Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

Why Pursue the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Course?

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is one of the most prestigious and globally recognized credentials in the field of investment management, finance, and equity research. If you’re a Commerce student aiming for a high-paying, globally respected career in finance, CFA is the perfect choice!

Why Should Students Pursue CFA?

✅ Elite Finance Qualification: CFA is the gold standard in investment banking, portfolio management, and financial analysis.
✅ Global Recognition: The CFA charter is recognized by top companies and financial institutions worldwide.
✅ In-Depth Knowledge: Covers financial modeling, investment analysis, risk management, and wealth planning.
✅ High-Paying Career Opportunities: CFA charter holders are in demand in investment banks, hedge funds, and asset management firms.
✅ Enhances Career Growth: Whether you want to become a Portfolio Manager, Investment Banker, or Financial Analyst, CFA gives you a competitive edge.

What Makes CFA Worth It?

CFA isn’t just a certification; it’s a commitment to mastering the complexities of global finance. If you’re serious about building a successful finance career, CFA is your ultimate key to success!

🚀 Take the first step toward becoming a globally recognized finance expert. Start your CFA journey today!

Programe Curriculum

The CFA program curriculum consists of 3 Modules

PREREQUISTE MODULE

Before starting your CFA preparation journey, laying a strong foundation is important. The CFA Institute offers prerequisite readings encompassing quantitative methods, economics, and financial statement analysis. While this content won’t be directly tested in the CFA exam, it is a prerequisite for grasping the core curriculum.

These prerequisites are the building blocks to your CFA exam success. Start strong and achieve remarkable results on your CFA preparation journey!

CORE MODULE

The core module has 10 subjects, which are asked across three levels of the CFA Exam. The weightage and depth of coverage and curriculum differ depending on the exam level you are preparing for. Details of the curriculum for each are shown below.

QUANTITATIVE METHODS

In this section, the learner will develop financial analysis skills to calculate returns, assess risk, and make data-driven decisions for investment management

Topics

*Rates and Returns

*Time Value of Money in Finance

*Statistical Measures of Asset Returns

*Probability Trees and Conditional Expectations

*Portfolio Mathematics

*Simulation Methods

*Estimation and Inference

*Hypothesis Testing

*Parametric and Non-*Parametric Tests of Independence

*Simple Linear Regression

*Introduction to Big Data Techniques

ECONIMICS

This section teaches analysis of fundamental concepts of supply and demand for individual consumers and firms. This also covers the various market structures that firms operate in as well as macroeconomic concepts and principles, including aggregate output and income measurement, aggregate demand and supply analysis, and analysis of economic growth factors. The section concludes with coverage of the business cycle and its effect on economic activity.

Topics

*The Firm and Market Structures

*Understanding Business Cycles

*Fiscal Policy

*Monetary Policy

*Introduction to Geopolitics

*International Trade

*Capital Flows and the FX Market

*Exchange Rate Calculations

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

In this topic, you learn the fundamentals of portfolio and risk management, including return and risk measurement and portfolio planning and construction. You learn to examine the needs of individual and institutional investors along with the range of available investment solutions. The capital asset pricing model is used to identify optimal risk in portfolios.

Topics

*Portfolio Risk and Return: Part I

*Portfolio Risk and Return: Part II

*Portfolio Management: An Overview

*Basics of Portfolio Planning and Construction

*The Behavioral Biases of Individuals

*Introduction to Risk Management

CORPORATE ISSUERS

This topic provides an introduction to corporate governance as well as investing and financing decisions. This section presents an overview of corporate governance along with a framework for understanding and analyzing corporate governance and stakeholder management. This also highlights the growing impact of environmental and social considerations in investing. We cover how companies make use of leverage and manage their working capital to meet short-term operational needs.

Topics

*Organizational Forms, Corporate Issuer Features, and Ownership

*Investors and Other Stakeholders

*Corporate Governance: Conflicts, Mechanisms, Risks, and Benefits

*Working Capital and Liquidity

*Capital Investments and Capital Allocation

*Capital Structure

*Business Models

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS

This section provides a thorough explanation of financial reporting procedures and the standards that govern financial reporting disclosures, with an emphasis on basic financial statements and how alternative accounting methods affect those statements and the analysis of them. This section teaches to examine primary financial statements and provide a general framework for conducting financial statement analysis.

Topics

*Introduction to Financial Statement Analysis

*Analyzing Income Statements

*Analyzing Balance Sheets

*Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows I

*Analyzing Statements of Cash Flows II

*Analysis of Inventories

*Analysis of Long-Term Assets

*Topics in Long-Term Liabilities and Equity

*Analysis of Income Taxes

*Financial Reporting Quality

*Financial Analysis Techniques

*Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling

EQUITY INVESTMENTS

This section explores the characteristics of equity investments, security markets, and indexes and explains how to analyze industries, companies, and equity securities as well as the use of basic equity valuation models. Global equities are important for meeting longer-term growth and diversification objectives.

Topics

*Market Organization and Structure

*Security Market Indexes

*Market Efficiency

*Overview of Equity Securities

*Company Analysis: Past and Present

*Industry and Competitive Analysis

*Company Analysis: Forecasting

*Equity Valuation: Concepts and Basic Tools

FIXED INCOME

This section explains how to describe fixed income securities and their markets, yield measures, risk factors, and valuation measurements and drivers. This also covers calculating yields, values of fixed income securities, the securitization of assets, the fundamentals of bond returns and risks, and basic principles of credit analysis.

Topics

*Fixed-Income: Instruments Features

*Fixed-Income Cash Flows and Types

*Fixed-Income Issuance and Trading

*Fixed-Income Markets for Corporate Issuers

*Fixed-Income Markets for Government Issuers

*Fixed-Income Bond Valuation: Prices and Yields

*Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Fixed-Rate Bonds

*Yield and Yield Spread Measures for Floating-Rate Instruments

*The Term Structure of Interest Rates: Spot, Par, and Forward Curves

*Interest Rate Risk and Return

*Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties

*Yield-Based Bond Convexity and Portfolio Properties

*Curve-Based and Imperial Fixed-Income Risk Measures

*Credit Risk

*Credit Analysis for Government Issuers

*Credit Analysis for Corporate Issuers

*Fixed-Income Securitization

*Asset-Backed Security (ABS) and Instrument and Market Features

*Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) Instrument and Market Features

DERIVATIVES

This section teaches you to build the conceptual framework for understanding the basic derivatives and derivative markets. You then get introduced to essential features and valuation concepts for forward commitments such as forwards, futures, swaps, and contingent claims. Finally, you learn to examine arbitrage, a critical concept that links derivative pricing to the price of the underlying asset.

Topics

*Derivative Instrument and Derivative Market Features

*Forward Commitment and Contingent Claim Features and Instruments

*Derivative Benefits, Risks, and Issuer and Investor Uses

*Arbitrage, Replication, and the Cost of Carry in Pricing Derivatives

*Pricing and Valuation of Forward Contracts and for an Underlying with Varying Maturities

*Pricing and Valuation of Futures Contracts
*Pricing and Valuation of Interest Rates and Other Swaps
*Pricing and Valuation of Options

*Option Replication Using Put–Call Parity

*Valuing a Derivative Using a One-Period Binomial Model

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

This topic explores alternative investments, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, commodities, and infrastructure. You cover the use of alternative investments for diversifications and higher returns. In this curriculum, you understand alternative investments and the characteristics they have in common.

Topics

*Alternative Investment Features, Methods, and Structures

*Alternative Investment Performance and Returns

*Investments in Private Capital: Equity and Debt

*Real Estate and Infrastructure

*Natural Resources

*Hedge Funds

*Introduction to Digital Assets

ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

The focus of this topic is ethics, related challenges to ethical behavior, and the role ethics and professionalism play in the investment industry. CFA institute provides a framework to support ethical decision-making

Topics

*Ethics and Trust in the Investment Profession

*Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct Guidance for Standards I–VII

*Introduction to the Global Investment Performance Standards

*Ethics Application

QUANTITATIVE METHODS

These topics will deepen Level 2 learners' knowledge by providing advanced tools and techniques for financial data modeling, model refinement, addressing limitations, time series analysis, machine learning, and managing large-scale data projects. This prepares them for complex financial analysis and real-world challenges with greater expertise.

Topics

*Basics of Multiple Regression and Underlying Assumptions

*Evaluating Regression Model Fit and Interpreting Model Results

*Model Misspecification

*Extensions of Multiple Regression

*Time-Series Analysis

*Machine Learning

*Big Data Projects

ECONIMICS

Topics

*Currency Exchange Rates: Understanding Equilibrium Value
*Economic Growth

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Topics

*Exchange-Traded Funds: Mechanics and Applications
*Using Multi-factor Models
*Measuring and Managing Market Risk
*Back testing and Simulation
*Economics and Investment Markets
*Analysis of Active Portfolio Management

CORPORATE ISSUERS

Topics

*Analysis of Dividends and Share Repurchases
*Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
*Cost of Capital: Advanced Topics
*Corporate Restructuring

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS

Topics

*Intercorporate Investments

*Employee Compensation: Post-Employment and Share-Based
*Multinational Operations
*Analysis of Financial Institutions
*Evaluating Quality of Financial Reports
*Integration of Financial Statement Analysis Techniques

EQUITY VALUATION

Topics

*Equity Valuation: Applications and Processes
*Discounted Dividend Valuation
*Free Cash Flow Valuation
*Market-Based Valuation: Price and Enterprise Value Multiples
*Residual Income Valuation
*Private Company Valuation

FIXED INCOME

Topics

*The Term Structure and Interest Rate Dynamics
*The Arbitrage-Free Valuation Framework
*Valuation and Analysis of Bonds with Embedded Options
*Credit Analysis Models
*Credit Default Swaps

DERIVATIVES

Topics

*Pricing and Valuation of Forward Commitments
*Valuation of Contingent Claims

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

Topics

*Introduction to Commodities and Commodity Derivatives
*Overview of Types of Real Estate Investment
*Investments in Real Estate through Publicly Traded Securities
*Hedge Fund Strategies

ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

Topics

*Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
*Guidance for Standards I–VII
*Application of the Code and Standards: Level II

ASSET ALLOCATION

Learners will gain insights into setting capital market expectations, forecasting asset returns, and constructing diversified portfolios. They will master asset allocation principles while addressing real-world challenges like liquidity, taxes, and regulations.

Topics

*Capital Market Expectations, Part 1: Framework and Macro Considerations

*Capital Market Expectations, Part 2: Forecasting Asset Class Returns

*Overview of Asset Allocation

*Principles of Asset Allocation

*Asset Allocation with Real-World Constraints

PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION

Learners will master equity, fixed-income, and alternative investments, private wealth, and institutional portfolio management, with insights into trading costs and SWF case studies.

Topics

*Overview of Equity Portfolio Management

*Overview of Fixed-Income Portfolio Management

*Asset Allocation to Alternative Investments

*An Overview of Private Wealth Management

*Portfolio Management for Institutional Investors

*Trading Costs and Electronic Markets

*Case Study in Portfolio Management: Institutional (SWF)

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

Learners will gain skills in evaluating portfolio performance, selecting investment managers, and understanding Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS).

Topics

*Portfolio Performance Evaluation

*Investment Manager Selection

*Overview of the Global Investment Performance Standards

DERIVATIVES AND RISK MANAGEMENT

Learners will explore options, swaps, forwards, and futures strategies, along with the fundamentals of currency management.

Topics

*Options Strategies

*Swaps, Forwards, and Futures Strategies

*Currency Management: An Introduction

ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

Learners will understand the CFA Code of Ethics, Standards I–VII, their applications, and the Asset Manager Code for ethical investment practices.

Topics

*Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct

*Guidance for Standards I–VII

*Application of the Code and Standards: Level III

*Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct

SPECIALIZED PATHWAYS

Candidates will be able to select a path that teaches content more directly related to their interests and aspirations. The three versions will have a common core of the curriculum at Level III, supplemented by specialized content for each pathway.

Topics

Pathway A: Portfolio Management Pathway

*Index-based equity strategies

*Active equity investing: strategies

*Active equity investing: portfolio construction

*Liability-driven and index-based fixed-income strategies

*Fixed-income active management: yield curve strategies

*Fixed-income active management: credit strategies

*Case study in portfolio management: institutional

*Trade strategy and execution

Pathway B: Private Wealth pathway

*The Private Wealth management industry

*Working with the wealthy

*Wealth planning

*Investment Planning

*Preserving the wealth

*Advising the wealthy

*Transferring the wealth

Pathway C: Private Markets pathway

*Private investments and structures

*GP and LP perspective and the investment process

*Private Equity

*Private debt

*Private special situations

*Private real estate

*Infrastructure