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The CFA is the most brutal exam in the world of finance - here's what the questions look like
The CFA is the most brutal exam in the world of finance - here's what the questions look like
Will MartinApr 19, 2018, 13:15 IST
Digital Trends
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More than 100,000 people a year take the exam to earn the Chartered Financial Analyst qualification.
It is notoriously difficult - fewer than 50% of people pass the first level.
Below are seven questions from recent sample papers to give a flavour of the test.
Every year thousands of young people embark on one of the most mentally grueling experiences of their lives by taking the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams.
The CFA has three levels and is a qualification designed to ensure people working in certain parts of the financial industry have all the right knowledge to do so, and is notoriously tough.
More than 100,000 people around the world take the test in more than 100 countries every year, and becoming a CFA charter holder is a huge leg up for anyone hoping to build a career in investment management.
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But what does the test actually involve? Business Insider got hold of a recent practice test from the CFA Institute - the body which administers the exam - to see just how difficult it really is.
We've picked out a handful of questions taken from the CFA Level One, which is, in theory at least, the easiest exam.
The full exam is six hours long and consists of 240 multiple choice questions.
"For many students, parts of the CFA Program exams that commonly cause the most trouble are those covering Fixed Income and Derivatives," Alex King, a director for examination development at the CFA Institute told Business Insider.
Check them out, along with the correct answers and explanations from the CFA Institute, below:
QUESTION — A portfolio of securities representing a given security market, market segment, or asset class is best described as a:
A) Benchmark
B) Security market index
C) Total return index
QUESTION — Colin Gifford, CFA, is finalizing a monthly newsletter to his clients, who are primarily individual investors. Many of the clients’ accounts hold the common stock of Capricorn Technologies. In the newsletter, Gifford writes, “Based on the next six month's earnings of $1.50 per share and a 10% increase in the dividend, the price of Capricorn's stock will be $22 per share by the end of the year.” Regarding his stock analysis, the least appropriate action Gifford should take to avoid violating any CFA Institute Standards of Professional Conduct would be to:
A) Separate fact from opinion.
B) Include earnings estimates.
C) Identify limitations of the analysis.
QUESTION — Cost–push inflation is least likely to be affected by an increase in:
A) Employee wages
B) Finished goods prices
C) Commodity prices
QUESTION — Labour markets are best described as a type of:
A) Capital market.
B) Goods market.
C) Factor market.
QUESTION — A corporation issues five-year fixed-rate bonds. Its treasurer expects interest rates to decline for all maturities for at least the next year. She enters into a one-year agreement with a bank to receive quarterly fixed-rate payments and to make payments based on floating rates benchmarked on three-month Libor. This agreement is best described as a:
A) Futures contract.
B) Forward contract.
C) Swap
QUESTION — An industry characterised by rising volumes, improving profitability, falling prices, and relatively low competition among companies is most likely in which of the following life-cycle stages?
A) Growth
B) Mature
C) Embryonic
QUESTION — To evaluate the potential effect of an innovative and unique type of business transaction on financial statements, an analyst's best approach is to:
A) Monitor the actions of standard setters and regulators
B) Gain an understanding of the transaction’s economic purpose.
C) Consider the approach taken for "new" transactions that arose in the past.
ANSWER — B
"By understanding the economic purpose of a transaction and applying the conceptual framework, an analyst may be able to evaluate the potential effect on financial statements, even in the absence of specific standards."
