CFA® Level I, II, III Exam 2021– CFA Institute has cancelled CFA May exam 2021 in 7 cities. The exam has been cancelled in Mumbai, Bhopal, Pune, Indore, New Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai. Candidates who were supposed to take the test in these cities will be contacted via email “in the next few days” to arrange rescheduling to the November 2021 exam window. Chartered Financial Analyst® program has 3 levels, which are called as Level I, Level II, and Level III. In each level candidates have to qualify the exam, in order get through for next level. Those who pass all three (03) levels of the exam then obtain CFA® charter and are called as CFA® charter holder. Check more information on CFA® Level I, II, III exam 2021 from this page.
Latest: CFA May exam has been cancelled in in Mumbai, Bhopal, Pune, Indore, New Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai. The exam has been cancelled due to COVID-19. Affected candidates will be deferred to the November 2021 exam window.
CFA® Level I, II, III Exam 2021
The topics focus for CFA® Level I exam is on investment tools, for CFA® Level II exam it is asset valuation, and CFA® Level III exam is portfolio management. Candidates can check the schedule for CFA® Level I, II, III exam from the table below.
CFA June 2021 Level II and Level III Exam Date
| CFA Exam Dates / Deadlines | May 2021 (All Levels) | Jul 2021 (L1 only) | Aug 2021 (All Levels) | Nov 2021 (All Levels) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam Registration Opens | 20 Aug 2020 | 19 Jan 2021 | 20 Aug 2020 (L1, L2) 19 Jan 2021 (L3 only) | 20 Aug 2020 (L1, L3) 2 Feb 2021 (L2 only) |
| Scheduling Window Opens | 20 Aug 2020 | 19 Jan 2021 | 3 Nov 2020 | 2 Feb 2021 |
| Early Registration Deadline | 3 Nov 2020 | 10 Mar 2021 | 11 Feb 2021 | 4 May 2021 |
| Final Registration Deadline | L1: 2 Feb 2021 L2, L3: 23 Feb 2021 | 20 April 2021 | 22 Apr 2021 (previously 4 May 2021) | 10 Aug 2021 |
| Scheduling Deadline | 25 Mar 2021 | 11 May 2021 | 23 May 2021 | 25 Aug 2021 |
| Rescheduling Deadline | 16 Apr 2021 | 22 June 2021 | 22 Jul 2021 | 14 Oct 2021 |
| CFA Exam Windows | L1: 18-24 May L2: 25 May -1 Jun L3: same as L2 | 18 – 24 July 2021 | L1: 24-30 Aug L2: 31 Aug – 4 Sep L3: 1-8 Sep | L1: 16-22 Nov L2: 26-30 Nov L3: 23-25 Nov |
Quick Links
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates who wish to apply for the CFA program must ensure that they fulfill the following criteria:
- Should hold a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a recognised university / institute.
- Those who are in the final year of the degree exam are also eligible to apply for the CFA exam. However, candidates must complete their degree program prior to the date of registering for Level II.
- Should have a full-time work experience of 04 years on the date of registering for the Level I exam. It is to be noted that the dates of education and professional work experience cannot be overlapping.
- Candidates who are doing internships / articleship or have their own business / family business can also apply condition to that it is full-time, professional experience for which you are paid.
- You must have a valid passport.
Registration
The registration for the CFA program can be done by online mode only. To successfully register for the exam, you need to follow the instructions as below.
Step 1: Click on the direct link on this page to register for CFA exam.
Step 2: Next, you need to create an account by providing your basic information and submit it.
Step 3: Once your account has been created, you need to provide other necessary information, select the exam center, and finally proceed to pay the fee.
Step 4: The application fee is payable in US dollars by online mode using credit card / debit card / net banking.
Application fee: Candidates need to pay the following amount of application fee for CFA program registration.
| Event | Fees |
| One-time Enrollment Fee | US$ 450 |
| Early registration fee | US$ 700 |
| Standard registration fee | US$ 1000 |
| Late registration fee | US$ 1450 |
Admit Card
The Institute issues the admit card for the level I, II and III exam online at cfainstitute.org. To download it, candidates need to log in using email id and password. Candidates must carry a hard copy of the admission ticket / admit card on the day of the test. It consist of details of the candidate as well as exam like date of test, timings of the test, etc. Along with CFA exam admit card 2021, carry your passport, calculator, pencil.
Test Center
At the time of registering for CFA exam, you need to select the test center as per your preference. The testing facilities may change from time to time. It is advised that you should visit the test center before exam day to get familiar with the location. Check the list of CFA Exam center for June 2021 from the table below.
List of CFA exam centers for June 2021
- New Delhi
- Dubai
- Milan
- Skopje
- Vienna
- Athens
- Paris
- Chongqing, China
- Jaipur, India
- Beijing
- Shanghai
- Barcelona
- Madrid
- Cape Town
- Johannesburg
- Lisbon
- Buenos Aires
- Yerevan
- Moscow
- Shanghai
- Miami
- Brisbane
- Melbourne
- Perth
- Sydney
- Beijing
- Vienna
- Frankfurt
- Zurich
- London
- Munich
- Amsterdam
- Baku
- Istanbul
- Moscow
- London
- Nassau
- New York
- Manama
- Abu Dhabi
- Dhaka
- Barbados
- Vilnius
- Warsaw
- Brussels
- Luxembourg
- Hamilton
For more information on CFA exam 2021 test centers, click here.
Exam Pattern
It is important that the candidates must be well aware of the exam structure for all the levels of the CFA exam. Check the exam pattern below for Level I, Level II, Level III.
Exam structure for Level I
- Duration of the exam: The exam is of 03 duration conducted in two shifts.
- Type of questions: The entrance test consists of objective type multiple choice questions.
- Number of questions: There are a total of 240 number of questions.
Level II:
- Type of Questions: In the CFA exam (Level II), there are vignette-supported multiple choice questions.
- Total No of Questions; There are 60 questions each in monrning and afternoon session.
- Duration of Exam: Morning Session – 3 hours, Afternoon Session – 3 hours.
Level III:
- Type of questions: There are two types of questions in the Level III exam. These are Item set and Constructed response (essay).
- Length of the exam – The exam is conducted in two sessions – Morning and afternoon. The morning session is of 03 hours duration with 8–15 vignettes supporting constructed response questions and the afternoon session is of 3 hours duration with 10–15 vignettes supporting 60 multiple-choice questions.
How to Prepare for Level I, II, III Exam?
Given below are some pro tips which you can refer to for CFA Exam Level I, III and II.
- For CFA exam (Level I), you will have to study 3,200 pages so must make a plan on how to get through it with time at the end for final review.
- Find out what works best for you. Make a timetable, do a group study or work online. Experiment until you find what best suits you.
- Practice questions and mock exams as part of your study plan. When you are taking the mock test or practising the questions, time yourself so that the pace becomes second nature.
Preparation for CFA exam Level II
- If you are preparing for the Level II exam, analyse your strength and weakness from your last exam. If you think you need to brush up your basic, do not hesitate to give extra study time for it.
- In the Level II exam, there are fewer questions on the exam but you will have to think more deeply about them.
- There are 20–30 exam vignettes in this CFA exam. These type of questions can take up to 02 pages long. Plan on about 10–20 minutes to read and answer each vignette.
- There are 10 topics covered with 3,250 pages to study with 48 readings included.
- To be efficient with the vignettes you need to work through the real-world problems and answer six questions related to each of them.
- Read, read, read and read. The more you read, the more comfortable you will become with the format of the questions and idea of the subject matter to be covered.
Preparation for CFA exam Level III
- It is a 06-hour exam, with 6 topics covered, 16 study sessions, 38 readings included, 10-15 item set of questions, 8-15 multi-part constructed response sheet, and 2,564 pages of study content.
- Note that in the previous two-level exams, you were asked to analyse and describe, however, in this, you need to justify your thinking by synthesizing information and applying solutions.
- Practice more on Portfolio management and wealth planning as these are heavily featured in this level exam.
- You must practice writing out your answers to understand the pattern of the test.
- Provide exactly what is asked for as you will not get extra credit for providing more. Answer just to points and use bullet is you want to.
- Practice and solve questions as much as possible. Check how much time you take to solve a question and try to improve it with every question.
- Do not get stick to one question, as you can come back to it later on.
- For calculation-based questions, you need to show how you arrived at the answer. Take this pro tip, that even if you make a simple math error, you may get points for successfully completing part of the calculation.
Result
The result for CFA level exam is released online at the Institute website and is also sent on the candidates registered email id. The performance in the exam is graded as either “pass” or “did not pass,” along with detailed performance feedback of the candidate. Candidates need to obtain minimum pass marks as set by the member of the Institute. Only after a candidate successfully pass the CFA program level III exam and fulfilling the CFA Program’s work-experience requirement can a candidate use the coveted CFA designation.
Official Website: cfainstitute.org
“CFA Institute does not endorse, promote or warrant the accuracy or quality of this article. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute”.
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