IBTC

Full CFA syllabus

The CFA Program is a graduate-level, self-study curriculum and examination program for investment specialists - especially securities analysts, money managers and investment advisors.

As a CFA Program candidate, your course of study is determined by the Candidate Body of Knowledge™ (CBOK). The CBOK is grounded in practice. This means that panels and surveys of current investment professionals have determined the knowledge, skills, and abilities you’ll need to succeed in the workplace. The curriculum changes each year to reflect the dynamic nature and complexity of the global investment profession.

 

The curriculum for each exam level is organized into 18 study sessions, where each study session includes assigned readings, learning outcome statements (LOS); and problem sets that demonstrate practical application and reinforce understanding of the concepts presented in the readings.

 

The CBOK covers 10 general topic areas (see below) ranging from equity and fixed income analysis to portfolio management to corporate finance. Each topic area carries a certain weight at each exam level. See below for the CFA Exam Topic Area Weights.

The CFA examinable syllabus is divided into three levels

LEVEL I
LEVEL II
LEVEL III

Candidates must complete the three levels of exams sequentially.

It is only after successfully completing the Level III examination and fulfilling CFA Institutes work experience requirements that a candidate is awarded the right to use the CFA designation.

You can take as long as you need to complete the program, and there is no limit to the number of times you can take each exam.

The curriculum can be obtained from the CFA Institute in e-book format or as a set of six printed volumes (per level) shipped to you via UPS. More information on the CFA institute website.

Ten General Topic Areas

CFA? PROGRAM CANDIDATE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE Topical Outline

I. Ethical and Professional Standards
A. Professional Standards of Practice
B. Ethical Practices

II. Quantitative Methods
A. Time Value of Money
B. Probability
C. Probability Distributions and Descriptive Statistics
D. Sampling and Estimation
E. Hypothesis Testing
F. Correlation Analysis and Regression
G. Time Series Analysis
H. Simulation Analysis
I.  Technical Analysis

III. Economics
A. Market Forces of Supply and Demand
B. The Firm and Industry Organization
C. Measuring National Income and Growth
D. Business Cycles
E. The Monetary System
F. Inflation
G. International Trade and Capital Flows
H. Currency Exchange Rates
I. Monetary and Fiscal Policy
J. Economic Growth and Development
K. Effects of Government Regulation
L. Impact of Economic Factors on Investment Markets

IV. Financial Reporting and Analysis
A. Financial Reporting System (IFRS and GAAP)
B. Principal Financial Statements
C. Financial Reporting Quality
D. Analysis of Inventories
E. Analysis of Long-Lived Assets
F. Analysis of Taxes
G. Analysis of Debt
H. Analysis of Off-Balance-Sheet Assets and Liabilities
I. Analysis of Pensions, Stock Compensation, and Other Employee Benefits
J. Analysis of Inter-Corporate Investments
K. Analysis of Business Combinations
L. Analysis of Global Operations
M. Ratio and Financial Analysis

V. Corporate Finance
A. Corporate Governance
B. Dividend Policy
C. Capital Investment Decisions
D. Business and Financial Risk
E. Long-Term Financial Policy
F. Short-Term Financial Policy
G. Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring

VI. Equity Investments
A. Types of Equity Securities and Their Characteristics
B. Equity Markets: Characteristics, Institutions, and Benchmarks
C. Fundamental Analysis (Sector, Industry, Company) and the Valuation of Individual Equity Securities
D. Equity Market Valuation and Return Analysis
E. Special Applications of Fundamental Analysis (Residual Earnings)
F. Equity of Hybrid Investment Vehicles

VII. Fixed Income
A. Types of Fixed-Income Securities and Their Characteristics
B. Fixed-Income Markets: Characteristics, Institutions, and Benchmarks
C. Fixed-Income Valuation (Sector, Industry, Company) and Return Analysis
D. Term Structure Determination and Yield Spreads
E. Analysis of Interest Rate Risk
F. Analysis of Credit Risk
G. Valuing Bonds with Embedded Options
H. Structured Products

VIII. Derivatives
A. Types of Derivative Instruments and Their Characteristics
B. Forward Markets and Instruments
C. Futures Markets and Instruments
D. Options Markets and Instruments
E. Swaps Markets and Instruments
F. Credit Derivatives Markets and Instruments

IX. Alternative Investments
A. Types of Alternative Investments and Their Characteristics
B. Real Estate
C. Private Equity/Venture Capital
D. Hedge Funds
E. Closely Held Companies and Inactively Traded Securities
F. Distressed Securities/Bankruptcies
G. Commodities
H. Tangible Assets with Low Liquidity

X. Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning
A. Portfolio Concepts
B. Management of Individual/Family Investor Portfolios
C. Management of Institutional Investor Portfolios
D. Pension Plans and Employee Benefit Funds
E. Investment Manager Selection
F. Other Institutional Investors
G. Mutual Funds, Pooled Funds, and ETFs
H. Economic Analysis and Setting Capital Market Expectations
I. Tax Efficiency
J. Asset Allocation (including Currency Overlay)
K. Portfolio Construction and Revision
L. Equity Portfolio Management Strategies
M. Fixed-Income Portfolio Management Strategies
N. Alternative Investments Management Strategies
O. Risk Management
P. Execution of Portfolio Decisions (Trading)
Q. Performance Evaluation
R. Presentation of Performance Results

CFA Exam Topic Area Weights

Topic Area	Level I	Level II	Level III
Ethical and Professional Standards (total)	15	10	10
Investment Tools (total)	50	30-60	0
Corporate Finance	8	5-15	0
Economics	10	5-10	0
Financial Reporting and Analysis	20	15-25	0
Quantitative Methods	12	5-10	0
Asset Classes (total)	30	35-75	35-45
Alternative Investments	3	5-15	5-15
Derivatives	5	5-15	5-15
Equity Investments	10	20-30	5-15
Fixed Income	12	5-15	10-20
Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning (total)	5	5-15	45-55
Total	100	100	100

*Note: These weights are intended to guide the curriculum and exam development processes. Actual exam weights may vary slightly from year to year. Please note that some topics are combined for testing purposes.

 

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