CFA Program Study Material & Practice Tests

Best CFA Study Materials - UPDATED 2019 - In-Depth Analysis & Study Strategy

The CFA Program – An Overview

There are numerous degrees and credentials a financial professional can consider but there is no designation so respected and focused on investment skills as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). According to The Economist magazine, CFA designation is a gold standard and equivalent to a specialized postgraduate degree in Finance with a combination of law, accountancy, economics and ethics. While there are thousands of finance degrees available across the world, each with its own scope and value, only the CFA designation is managed by the American association of financial professionals, the CFA Institute.

The CFA Institute is a non-profit professional organization consisting of over 100,000 financial professionals like charterholders, portfolio managers and others from more than 135 countries. It works to develop and promote a high level of ethical, professional and educational standards in the investment industry.

Professionals considering the CFA designation should meet the criteria stated below to get the designation from the CFA Institute:
• Clear the three rigorous, 6-hour exams over multiple years
• Possess at least 2 years of professional work experience which should be generally finance related
• Become a member of the CFA Institute by agreeing to the Standards of Professional Conduct and CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics

CFA Charterholders seek careers in investment firms, insurance companies, brokerage firms, banks, universities and pension funds. Some of them even consider government jobs in the areas of public policy and regulation.

Everybody considering the Chartered Financial Analyst designation has one major concern – the CFA exams. CFA Program exams are taken in three different levels over a time of minimum 18 months. Level 1 is held twice every year in the months of June and December. This exam tests the person’s knowledge of financial accounting, investment theory, and portfolio management. Level 2, as well as Level 3 exams, are taken once in a year in the month of June.

CFA Curriculum

The CFA Program Curriculum is available in English language, like other standardized exams. It is organized into three levels with 17-18 study sessions in each level. Each study session comprises of learning outcome statements (LOS), assigned readings and problem sets. All the questions of the exam are based on the content corresponding to the curriculum for the specific level. Every question is based on one or more LOS.

The CFA Curriculum gets more complex as one moves through the CFA levels.
• Level I tests the knowledge of ethical and professional standards
• Level II tests the way you apply these standards to situations faced by analysts
• Level III tests the way you can apply these standards in the context of portfolio management and compliance

Other Relevant Stats – What You Can Expect?

The CFA Program course was created in 1962 and gets updated constantly to make sure that its curriculum caters to the changing requirements of the investment industry on a global level. The graduate-level course typically requires six months of preparation before each exam.

According to the reports of CFA Institute, historical pass rates for Level I and Level II of the CFA exam are generally between 40 and 50 percent with a slightly higher pass rate for level III. The pass rates, however, were quite higher when these exams were first introduced in 1963 and have been decreasing since then.

In the year 2018, 43 percent candidates passed the Level I and 45 percent passed Level II while 56 percent passed Level III. About 10 to 20 percent candidates registering for the exam don’t appear for the test. Less than 20 percent of candidates clear all the three exams in the first attempts which means candidates should not get discouraged and lose hope.

These exams are not easy. According to CFA Institute’s estimate, a candidate requires at least 250 hours of study to pass each of the three exams. Such a number can be daunting for professionals who attempt to clear CFA exam while working in their field. However, a lot of people consider this course than any other as it focuses primarily on investment management and its practice.

The exam study material is quite difficult and exam questions are designed to trick and challenge the candidates. This is why test-takers should take enough practice tests, revise practice questions and get accustomed to the type of questions they will be facing. Level 1 has 240 multiple-choice questions, level 2 comprises of 20 item set questions and level 3 has a mix of item set and essay type questions. Though MCQs have only three possible answers, you should read the questions and options carefully to select the correct answers. There are often ‘all of the above’ and ‘none of the above’ type answers to these questions. The pressure of time limit during the exam can also cause some anxiety among candidates.

Key Highlights About CFA Exam Format

Here is the basic format of the three CFA test levels:

CFA Level I Exam

This is the first of the three exams students go through. The Level 1 focuses on the concepts and tools applied to investment management. This exam is conducted in two sessions of three hours each. It contains 240 multiple choice questions with 120 questions in each session. The questions are designed on the basis of topic weightage given in the CFA Program syllabus with little deviation.
• This exam focuses primarily on developing basic Finance concepts
• This exam follows a multiple choice question format to make it easier for candidates but one should answer each question in about 1.5 minutes
• There is no negative marking system

CFA Level II Exam

The second exam that students appear in, after passing the CFA level 1 exam, Level 2 deals with assets valuation. In this test, students should show their ability to apply the tools and concepts learnt in level 1.
In level 2, there are 20 item set questions divided into two sessions. The morning and evening sessions each have 10 item set questions. The CFA level 2 exam has a total of 120 questions. The time duration for this exam is 360 minutes. Some topics from the CFA syllabus are covered in the morning session while others are covered in the evening session.
• This exam follows a format of mini case studies which are 1.5 pages long on average
• Each mini case or item set has six questions and answers to these questions depend on previously answered questions
• There is no negative marking system

CFA Level III Exam

The final CFA exam that students should clear to become charterholder, level 3 exam tests the in-depth knowledge of portfolio management and wealth planning. The exam format of this exam includes item set questions and essay type questions together. The duration is 6 hours and is held in two sessions – morning and afternoon.

The morning session has 10-15 essay type questions containing hypothetical situation or case studies to which students should suggest measures, construct solution or explain details. The afternoon session has 10 item set questions each consisting of a case study followed by 6 multiple choice questions.
• The Morning Session of this exam has an Essay Type Format where candidates are required to solve case studies and answer appropriately
• The Afternoon Session is similar in format to CFA Level II where one can find mini case studies with multiple choices for answers to questions
• There is no negative marking in this exam

The six-hour exam covers a number of topics ranging from ethics and professional standards to economics, quantitative methods, financial analysis and reporting, equity investments, corporate finance, alternative investments, derivatives, wealth planning and portfolio management which is why most CFA charterholders suggest more than 300 hours of studying for candidates appearing for this exam.

How To Prepare For The CFA Program Exam?

Just like any other standardized exam, CFA Program Exam demands a lot of commitment and practice. Learning to take the exam is as important as understanding the curriculum and material. All the three exams in the CFA Program are designed to be self-study curriculum but one can take help of a study course or a tutor to prepare effectively for the exams. Here are some of the important things to consider in order to prepare for the CFA Program Exam.

Creating A Study Strategy

Apart from the appropriate study skills you need to pass the CFA exam, you should also develop an examination strategy for skill assessment, time management and taking numerous sample and mock exams. Time management relates to the time you allocate to exam preparation and for the exam itself. It also ensures you can answer all the questions within the time limit and gives you an idea about the time you can use for each question.

Skill assessment is about identifying your strongest and the weakest sections. This lets you work more on your weaker topics and spend less time on sections where you have more chances of passing and scoring. For multiple choice questions, you should know which questions you should skip and return to later. You should be able to decide which questions are worth attempting.

Taking multiple exams not only brings confidence when sitting for the actual exam but also enhances your ability to manage time, giving you a better sense of taking the exam apart from answering the questions. It is a great idea to do a number of possible sample exams throughout the study period.

Is Self Study The Right Option?

While many believe self-study to be the best option for CFA Program preparation and have passed the exam by studying alone, it is certainly a difficult option. The information the candidate has to understand and remember is so much that it can be overwhelming. Though self-study allows the candidate to enjoy freedom in managing his/her time and resources, people who are not motivated enough to study continuously for more than six months may have too much material left to be learnt in a very short amount of time.

A lot of study materials are provided by the official CFA Program and other third-party providers on different subjects covered by the course. When the candidate chooses to self-study, he becomes responsible for making an interpretation about the quality of information available in each resource and making the best out of it. Most CFA study guides recommend a minimum of 300 hours of time spent on exam preparation in order to pass the three levels. This number is based on the assumption that you use your time efficiently and that your review course is helpful. This requires that you have really useful, focused exam prep books and materials that maintain your focus, work for you and prepare you in the real sense for the big day.

It is thus essential that you select a CFA Prep Provider to get well-designed, comprehensive aid to boost your self-study strategy. If you are a motivated starter who can use the available time effectively to prepare for the CFA exam, you can benefit from self-study to enjoy the freedom of time and resources. A top-rated CFA Program prep material can provide you the appropriate structure and study plan to help you utilize each hour productively. There are various providers in the market, each offering their own set of materials and features to benefit from. It is, however, essential that you pick the one that suits your learning style and requirements to avoid being misguided and confused.

One can make self-study strategy effective by selecting a well-designed study material consisting of summaries, mock tests, questions, sample papers and study plan crafted by experts in the program. Such course materials are intended to offer summaries of the topics and sample questions to help candidates grasp well and learn the topics. Mock tests and practice papers let the students get enough practice and learn time management to perform better in the actual exam.

Why Choose FinQuiz?

An approved CFA Prep Provider for Levels I, II and III of the program, FinQuiz is designed to help aspirants use comprehensive, detailed study materials that complement the official study books and knowledge. FinQuiz is created and run by former test-takers and hence covers everything students would want to pass the exam. Our CFA exam materials are some of the most sought-after in the country. With a comprehensive CFA study plan and the right study material, FinQuiz can prove to be the most effective prep course for those who are looking for some help with their CFA exam preparation.

FinQuiz Pricing & Features

Here are some of the exciting features of FinQuiz that make it different than other study material and prep course providers:
Up-to-date Question Bank – Designed to simulate the actual CFA exam, our comprehensive question bank consists of thousands of questions crafted by experts to test your knowledge of CFA curriculum. The entire experience of using this question bank is fully customizable. It is possible to add notes and citations, bookmark individual questions, offer suggestions on improving the question bank and do more. You can answer these questions as many times as you like without any limit.
Curriculum Notes – FinQuiz is the most popular CFA prep provider in the industry because we have designed curriculum notes that don’t replace your official study materials but supplement them. Students using our notes with the official CFA program materials score better than those who replace the study material with some other sources.
Study Plan – FinQuiz study plans are detailed and practical making you prepared better for the CFA exams. The comprehensive study plan is presented in PDF and Excel format. You can modify the study plan to suit your convenience or requirements.
Realistic Mock Exams – Our mock exams tend to replicate each of the aspects of the CFA program exam to prepare the students fully. The official CFA exam puts you on a rigorous 6-hour trial. FinQuiz mock exams are designed to simulate this to prepare you in the best way for the big day.
Smart Summaries – Those who are aware of the official CFA study materials would know that it is too lengthy. While all the prep providers summarize these materials, they might either focus too little on the main aspects or focus too much on tiny details. On the other hand, FinQuiz provides summaries crafted by experts in the CFA program who work their best to make sure you get the most effective material.
Formula Sheets – One of the most difficult things in CFA exam preparation is memorizing the large number of formulas in order to pass. FinQuiz offers an easy-to-remember, comprehensive formula sheet in a convenient format to nail down the formulas with their meanings.
FinQuiz Pricing - Our CFA preparation course is designed to be the most comprehensive and affordable choice for test-takers. Our Premium Pack, consisting of everything you would need to prepare for the big day, costs $99 only. This best-selling package includes Web-based question bank, Notes, Smart Summaries, Printable questions, 6 Full-Length Mock Exams, Formula Sheet, 5AM Session Practice Exam, Study Plan and Instructor Support.
Apart from this, FinQuiz offers a Practice Pack costing $69 which consists of Mock Exams, Practice Exam, Question Bank and Printable Questions. You can also buy any selection of these materials by paying individual prices to support your preparation.

What Our Students Say?

Here are some of the testimonials from CFA Charterholders about how FinQuiz helped them achieve their goal:
“I would like to thank you for the wonderful question papers FinQuiz provided. I have successfully cleared level 3 and give all the credit to FinQuiz papers. Thanks again.” – Shalini Wadhwa, CFA
“I have managed to clear my CFA level 3 this round and the FinQuiz team is instrumental to my success. I would thank the wealth of questions you provide in the question bank, I could score much better with the item set questions. Thanks FinQuiz team for guiding me through the exam.” – Kah Juay Lee, CFA
“I used study questions from FinQuiz while preparing for the level 2 and level 3 of my CFA program and I am certain that it would not have been possible to complete the exam successfully without this organization’s help.” – Daniel G. Mazzola, CFA, CPA
“I am happy to say that I cleared the level III and the study material provided by FinQuiz helped a lot. I want to thank for such an instructive, comprehensive, representative study package. I have already recommended this service to all my colleagues.” - Bart Dziarski, CFA
“Thanks to you guys I passed my level 2 on second attempt. Your item set practice papers are simply unbeatable. Though difficult, they prepared me for the exam and I will use your question bank for the level 3 next year. I have recommended you guys to other appearing in level 1 and level 2 next year and hope to recommend fellow level 3 candidates. Thank you.” – Tommy Rogulj, CFA

Case Study – Clearing CFA in 18 Months

Every aspirant wants to obtain the CFA designation as painlessly and quickly as possible. The fastest way to do this is to clear the three exams in less than 18 months counting from December level 1 to June level 3 with all the passes. Let us consider the case of Sophie who managed to accomplish this while working full time in the field of corporate finance. She was an Economics graduate and considered CFA charter as a quality indicator to get an edge in the industry.
Sophie registered and ordered study materials for her December Level 1 exam on June 30, 2009. With unpredictable work hours during the weekdays, she had no choice but to approach the CFA preparation only on the weekends. Her study style was outside type and not study-at-home as she considered home a place to rest. She headed to cafes during weekends to study for the CFA exam. She could better remember things in the mornings and planned long 8-10 hour sessions for effective studying.
Five months before the exam, in July, Sophie ordered some CFA prep provider materials as the volume of CFA Institute study materials is too bulky and difficult to go through. She spent the entire month going through the materials to know what it consisted of. In August and September, Sophie revised the entire material in detail and tried answering short questions given at the end of chapters while noting down the topics she could not grasp fully. She had reserved the last two months for question bank practice and last minute study from materials on highlighted areas she needed to work more on. It was in October and November she learnt the most when she started trying out practice questions. She recommends trying a minimum six full papers throughout the study plan to get the feel of the speed you need to complete the exam within the time limit. She completed 3 to 4 papers in October while improving the score and time gradually over the month.
Sophie utilized leaves and holidays during the weeks of November to focus on completing the remaining practice exams and going through the areas marked as the ones that need more practice. Her weekend study plan had more than the average of 300 hours – about 350 hours. This was probably due to the fear of going through everything again in case she failed. She also knew that her style was like slow and steady turtle and not a last minute one. She recommends understanding one’s study style to result in effective preparation.
Level 1 is about breadth and time management is the key. You can assign a maximum 1.5 minutes per multiple-choice question. Given the multiple choice nature of this level, practice is really important and you can allow one month of time to focus on attempting the maximum number of questions.
After 7 weeks of break, Sophie found in January 2010 that she had passed the level 1 exam and had four months left until the June exam. She felt it painful but she wanted to do it as soon as possible and decided to attempt in June itself. She registered for level 2 on the same day to keep up the focus and commitment.
Level 2 is entirely different from level 1 in format and is based on item sets or mini cases. This requires an updated approach to prepare. Materials for level 2 are more intense and vast as there are more calculation based questions demanding the application of a concept. This can work in favor if you can grasp the concept and test your understanding of the topic through practice questions. Remember making summary notes while studying each concept to help with revision. Sophie recommends reading the six questions before reading the vignette so that you can focus on searching the answers when reading. This can save a lot of time.
While it may seem relaxing to know that there are only 10 item sets with 6 questions in each paper, the pressure is the same. You get less than 3 minutes per question and you need to read the entire vignette which is 1.5 pages long on average. Sophie describes the experience of appearing for the level 2 exam as a brain-numbing and tiring one with continuous jabbing on the calculator for six hours. All her hard work paid off when she received the results in July 2010 with a pass. She got a breakdown of performance by topics and could note her weak areas to focus on.
The level 3 exam has essay format questions in the morning session and vignettes-item set questions in the afternoon. There is a shift in content focus from investment tools to portfolio management and wealth planning. Though you have less formula to remember, it is not at all easy. Despite all the preparation, Sophie did not know how to answer her first question in the morning paper. She could not manage the time and had only 15 minutes left when she was in question 6 out of 9. She panicked and hardly managed to calm down to answer the easiest of the three questions. She could only write 30 percent of the three remaining questions. She did well in the afternoon exam.
The big day of result in August 2011 was a nervous day for her and she was lucky enough to receive a congratulatory email from the CFA Institute. She recommends visiting somebody who had appeared for the level 3 exam to cover everything possible. The most important thing for level 3 is time management. You should see how much time you have per question as the number of questions can vary from year to year. You should stick to your time limit per question. Another key point to remember is to write to-the-point answers for essay type as you don’t get rewarded for more info than asked for.

Comparing the Top 5 Best CFA Prep Courses & Study Materials

With a large number of resources available for those preparing for the CFA exam, it can be tricky to pick the best CFA study materials and preparation courses. There are so many prep course providers claiming to be the best at helping you prepare for the exam. However, finding out which is the best CFA course for you is not easy. You can do this by closely reviewing each of the available choices and comparing them to see how well each can help you. While each company claims great things, there is actually no best CFA prep course. You can find a number of different study materials and practice tests available. Each of these has its own benefits and drawbacks which means they can work great for some people and might not be so effective for others. This is why it is really important to consider each aspect of the courses. Your goal should be to find out whether it suits your preparation schedule, learning style and budget.

Here is a comparison of the top five best CFA prep courses in the market now.

Wiley CFA Review

A popular name in the test prep market for decades, Wiley is one of the largest companies in the industry with a lot of reputation and respect. The secret to their reputation is they excel at making great products. Wiley CFA Review course materials are made up of bite-sized lessons which can each be covered in 10 to 20 minutes. One can easily complete several lessons in the time that would take to study one lesson in another CFA course.

Wiley offers more than 110 hours of video lectures, 3 full practice tests and 400 multiple choice questions. These amazing features make this course the best according to most. They also offer review materials for the three exams and you get access to your materials until you pass the exam. Wiley also features a final review cram course which helps you ensure you go through all the important facts once before the exam. With the free trial of the study guide, you can test it before actually buying it.

Adapt Prep CFA Review

Developed upon the fundamentals of Wiley, Adapt Prep has come up with a bite-sized approach for CFA preparation. They have kept all the lessons short so that students don’t need to sit long hours to learn what they need to. Apart from 3000 MCQ questions and over 40 hours of video lectures, AdaptPrep offers amazing analytics to help you focus on your weak topics. This system is known as their Topic Mastery Feedback.

This budget-friendly CFA study guide is ideal for those who are interested in self-study and offers packages for all three levels. The course has a lot of material to make sure you are well-prepared for the exam but is not so comprehensive as Wiley’s because of the lesser number of video lectures.

Apptuto CFA Review

A comparatively new company in the industry, Apptuto has developed a quite comprehensive and effective course in a short time period. For the price they offer, their set of study material is definitely a steal deal. The CFA test bank consists of over 3000 MCQ practice questions and students get the option of taking preset tests or create their custom exams from selected topics. This custom quiz option is complemented by the advanced analytics of Apptuto, making it one of the most powerful CFA study tools.
Apptuto also provides live training for level I and level II tests. Material for level III is still not available. Their premium package offers 18 weeks of online live classes equalling 54 hours of classroom lessons. You can even find an option that offers 100 hours of live instructor training.

Analyst Prep CFA Review

An affordable CFA prep course, AnalystPrep offers a complete set of study materials for a base price of only $129. While this small course cannot be relied upon for the preparation of the CFA exam, it can prove to be a good supplement to other courses. This company also offers a complete coaching package consisting of 4 mock exams, 3000 practice questions, more than 40 hours of video lectures and 5 hours of personal coaching. You get access to a personal coach who answers all your questions about the exam and the course, study plan and the materials. They even help you follow an effective study routine. This is an amazing course that comes with pass guarantee.

Kaplan Schweser CFA Review

Another popular option for CFA prep provider is Kaplan Schweser that works well for those who want some help with self-study. They offer live weekly classes, study notes, practice papers, question banks, on-demand videos and exam review to help you make sure you are ready for the exam day. The Kaplan Schweser Essentials package costing $649 is ideal for a self-starter comfortable with learning and practicing on his own. The question bank is really useful and lets you design your own quizzes with selected topics. The material they offer is quite comprehensive and save you from having to read hundreds of pages to refresh the knowledge. Sample exams help you get confidence to face the actual test and come out with flying colors.

How Do They Compare to FinQuiz?

The top CFA prep providers offer their own features and advantages to help aspirants pass the exam with good scores. However, FinQuiz has an edge over other courses with some of the unique characteristics that set it apart from others.

FinQuiz is completed owned and operated by full-time CFA charter holders. This means we know what it takes for candidates to score high marks in their exam and students using FinQuiz guides can expect a more organized exam preparation experience.

Our study materials were originally created for our own exam preparation as CFA program test-takers. These guides were devised to compensate for what other study courses could not offer. This means other providers don’t offer all that FinQuiz covers to ensure candidates can perform well in their exam.

While other CFA prep providers offer similar type of common materials like practice questions, mock tests, study plan and video lectures, FinQuiz uses some unique tools like two-column notes, flowcharts, summaries, item set questions and essay type exams as separate products to make the most out of official material. All the products are improved with time, keeping the core concepts the same to suit individual requirements and style.

Most CFA course companies offer downloadable and online study material and personal coaching where you can clear the doubts about the course and exam. FinQuiz has a feedback system in Question Bank that connects you directly with the content development team. CFA charter holders themselves read and reply your comments and queries so that you get satisfactory answers.

FinQuiz offers the CFA study guide globally online and anybody can access it from any corner of the world. It provides such an extensive range of course materials at an affordable price as compared to other top CFA study materials.