A Word from the Author This article is meant for individuals who have decided to pursue the CFA® charter. It is also meant for individuals who are still indecisive on whether to pursue CFA® exams or not. I will start…

Is there a Need to Pursue Professional Courses? With the rising number of college graduates and a limited supply of jobs, an undergraduate college degree is slowly losing its value. Professional certifications from various professional bodies serve the vital purpose…

Reading 48 – Derivative Markets and Instruments Derivative securities are an asset class where they derive (hence the name) their value from an underlying asset. These underlying assets can be financial assets like equities or bonds or real assets like…

Reading 51 – Portfolio Management: An Overview Portfolio management is about creating a diversified approach to meet one’s investment goals. Diversification involves avoiding too much exposure to a single asset or asset type. Diversifying the risks of a portfolio helps…

Reading 58: Introduction to Alternative Investments The CFA Program curriculum is always changing and this last reading of Level 1 has been completely overhauled by the Institute and is considered a new reading. There is only this one reading regarding…

Reading 36 – Market Organization and Structure Financial markets serve a wide variety of purposes, but there are six main categories of activity. They are used for Saving by individuals and organizations in order to grow their assets over time. Borrowing is also done…

Reading 42 – Fixed-Income Securities: Defining Elements A bond is a debt instrument that entitles the buyer to future cash flows from the issuing entity. Bonds can be issued by a variety of organizations, including companies, governments, and even supranational…

Ethical and Professional Standards is a major part of the CFA Program curriculum at all three levels, so it is very important to learn this material well.  CFA Institute places a high value on ethics, and even uses scores on…

Most financial ratios are important for your CFA level 1 exam. Here is an extensive list of these ratios. You can also download AnalystPrep ratio sheet by clicking on this link. Activity Ratios Activity ratios measure how efficiently a company performs day-to-day…

There’s no getting around it, financial reporting and analysis is a big part of the CFA level 1 curriculum, and there is a lot of material with which you’ll need to become familiar. As one of the largest sections of…