CFA exam can become the first exam in global finance, and the difficulty of the exam is secondary. Most importantly, its course contains the most mature securities market finance theory in the world today. It can be said that CFA's complete textbook system is the professional knowledge that a market investment analyst or fund manager must possess, and the design of the entire CFA exam is also instilling an idea-high pressure, because the investment industry is high pressure. The examination time is three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, and there is less rest time at noon. This is to examine whether students can withstand the resistance of high pressure. There is a rule that it is more difficult to take the exam in the afternoon than in the morning. In fact, this key point is highlighted here. Moreover, CFA exam has always emphasized application rather than difficulty.
So why is the whole system of CFA exam the most scientific? What does it mean for our career planning? First of all, I think CFA level is a product introduction covering the whole investment in the securities market, and it is also the starting point of many banks' internal training or training, the basic knowledge of the securities market mentioned in equity products, the basic valuation model of equity products, and the tips mentioned in fixed income, anti-interest rate bonds, national bonds, corporate bonds, MBS/ABS, etc. Finally, futures options, fiscal policy and monetary policy in economics. Looking at the whole CFA framework, the output after our study is the financial knowledge that an undergraduate should have, which is very practical (basic knowledge of valuation, statistics and portfolio). In fact, CFA level is used by account managers and analyst assistants in general banks, because we don't need valuation or investment management theory in the process of recommending products. The only thing we need is to understand products and introduce them.
The whole knowledge system of CFA level 2 has been qualitatively improved, that is, asset evaluation, with emphasis on financial asset evaluation. The starting point of the whole second level is to use various models and quantitative analysis principles to predict and deeply observe the complex financial market, emphasizing the importance of financial analysis, especially the distinction between bond and stock valuation. Equity assets focus on the continuity of ROE and the consistency of profit rate and income, so bonds focus on the adequacy of cash flow or the quality and quantity of various assets, so the whole secondary level wants to tell us that the valuation of financial assets actually focuses on fundamentals, using models and mathematics to dig deep into potential value, while the secondary level does not pay attention to investment management. The whole learning system of the second level is enough for some analysts to use, and it can completely cover the basic principle of value evaluation in the actual operation process, that is, discount based on cash flow, because the analyst's report mainly faces company consultation or other mergers and acquisitions, not necessarily for ordinary customers, and these valuation solutions have been clearly given in the second level corporate finance and financial chapter.
The third level of CFA covers the skills that a successful fund manager must master, including behavioral finance and portfolio management. This part is related to the first level and the second level. Let's go back to study. In fact, CFA and Level 3 are a process of analyst growth. CFA's financial knowledge can be used as a strong backing for future students' graduation interviews or jobs. You don't need to spend a lot of time reading extra books, and many nouns in CFA examples and exercises are also described by professional vocabulary, which is helpful to improve your English understanding ability and adaptability to learning English research reports in the future, which is beyond the reach of many difficult exams in China. (That's all. )