified, securities-oriented investment portfolio; or supervising, directly or indirectly, those who practice such activities; or teaching such activities.

 

At least 50 percent of your work experience must be directly involved in the investment decision-making process or engaged in responsibilities and/or producing a work product that informs or adds value to that process. See the CFA website for more details.