Entry Requirement for All Level Exams

[unwiseman]

Hi guys, First time poster but I have been trailing these forums for the last month trying to get some insight on the CFA Charter and the required steps. I’m not in any advanced stage in my career/goals but I am hoping to further myself by obtaining the charter over the years. I’ve notice a few mixed answers regarding entry requirements specific to me to take the Level 2 & 3 exams so I decided to email CFAI for a direct response. I will post my email chain below but will provide cliff notes for those in somewhat similar situation;

Summary of myself; 26 years old Looking to take on CFA LEVEL 1 in June 2016 2 Year Canadian College Graduate - Diploma in Accounting. I do not hold a 4 Year Degree. 5+ Years of basic Financial Experience (A/R, Collections, Billing, Reporting) Currently working for a public consulting company as a billing administrator. I am fairly close with our Financial Analyst and I hope he could take me under his wing once I let him know of my plans. What CFAI Responded with; > To be able to register for the Level II exam a candidate would need a bachelor’s/equivalent degree or higher. However , if you do not possess a degree or have not yet completed your degree requirements, you can satisfy the requirements for Level II by having a combination of professional work and college experience that totals at least four years. > Work experience is not required to be investment field related when attempting to qualify to register for any of the CFA Program exams and is only required to be full-time, professional work. At least four years of qualified investment work experience is only required to be approved for Regular membership with CFA Institute to be eligible to receive the CFA charter.

I sort of figured this for myself by looking at the CFAI website but they only mentioned those basic requirements for Level 1 page, however after trying to reconfirm on the forums I wasn’t so certain anymore. Thankfully CFAI responds promptly

I look forward to chatting on these forums with you guys.

From: info@cfainstitute.org To: jonathan Subject: RE: CFA Level 2 Exam Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2015 13:55:49 +0000

Dear Jonathan,

Thank you for following up with us regarding the CFA Program Level II requirements. Work experience is not required to be investment field related when attempting to qualify to register for any of the CFA Program exams and is only required to be full-time, professional work. At least four years of qualified investment work experience is only required to be approved for Regular membership with CFA Institute to be eligible to receive the CFA charter.

I hope this is helpful. If you need further assistance, please respond to this email or call us at +1 (434) 951-5499. Toll free numbers can be found on our contact us page.

Regards,

Jordan

Client Services Representative | CFA Institute | Phone: +1 (434) 951-5499 | Fax: +1 (434) 951-5262 | www.cfainstitute.org │ twitter.com/CFAInstitute │ Facebook.com/CFAInstitute │LinkedIn: Member Group │LinkedIn: Candidate Group


From: jonathan Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2015 3:34 PM To: CFA Institute Customer Service Subject: RE: CFA Level 2 Exam

Thank you Tara. Your response is very helpful. Could you confirm if the work experience must be investment related, or unrelated similar to the level 1 exam qualification?

Regards

Jonathan

Sent by Outlook for Android

On Wed, Aug 5, 2015 at 11:56 AM -0700, “CFA Institute Customer Service” <info@cfainstitute.org> wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for contacting CFA Institute. To be able to register for the Level II exam a candidate would need a bachelor’s/equivalent degree or higher. However, if you do not possess a degree or have not yet completed your degree requirements, you can satisfy the requirements for Level II by having a combination of professional work and college experience that totals at least four years. Candidates looking to qualify to take Level II exam with a combination of work experience and education history do not need to update their work experience or email for approval. It is self-reporting and you will attest to meeting this qualification before being allowed to proceed with registration.

I hope this is helpful. To better assist you in the future, please include your CFA Institute ID number and full name. If you need further assistance, please respond to this email or call us at +1 (434) 951-5499. Toll free numbers can be found on our contact us page.

Warm regards,

Tara

Client Services Representative | CFA Institute │Contact Us

Follow CFA Institute online: CFAInstitute.org | twitter.com/CFAInstitute │ Facebook.com/CFAInstitute │LinkedIn: Member Group │LinkedIn: Candidate Group


From: Jonathan Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2015 11:12 AM To: CFA Institute Customer Service <info@cfainstitute.org> Subject: CFA Level 2 Exam

Hello, I would like to know if there are specific requirements to write the CFA Level II exam, other than passing the Level I exam. I found mixed answers regarding this such as needing to complete a 4 year degree program beforehand. I currently have a 2 Year college diploma, however I do have 4+ years of work experience in admin type of Finance related work (Billing, A/R, etc.). I hope this will suffice for Level 1 exam entry as well but I am still researching the requirements and my applicable background. Thank you.

[Cory688]

1. Register for the December exam. You have plenty of time.

2. Don’t worry about anything regarding Level II until you pass Level I.

3. Up your reading comprehension if you plan on passing Level II. If you can’t understand the requirements based on what they publish on their website, you will not be able to answer their questions.

[unwiseman]

Thanks for the response Cory I won’t be registering for the December 2015 exam for a few personal/family reasons that I am taking care of. I would love to but at this moment I am tight for time over the next couple of months. As I said, I fully understood the requirements on the website. The issue was I wanted to confirm this information with the experiences of those on this forum and found some mixed answers (ex. a few stating you need to have your 4-year degree or be in the last year prior to taking the Level 2 exam, this is a major factor for me if I needed to upgrade to University). Of course, as someone who is about to invest a serious amount of time into studying, I would want to make sure I am taking the correct route.

To back this up, the following is provided on the CFAI website regarding requirements to the FIRST exam…

To enroll in the CFA Program and register for your first exam, you must have:

• An international travel passport (read the ID policy) and
• One of the following:
  • Undergraduate education : A bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree or be in the final year of your bachelor’s degree program (you will be required to update your education information before you can register for the Level II exam), or
  • Work experience : Four years of professional work experience (does not have to be investment related), or
  • A combination of professional work experience and education that totals at least four years (part-time positions do not qualify, and the four-year total must be accrued prior to enrollment).

Regarding the second exam, they do not follow up with specific requirements. Won’t paste all the info, but here is the link,

http://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/exams/Pages/level_II_exam_prep.aspx

I searched in and out of the website to confirm the Level 2 requirements but unfortunately couldn’t find the exact info I was looking for.

So before you make a judgement such as , "3. Up your reading comprehension if you plan on passing Level II. If you can’t understand the requirements based on what they publish on their website, you will not be able to answer their questions", understand that I do my research before any big decision. I’ve learned a lot in my past from making bad decisions. I thought this forum was for guidance not insults.

[Cory688]

I’m not insulting. I’m guiding.

Definitely understand about the issues that may prevent you from studying for December.