Nearly 25,000 candidates in India sit for June 2019 CFA® Exam

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin Last updated Apr 29, 2020

Bangalore: CFA Institute, the global association of investment management professionals, announced today that a record 24,997 candidates registered for Level I, II, and III CFA® exams in India, an increase of 16 percent over last year. The exams were administered at 33 test centres across 10 Indian cities—Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune—on 15 and 16 June 2019.

“India has the potential to become the world’s future investment hub and is expected to be the fastest-growing market for investment professionals over the next decade[1]. We anticipate this growth momentum to create enormous career opportunities for our charterholders,” said Vidhu Shekhar, CFA, CIPM, country head, India, CFA Institute. “It is a matter of immense pride to see such growth, and that both students and investment professionals are willing to put in the hard work that ultimately leads to the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation,” he added.

The number of test centres in the Asia Pacific region has increased from 60 to 128 as compared with June last year, representing 37 percent of the 348 test centres in the world. Globally, more than 250,000 candidates registered for the Level I, II and III CFA® exams, an increase of 11 percent over last year. Today, about 40 percent of the candidates are women.

The three-level, self-study program covers topics including ethical and professional standards, quantitative methods, economics, financial reporting and analysis, corporate finance, equity investments, fixed income, derivatives, alternative investments, and portfolio management and wealth planning.

Each level of the CFA® Program imparts a skill set:

Level I is focused on investment tools and the foundations of the business, giving candidates the necessary knowledge and comprehension;
Level II is focused on applying those tools in the analysis of assets classes, including equity investments, fixed income, derivatives, and alternative investments;
Level III is focused on portfolio management and wealth planning, requiring candidates to be competent in synthesis and evaluation while making investment decisions.

The CFA® Program is tailored to professionals across the industry, and annual updates to the curriculum ensure that the CFA charter remains the global industry standard. The 2019 curriculum has a total of 10 new readings, including fintech applications, machine learning, and two new ethics cases within a fintech work setting; latest practices in active and passive equity investing; and enhanced reading on professionalism in different occupations within investment management.