19th Annual Excellence Awards 2022: Changes to the CFA® Program with effect from 2023

TEXT: The CFA® Program is a rigorous three-part exam for individuals who are passionate to make a career in finance, economics, and investment management. The three levels of the exams test the knowledge of candidates on the essentials of investment tools, valuing assets, wealth planning, and portfolio management. The exam is administered by the CFA Institute in 100+ markets. Individuals who clear all three levels of the exam and obtain three years of relevant experience can apply to become CFA® Charterholders.

CFA Institute is a global association of investment professionals that awards the prestigious CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter. The core mission of CFA Institute is to create value for investment management professionals and build an investment industry around ethics and integrity and establish the practice of professional standards. Currently, there are over 190,000 CFA® charterholders across 160+ markets worldwide. Over 300,000 candidates appeared in the CFA® exams in 2021 and 2022 worldwide.

In recent times of technological boom and trends post-Covid, there have been notable changes to the CFA® Program curriculum, exam schedules, and eligibility criteria. CFA Institute has always remained proactive in adapting to changing circumstances. CFA Institute accelerated the transition from paper-based testing to computer-based testing for all three levels of the CFA® Program in 2021 in response to the global pandemic situation. Some of the recent changes to the CFA® Program taking effect from 2023, as shared by CFA Institute, are mentioned below.

Curriculum Changes

CFA Institute undertakes annual Practice Analysis Surveys of investment practitioners to ensure new themes are incorporated in the curriculum and candidates are tested on the concepts and practices that are up-to-date and apply to various roles in finance and investment management in today’s world. Some of the key updates to the curriculum include remodeled Derivatives reading at Level I, a newly introduced reading on geopolitics and updates pertaining to the recent evolution in decentralized finance and blockchain. For Level II exams, spreadsheet modeling is introduced, content on behavioral bias in forecasting is added, and a new reading on ‘Cost of Capital: Advanced Topics’ is also included. The new curriculum applies to candidates registered to sit for CFA® Exams in 2023.

CFA® Program candidates can access the curriculum materials through the Learning Ecosystem (LES), an interactive online learning tool that provides all necessary material required to prepare for the exam.

Addition of Testing Windows

CFA Institute has introduced an additional testing window for Level II candidates, which makes it a total of three exam sittings in a year in May, August and November. CFA Institute has shifted the schedule for Level III to enable candidates to receive their results faster, with the exams taking place inFebruary and August. The CFA Level I exams will be held four times a year in February, May, August, November.

Extension of CFA® Program Candidate Eligibility

CFA Institute has expanded the eligibility criteria by allowing undergraduate students with two years remaining in undergrad studies to enroll for CFA Level I Exam. Previously only students who were in their final year of undergraduate studies could register for the exam. The expansion of the eligibility policy will provide students with the opportunity to use Level I of the CFA Program as a clear signal to employers that they are serious about a career in the investment profession.

This is good news for undergraduate students interested in the CFA® Program as they can now start one year earlier than planned. Requirements to register for the Level II exam (students must have graduated before the exam date) and to ultimately earn the CFA charter remain unchanged, including the work-experience requirement.

Huraina Asif

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022