CFA Institute is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia and was formerly known as the Association for Investment Management and Research. It awards the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and administers the CFA exam, which has three levels that must be passed within 1.5 to 4 years on average. Candidates must also have 48 months of professional work experience to become a CFA charter holder. The CFA exam is offered in June and December, with Levels I, II, and III consisting of multiple choice and essay questions lasting 6 hours each.

1. CFA Institute
• CFA Institute is headquartered in the United States of America at Charlottesville, Virginia
• Formerly known as the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR)
• CFA Institute awards the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. In addition to
administering the CFA Exam, CFA Institute publishes the Financial Analysts Journal, founded in
1945. CFA Institute also operates the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity and the
Research Foundation of CFA Institute.
About CFA®
The CFA® Program is administered by the CFA Institute, USA. The program has three
levels, and candidates seeking the charter need to clear all the three exams. Candidates can
give the exams only in June and December each year.
The minimum time required for clearing all the three exams is 1.5 years (provided you give
Level I Exam in the month of December). However the average time for clearing all the
three levels is around 4 years. The CFA Institute recommends 250 hours of study for each
exam level.
CFA® charter holder membership requirements include, but not limited to 48 months of
acceptable professional work experience and passing the Level I, Level II, and Level III
exams.
Structure of the Exam
Level I exam is available in June and December each year. Level II and III exams are
available in June each year.
Number of Duration of the
Level Style of Questions
Questions exam
I Multiple Choice 240 6 hrs
Multiple choice
II 120 6 hrs
vignette style
50% essay type, 50%
III 60 6 hrs
multiple choice