CFA Exam Syllabus

Can you provide me the syllabus of CFA or Chartered Financial Analyst Program Exam as declared by CFA Institute in United States?

[shikha]

The CFA Program course of study includes the Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK), the curriculum content, learning outcome statements (LOS), and the topic area weights.

The course of study is organized into three levels and each level requires passing a six-hour exam. The program curriculum increases in complexity as you move through the three levels:

• Level I: Focuses on a basic knowledge of the ten topic areas and simple analysis using investment tools:
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 (with an emphasis on IFRS)
B. Analysis of Principal Financial Statements
C. Financial Reporting Quality
D. Analysis of Inventories and Long-Lived Assets
E. Analysis of Taxes
F. Analysis of Debt
G. Analysis of Off-Balance-Sheet Assets and Liabilities
H. Analysis of Pensions, Stock Compensation, and Other Employee Benefits
I. Analysis of Inter-Corporate Investments
J. Analysis of Business Combinations
K. Analysis of Global Operations
L. Ratio and Financial Analysis

V. Corporate Finance
A. Corporate Governance
B. Dividend Policy
C. Capital Investment Decisions
D. Business and Financial Risk
E. Capital Structure Decisions
F. Working Capital Management
G. Mergers and Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring

VI. Equity Investments
A. Types of Equity Securities and Their Characteristics
B. Equity Markets: Characteristics and Institutions
C. Equity Portfolio Benchmarks
D. Valuation of Individual Equity Securities
E. Fundamental Analysis (Sector, Industry, Company)
F. Equity Market Valuation and Return Analysis
G. Closely Held Companies and Inactively Traded Securities
H. Equity Portfolio Management Strategies

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

VIII. Derivatives
A. Types of Derivative Instruments and Their Characteristics
B. Forward Markets and Valuation of Forward Contracts
C. Futures Markets and Valuation of Futures Contracts
D. Options Markets and Valuation of Option Contracts
E. Swaps Markets and Valuation of Swap Contracts
F. Credit Derivatives Markets and Instruments
G. Uses of Derivatives in Portfolio Management

IX. Alternative Investments
A. Types of Alternative Investments and Their Characteristics
B. Real Estate Valuation
C. Private Equity/Venture Capital Valuation
D. Hedge Fund Strategies
E. Distressed Securities/Bankruptcies
F. Commodities and Managed Futures
G. Alternative Investment Management Strategies

X. Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning
A. The Investment Policy Statement
B. Modern Portfolio Management Concepts
C. Behavioral Finance
D. Management of Individual/Family Investor Portfolios
E. Management of Institutional Investor Portfolios
F. Investment Manager Selection
G. Economic Analysis and Setting Capital Market Expectations
H. Tax Efficiency Strategies
I. Asset Allocation
J. Portfolio Construction and Revision
K. Risk Management
L. Execution of Portfolio Decisions (Trading)
M. Performance Evaluation
N. Presentation of Performance Results



• Level II: Emphasizes the application of investment tools and concepts with a focus on the valuation of all types of assets


• Level III: Focuses on synthesizing all of the concepts and analytical methods in a variety of applications for effective portfolio management and wealth planning