CFA, the abbreviation of Chartered Financial Analyst, is a professional qualification title in the field of securities investment and management, which was founded by the American Association of Chartered Financial Analysts (ICFA). The College was first established by the American Association of Financial Analysts (FAF) in June in Charlottesville, Virginia, with the University of Virginia as its zip code 1959.
196265438+ 10. In October, the Chartered Institute of Financial Analysts and the Financial Analysts Association established the American Investment Management and Research Association (AIMR). "Investment Management and Research Association" is a global non-profit organization, which is a specialized organization composed of American securities analysts, investment managers and other professionals involved in investment decision-making. Its mission is to establish and maintain the highest standards of professional Excellence and integrity, so as to promote the interests of the global investment industry, and its purpose is to improve the professional level of investment decision makers. Since the first chartered financial analyst appeared in 1963, CFA qualification certificate has become a symbol of the career model of people engaged in investment industry all over the world. Internationally renowned enterprises and investment institutions regard CFA qualification as the best standard to measure the professional level and professional ethics of professional investors.
The purpose of "Chartered Financial Analysts Association" is to improve the professional level of investment decision makers in all aspects, and to ensure that employees have advanced professional level by granting CFA title. At the beginning of the establishment of the College, it happened that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States completed a report on "Special Studies on the Securities Market", which not only analyzed the American securities market in the early 1960s, but also mentioned that the securities practitioners should be as mixed as possible and need to train some analysts with formal "qualifications".
So in 1964 65438+ 10, William Nobby, then chairman of the board of directors of the Financial Analysts Association, seized the opportunity and made efforts to promote the formation of CFA system. He wrote to various regulatory absolute values and exchanges, asking CFA to become a qualification standard for professional investment analysts. He suggested that CFA should be the standard if self-regulatory institutions want to determine the qualifications of analysts. This unified qualification can eliminate confusion, improve the registered value of CFA and facilitate the flow of analysts in different departments of the investment industry.
Nobby's efforts were not in vain. 1June, 1964, NYSE clearly emphasized that supervisors and researchers must have the qualification of university registration. Later, American Investment Consulting Association, American Investment Bankers Association, new york Financial Association and other institutions also indicated that members must have CFA qualification to join. This makes CFA qualification have the characteristics of professional authority in the industry.
CFA candidates can obtain the qualification of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) as long as they have completed CFA exams for three times, accumulated at least four years of relevant experience in investment decision-making, and abided by CFA ethics and standards.
CFA exam, as a globally recognized authoritative evaluation standard to measure the professional ability and professional ethics of investment professionals, is of special significance to help China's financial industry to speed up the training of high-quality professionals, because those investment industry elites who have obtained CFA charter have passed the three-level six-hour exam, which is conducted in English, the common language of international business, and involves securities analysis, corporate finance and quantitative analysis.
CFA courses and assessment programs are under the responsibility of the Chartered Analyst Association, a global non-profit professional organization. The Association has also established voluntary and ethical standards for professional and performance reporting for the investment industry. It has nearly 75,000 members worldwide, including 63,000 CFA-qualified winners. Its declaration is to lead the global investment industry by setting the highest standards in education, integrity and professionalism.
CFA examination course, established in 1963, is designed for investment experts, securities analysts, fund managers and investment consultants. The self-study examination course has reached the postgraduate level, and its examination focuses on the most advanced international financial theory and technology, including investment analysis, portfolio management, financial statement analysis, corporate finance, economics, investment performance evaluation and professional ethics.
"Different from the theory of general qualification examination, CFA course is very practical," said Hai Yin, who was chartered by CFA in 2003. Paying attention to the combination of theory and practice is the greatest advantage of CFA course, and after passing the exam, CFA Association members will regularly receive the most cutting-edge research results in the field of international finance of CFA Association.
At the same time, CFA has extremely high moral requirements. To be a CFA, we must strictly abide by the "code of ethics" and "code of professional conduct" formulated by the association. These standards are even refined to the point that CFA must disclose any potential conflicts of interest between its customers and employers. In order to ensure the credibility of CFA qualification, the association registered all the violations of chartered analysts.
CFA exam is divided into three stages: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Candidates must pass the previous stage before they can take the next stage of the exam. The examination time of the three stages is 6 hours, 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon.
The first stage (level 1) adopts the form of multiple-choice questions, each volume has 120 questions and ***240 questions;
The second stage (level 2) adopts the form of multiple-choice questions, each volume has 60 questions, *** 120 questions;
In the third stage (level 3), the examination results are 50% thesis writing and 50% application problems (mainly case analysis).
CFA exam covers a wide range, mainly including:
(a) professional standards and professional ethics;
② Analysis of financial statements;
③ Quantitative analysis;
4 economics;
⑤ Analysis of fixed income investment;
⑥ Equity analysis;
⑦ Portfolio management;
(8) corporate finance;
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Attending other investment analysis and so on.