If you don't have a finance-related background, are you disadvantaged when it comes to the CFA exams?

In the December 2012 exams, we set out to find some clues to shed some light on just that. In our Analyze Results tool, we now include a question where candidates can input their work and education background, indicating whether their backgrounds were finance-related or not.

Given enough of a sample size, we could then compare the various background profiles with pass rates, and see how pass rates varied across candidates that had different backgrounds in work and education.

The results were quite surprising.

CFA pass rates have declined since inception in 1963, although it's been plateauing in the past few years. But after each CFA exam, there will be a general rumbling of dissent on yet another low pass rate. Why on earth are the exam pass rates so low? 

An extremely popular theory among candidates is that this is financially motivated. Low pass rates mean that candidates have to take the exam again, resulting in more revenue for the CFA Institute. 

Let's explore this theory and see if it holds water.

The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.

The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.

In the Medieval era, knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.

And today, we have our New Year's Resolutions. But how great are we at keeping them?

A 2007 study by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study's participants were confident of success at the beginning.

As we've covered the MBA subject briefly in a recent post and many readers wrote in for more, a natural follow up would be the classic question: CFA or MBA?

A very, very popular question among potential candidates compares the CFA charter to an MBA - which would be better? Like most comparisons, the answer is - it depends.
Firstly, it’s a very tricky thing to compare a CFA charter and an MBA - they’re fundamentally different creatures addressing different disciplines. However, at the same time there is a real need to evaluate these two qualifications side-by-side these days, as many up-and-comers looking to reinforce their CVs look to these two qualifications and are not clear about what each can offer to them and their careers. 

In trying to address this scenario, I will therefore critique both qualifications based on the benefits gained from a career perspective, and the costs involved. Always remember - the better qualification depends on your individual case. Read these points carefully and consider your own case before deciding which to pick (if at all).

#1. CFA: great for finance

mod note (Andy): good luck to everyone taking the CFA this weekend!

Warning: this is a ranty post.

This article has a go at well-meaning friends, family and colleagues, whom probably only want the best for me and are just concerned about me when I was tearing my hair out as a CFA candidate.

But sometimes the stuff that people say to me as a CFA candidate makes me want to bash my head against a wall. Or bash theirs instead.

Here are my top 10. What are yours?

There's a lot of information on the internet on the CFA qualification and why you should do it, but most of them comes across as too 'infomercially', that is, they often are written by people trying actively to get more CFA enrollments. What we really need is a bunch of people who've done the whole thing to give an honest skinny on what they really think is useful about the CFA charter.

Here's a straight-to-the-point, frank list of reasons why a CFA could be useful to you. If you're on the fence and seeking to know more, use this information to make a wise decision on whether this challenging set of exams is worth the effort.

How well do you expect to perform in Level III?

Since the June exam results, we've covered Level I and Level II extensively. Our analysis broke down the topics' performance, pass/fail differences, estimated the minimum passing score, and a whole ton of other insightful stuff that you should read up on if you're prepping for your own exam. (See all the links to all our analysis posts here)

One of the most frequent questions we've had following these posts is 'when are you going to post Level III'?

Last weekend we got down to crunching the numbers for Level III, and so...how about a start now?

Last week (12th September) was the last deadline to register for the CFA December Level I 2012 exams. The gate's closed now. If you were planning to take Dec Level I, hopefully you managed to sign up!

In the recent weeks we've been getting queries from candidates that have signed up in the last minute. These candidates mostly have been worrying about one thing: do I have enough time to study and pass since I've just registered?

There has been a lot written on the usefulness of the CFA qualification towards your career, but this post isn't another one of them. Instead, for the ones that are considering the CFA charter (and quite a few candidates that may not have read all the fine print), today we explain exactly what you will need to do in order to obtain and earn the right to use the CFA charter.

In the whole CFA process, passing the 3 exams is without question the hardest part of the entire shebang. But if you're anything like me, once you got the pesky business of the damn exams out of the way, you might wonder where's the frigging charter? How do you get it? I was too busy focusing on passing Level II and III that I never really bothered to think about this part.

Fortunately, once you pass your exams, the process of getting your charter is relatively straightforward - providing you have the relevant work experience. 4 years' worth of it, in fact.

Now, seriously, what on earth is 'relevant work experience'?

So June 2012 CFA season is fully over! Congratulations to those who passed, and to those who didn't make it this time - come back fighting and you'll get it in the end!

Every year while waiting for the results, candidates speculate on the pass rate. And every year, most candidates expect it to be lower than the past years.

And for good reason - the pass rates have been declining since... well, since the start, really. There is a general consensus within candidates and charterholders alike that the exams have been getting harder, and that may well be the case. I did some quick & dirty analysis this week & would like to offer an alternative: 

The increase in CFA candidates is a significant factor in declining pass rates.

After more than 2 months of waiting, the results to hopefully the last of many candidates' CFA exams are here. 

If you've been anxiously waiting for your results and wondering what's taking CFA Institute so long, take comfort in the fact that Level III results are being released about 1.5 weeks earlier than last year. The marking process is getting more efficient, perhaps?

I remember waiting testily on the day almost a year ago for results to arrive (see my own results breakdown here!), and it finally came at around 11AM ET, 16th Aug 2011. Here's a video of another candidate who got the results on the same day I did - skip to 1:38 for the reaction to results.

D-day for Level I and II June 2012 is over, and for better or worse, hopefully you've gotten through the worst of your hangover by now. If you didn't make it this time, don't take it too badly. Hey, if you retake, you now have hundreds of hours pre-preparation over the rest of the candidates, so it's looking much better this time around!

If you haven't done so already, do remember to get your free analysis for your results. If you've already done so, pass the link to a friend - the more results we have the better!

As the CFA is no ordinary set of exams, the high failure rates  mean that there is significantly more disappointment than the average qualification. Also, CFA candidates tend to be overachievers - i.e. not used to failing.

This makes it even harder when it does happen. I had my own bittersweet experience in this once in Level II. 

It's finally here - the results for June 2012 Level I and II. It must have been an eternity for those of you who took the exam in June. But from an outside observational point (i.e. mine), it just seems like last week that you guys took the exam!

But the results are finally here - after a super-long wait, 35 minutes past 9AM ET. Here is the summary of the Level I and II results for this year.

Hope you're fired up for Level I and II results next week! An overwhelming number of you indicated failure is no barrier - more than 70% of you would retake immediately should you fail. 

As you may know, the CFA Institute only gives a rough estimate of what your score was - all they definitively give you is a pass or fail grade, and a categorization of your score in various topics. The exact score has never been released in any year as far as I know. As a result, although you know your pass/fail grade you only have the vaguest idea of how well (or badly) you did. 

But this obviously doesn't stop candidates from speculating.

Apologies in advance for the negative nature of this post, but I feel that failure in the CFA is not an area that's covered enough - people don't like talking about it, perhaps. That's exactly why I feel that sometimes it should be addressed properly.

Besides the basic degree and professional certifications like the CFA charter, I also pursued Taekwondo, mostly as a teenager. As I progressed to more senior levels I competed in a few sparring sessions.

If you're new to the CFA exams, hopefully by now you're aware of how important mastering Ethics is to your CFA studies. In this follow-up post to the importance of Ethics, here are 3 steps to ensure you are on the right path to nailing the Ethics section in the exam.

As we approach results day, hope all of you expecting your results aren't getting too antsy! I have been keeping busy myself - I've been working on something for results day that I'll be posting soon. In the run up to results day you might find it useful to have a quick FAQ covering some of the questions most asked by candidates. If you've got another one not covered, post it in the comments below and I'll answer right back!

I pretty much flew solo for my CFA Level I exam - most of my friends were taking Level I with me so I didn't really have any words of wisdom from more experienced candidates going into preparation for this exam. As a result, nobody advised me on the importance of the Ethics & Professional Standards topic in the CFA exams. 

I don't have my exact CFA Level I exam breakdown anymore, but I don't remember doing too well on Ethics. It was only in Level II that I really started to realise the importance of being Ethical in every level of the CFA exams.