How to become CFA -Charterholder (2024)

FAQs

How can I pass CFA easily? ›

If you can be 100% sure of the answers to half of the questions, and correctly guess at a 50% rate for the other half, you've just passed the exam!

The exam is composed of 90 questions in the first session and 90 questions in the second session. To pass this exam, aim for correctly answering at least 75% of the questions. That means you need to correctly answer at least 180(0.75) = 135 questions total, or about 68 questions in each session.

CFA exams are not easy, and Level 1 is just the start. Commonly cited as one of the world's hardest exams, CFA Level 1's difficulty is comparable to a diploma level and gets harder from then on. But I didn't know that it's never-seen-before-and-by-the-way-you-could-definitely-fail tough.

The Bottom Line. Overall, the CFA exams are very difficult, but candidates can increase their chances of passing by studying for over 300 hours, utilizing alternative prep materials, answering as many practice questions as possible, and creating a structured study plan.

No, studying for any CFA exam in less than 6 months will not give you enough time to adequately prepare unless you have a relevant background in the curriculum. According to CFA Institute, candidates study on average 348 hours for the Level I exam, 364 hours for the Level II exam, and 365 hours for the Level III exam.

A survey carried out using a sample of 50 CFA Level I candidates reveals an average IQ of 105. Assuming that IQs are distributed normally, carry out a statistical test to determine whether the mean IQ is greater than 100.

Some candidates consider themselves to be fairly ethical people and so think that the answers on the exam will be intuitive. They neglect the topic and end up failing on the exam. Other candidates read the material, to the point of memorizing the Code and Standards, but neglect to do practice problems.

Having said that Fixed Income, Derivatives, and FSA are the hardest level 1 CFA exam topics, it's time to rank all of the 10 level 1 topics by difficulty. Difficulty is a subjective criterion but this hard-to-easy topic hierarchy is meant as a guideline to help you approach CFA exam topics sensibly.

To pass CFA Level I, you probably need to target 70% in as many topics as possible... In other words, you don't have to get more than 70% in everything to pass. Some say you can get as low as 65%, or even 63%. You don't even need to get more than 51% in everything to pass.

How many people pass all 3 CFA exams? ›

Level 1 pass rates have hovered around 37% Level 2 pass rates have been around 45% Level 3 pass rates have been better around 52% COVID had an impact on the CFA exam pass rates.

How many times can you retake the CFA? Candidates have six maximum attempts to pass each level of the CFA exam, and each level can be attempted only twice per year (at least six months apart).

CFA vs CPA Exam difficulty

Both are challenging and require gaining skills and knowledge in complex topics. However, the CPA Exam generally requires less studying - around 80 to 120 hours per section compared to 300 hours per section of the CFA Exam, and the CPA Exam also has a higher pass rate.

Generally, our research shows that candidates' CFA Level 1 hardest topics are Financial Statement Analysis, Fixed Income, Quantitative Methods, Derivatives and Economics. Meanwhile, CFA Level 2 most difficult topics are typically Financial Statement Analysis, Portfolio Management, Ethics and Derivatives.

With a pass rate of less than 11% for all three levels, the CFA passage rate is lower than most state bar exams. Virtually everyone who has taken all three exam levels will tell you it is one of the most time intensive and difficult exams they have ever sat for.

Most candidates take 4-5 years to take and pass all levels of the CFA exam, and successful candidates spend around 300 hours studying for each level.

Obviously, to reach Level 3 of the CFA exam, you will have had to pass Levels 1 and 2. Level 3 is considered to be the easiest of the three exams. The Level 3 exam eliminates the testing of Quantitative Methods, Corporate Finance, and Financial Reporting and Analysis.

We recommend 6 months of studying per level to minimize fail chances, which is the biggest setback you can risk. Therefore, the quickest (practical) way to a CFA charter is about 12-18 months, from starting Level 1 to finishing Level 3.

For CFA charterholders, I think it is general consensus that CFA Level 1 is the easiest amongst the 3 levels of CFA exam. The real debate here is between CFA Level 2 vs Level 3, as deciding which is the most difficult CFA level between these two exams is less clearcut.