CFA USA

The predecessor of CFA Institute, the Financial Analysts Federation (FAF), was established in 1947 as a service organization for investment professionals. The FAF founded the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts in 1962; the earliest CFA charter holders were “grandfathered” in through work experience only, but then a series of three exams was established along with a requirement to be a practitioner for several years before taking the exams.

'In 1990, in the hopes of boosting the credential’s public profile, the CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research) merged with the FAF and the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA).

The curriculum for the CFA program is based on a Candidate Body of Knowledge established by the CFA Institute. The curriculum comprises the topic areas below. There are three exams (“levels”) that test the academic portion of the CFA program. All three levels emphasize the subject of ethics.

The material differences among the exams are:

• The Level I study program emphasizes tools and inputs, and includes an introduction to asset valuation, financial reporting and analysis, and portfolio management techniques.
• The Level II study program emphasizes asset valuation, and includes applications of the tools and inputs (including economics, financial reporting and analysis, and quantitative methods) in asset valuation.
• The Level III study program emphasizes portfolio management, and includes descriptions of strategies for applying the tools, inputs, and asset valuation models in managing equity, fixed income, and derivative investments for individuals and institutions.