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CFA

100 Success Secrets


100 Most Asked Questions: The Missing CFA
Exam, Course, Preparation and Review Introduction Guide
Korbin Howard

CFA 100 Success Secrets


Copyright 2008
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book, neither the author nor the publisher shall have any liability to any
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caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by
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CFA 100 Success Secrets

There has never been an CFA Guide like this.


100 Success Secrets is not about the ins and outs of CFA. Instead,
it answers the top 100 questions that we are asked and those we
come across in forums, our consultancy and education programs.
It tells you exactly how to deal with those questions, with tips
that have never before been offered in print.
This book is also not about CFAs best practice and standards
details. Instead, it introduces everything you want to know to be
successful with CFA.

Table of Contents
The Benefits of a CFA Analyst Forum ............................................10
The 4-Step Ladder to a CFA Program.............................................12
Where to Claim your CFA Results ..................................................14
How much Salary does a CFA Get? ................................................15
The Best CFA Study Guide...............................................................16
CFA Study Notes: The Good it brings a candidate in CFA ........17
Commencing the CFA Training.......................................................19
What is an Entry Level Financial Analyst? ....................................20
The Job Scope of a Financial Analyst ..............................................21
Junior Financial Analyst and its Range of Salary..........................23
CFA Blog: A Better Way to Express your Ideas ...........................24
Ways to Check Potential CFA Questions .......................................25
CFA Review: The Road to Success .................................................26
What Importance does a CFA Society Have? ................................28
The Effective CFA Study Material...................................................30
Getting Prepared with the CFA Test...............................................32
Choosing to become a CFA or CPA ................................................33
What Career Path Does a Financial Analyst Take?.......................34
What is the Job Description of a Financial Analyst?.....................36
What is CFA and how did it evolve? ..............................................38
Certified Financial Analyst is also Chartered ................................39
Coverage of the CFA Level 2 Exam.................................................41

What the CFA Institute Does? ......................................................... 42


CFA Level 1, the First of Three series............................................. 44
The Work of a Financial Analyst..................................................... 45
What is CFA? ..................................................................................... 47
All about the CFA Exam .................................................................. 49
Seek CFA Jobs and Employers ........................................................ 50
The CFA Level 2, the Second of Three Series................................ 51
Jobs Available for Financial Analyst .............................................. 53
CFA Analyst: Importance of a CFA Analyst................................. 55
CFA Notes: Free or not, CFA Notes are a must-have .................. 56
CFA Study: It's better than Studying Alone.................................. 58
Financial Analyst Salary: High Salary Grade for CFA-Holders. 59
Schweser CFA: A Worthy Preparation Tool ................................. 60
CFA Books: For Meticulous Reviewing ......................................... 61
CFA Resume: A good-Looking Addition to One person's
Resume................................................................................................ 62
Chartered Financial Analyst: Big Brother in Investments........... 64
ICFAI-CFA: For the needs of the Indian Financial Market......... 66
Senior Financial Analyst: CFA can Help in Being Accepted in
this Job ................................................................................................ 68
Financial Calculator A Must-have at the CFA Exams .............. 69
CFA Certification On Demand..................................................... 70
The Secrets to Passing CFA Exams................................................. 71
CFA Level 1 Exam A Preview ...................................................... 72

CFA Level II Exam A Preview ......................................................73


CFA Level 3 Exam A Preview.......................................................74
Pointers to Successfully Pass CFA Exam Level I...........................75
CFA Getting to Know the Different Types of Financial Analysts
...............................................................................................................77
CFA Courses Offered by Kaplan .....................................................79
The Importance of Acquiring CFA Designation ...........................80
CFA Career Are you In or Out? ....................................................82
CFA as CAT Fanciers Association..................................................84
CFA Curriculum An Important Element of CFA Certification85
Get Answers to FAQs through CFA Discussion Forums.............87
CFA Preparation Inching your Way to a Much-Anticipated
CFA Designation................................................................................89
CFA Job On Becoming a Financial Analyst.................................91
CFA or MBA Which is Better?.......................................................93
CFA Study Materials Online or Classroom?...............................94
Maximize Studying Time using CFA Exam Materials .................95
Attending Classes for CFA Exam Success......................................96
The Benefits of the CFA Bookstore Website...................................97
The CFA Charter: The Financial Analyst's Seal of Excellence.....98
CFA Discussions Lead to Productive Exchanges of Ideas ...........99
A CFA Examination is Never Easy................................................101
CFA Forums Make for Additional Support Systems for CFA
Candidates ........................................................................................102

CFA Harvard: Three of Harvard's Finest CFAs ......................... 104


History of the CFA Institute .......................................................... 106
All About the CFA Level 2 Exams................................................ 107
Outlining the CFA Level III Exam ................................................ 108
Hot off the Press News and Tidbits Regarding CFA ................. 109
CFA Work Piling Up on You? Here's What To Do .................... 110
Yes, a CFA Qualification Really Does Have Perks..................... 111
Basic Requirements of CFA ........................................................... 112
Looking into the CFA's Salary....................................................... 113
Great Ways to Work With Your CFA Study Materials.............. 114
Head to Head: CFA Versus MBA ................................................. 115
A Wiki Navigation of the CFA Topic........................................... 116
It Pays to Enroll in a Financial Analyst Course .......................... 117
What It Means to Have a Financial Analyst Position ................ 118
Easy Access Jobs for CFA Holders ............................................... 119
A CFA Candidate Must Face a Tough Challenge from CFA.... 120
A CFA Charterholder's Grass is Greenest on His Side.............. 121
CFA Exam Dates: Days to Remember.......................................... 123
CFA Exam Results: Know What to Aim For ............................... 124
CFA from ICFAI: Especially Customized for the Financial Sector
of India.............................................................................................. 125
Knowing More About the CFA Institute ..................................... 126
The Establishment of the CFA Institute in India ........................ 127
Get To Notch Results in CFA Level 2........................................... 128

Getting In Depth About CFA Level One ......................................129


Serious Matters Regarding the CFA Passing Rates ....................130
First Look at the CFA Program......................................................131
Some Important Notes about CFA Registration..........................132
Some Insights into the State of CFA Results ................................133
The Great Thing About CFA Sample Exams ...............................134
A Quick Peek into the CFA Syllabus Content .............................135
Usefulness of the CFA Website......................................................136
To Be or Not to Be... a Chartered Financial Analyst ...................137
The Handy Financial Analyst Journal...........................................138
Figures About the International CFA ...........................................139
What is a CFA: Shedding Light on the CFA ................................140

10

The Benefits of a CFA Analyst Forum


If you want to learn more about what is happening in the
industry of financial analysis, then the Chartered Financial
Analyst forum may be the best avenue for you to capture more
information.
The CFA Analysts forum is an online communication media that is of course, Internet-based, that cater in the dissemination of information that concerns the financial sector of the
country. The experts and professionals in financial analysis are
primarily the ones that create and feed in all the information in
the forum. You need not become a financial analyst in order to
access this forum site. Any individual whose interest and passion
revolves around the financial sector is very much welcome to
access and contribute in the forum site.
Primarily, the CFA Analyst Forum is beneficial to everyone in the following areas:
a.
The forum is containing relevant and up-to-date information about the current issues and trends that directly or
indirectly impact the finance sector.
b.
The forum may contain a comment box that allows
the user or any member to share his opinion and feedback about
what the forum site contains. This will enable the participation
of everyone in the site. It shall also allow the exchange of ideas
and concepts from diverse people.
c.
The forum site is the best avenue for all finance enthusiasts to capture the opinions of the experts without having to
pay a professional fee. This is going to be good for enterprising
financial people who are seeking for free advice and opinions.

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The forum site is a better alternative for people to learn


and be educated. The accessibility of it to a lot of people makes it
a potent avenue for learners.

12

The 4-Step Ladder to a CFA Program


In 1963, almost 300 senior financial analysts have sat to
take the first ever Chartered Financial Analysts test. More than
40 years after its maiden examination, now it has recorded
almost a hundred thousand hopefuls from about 170 countries
all over the world who have partaken in the CFA examination.
The CFA program concept was first conceived and came to
be known in the year 1943 when business tycoon, Benjamin
Graham thought of the need for a designation that financial
analysts must possess. It took more than a decade for this
concept to materialize. In 1959, the National Federation of
Financial Analysts Societies or NFFA agreed to establish the
Institute for Chartered Financial Analysts, the body which will
provide and regulate the certification of competence skills for
financial analysts. The ladder towards earning the program was
then formalized.
First, a candidate will need to find out first what CFA program is all about. As a candidate, you will need to gather all
relevant information about what the program encompasses;
what importance it brings to you as a professional; what sort of
benefits the program entails; and the opportunities that it can
guarantee you as a charter holder.
Second, check out if the program fits you. There may be a
lot of hopefuls to become a chartered holder, but not everyone is
fitting to become certified. If you have the right skills necessary
to be successful in this field then it is for you. If you are planning
a career in the field of investment then this may be the right path
to take.

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Third, you will need to assess how much it will take you to
complete the program. You may want to properly review the
costs and expenses to incur. After which, you may want to
examine if the schedules fit your own schedule.
Fourth, engage into signing up. You may want to visit
some online sites to sign up.

14

Where to Claim your CFA Results


In every examination process, there is always a fiasco
whenever the examination results come out. Probably, the
reason for all these fiascos is because CFA thing is such a huge
activity and that becoming a certified CFA is such a big leap in
any examinees career. For this reason, the Chartered Financial
Analysts Examination Results are being announced in these
forms:

CFA Results are released and announced via the Internet meaning, online and never that these are released via
the cellular phone or home phone. So, when someone calls you
and informs you that you have passed or failed the CFA test,
always think that it is a scam and is not true.

In addition, CFA results are never disclosed on a


third party. The CFA result is only handed over to the candidate
and to him alone. Therefore, if you are going to ask someone to
secure the result on your behalf, that will not be an allowed
action.

The Chartered Financial Analysts Institute has


some designated organizations that will hold the summary of test
result. From there, the candidate can then claim their test result.

There is a score table that the institute is using


when releasing the test results. No actual scores will be released
to any candidate. The indicator will be the only thing that any
candidate will see on the matrix.
These methods in knowing the test results have been quite
effective in reducing fiasco activities. This may take a long time
to have it perfected but knowing that all precautionary measures
are being undertaken to safe keep and protect the integrity of the
test results would be a thing to hold on to.

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