KORNERSTONE is a member of CFA PPGP (Prep Providers Guidelines Program) of CFA Institute
The CFA® designation is a qualification for finance and investment professionals, particularly in the fields of investment management, investment banking and financial analysis of stocks, bonds and their derivative assets. The CFA program focuses on portfolio management and financial analysis, and provides a general knowledge of other areas of finance, equipping you with a strong foundation for a variety of career choices in the investment profession. Employers and media around the world recognize the CFA charter as the standard of professional excellence. The Economist ranked the CFA Program as the gold standard among investment analysis designations. With such widespread recognition, CFA charter holders earn a significant competitive advantage for international employment.
About the Certification
- CFA is awarded by CFA Institute, which is the world’s largest association of investment professionals, with nearly 107,000 members and 138 countries
- As of March 2012, there are 98,000 CFA charter holders worldwide in industries ranging from Investment companies, mutual funds, investment banks, finance, banks, insurance companies to consulting firms
- CFA Institute opened its first branch office in Hong Kong in 1997. Currently, it engages with over 14,000 members in 20 countries
- The latest global passing rate of CFA exam: CFA Level I: 43% (Dec 2013); CFA Level II: 43% (June 2013); CFA Level III 49% (June 2013)
- CFA Institute official website: http://www.cfainstitute.org
Training Outlines
- Ethical and professional standards
- Investment tools
- Quantitative methods
- Economics
- Financial reporting & analysis
- Corporate finance
- Asset classes
- Equity investment
- Fixed income Investment
- Derivatives
- Alternative investment
- Portfolio management and wealth planning
Training Highlights
- CFA Level I: 66 hours exam-focused, instructor-lead training (55 hours in-class training – 6 hours mock exam and exam drill – 5 hours accounting workshop (optional)
- CFA Level II: 42 hours exam-focused, instructor-lead training
- CFA Level III: 42 hours exam-focused, instructor-lead training
- CFA Examination-focused
- Training materials and classroom exercises are designed based on the CFA official curriculum
- Real case studies will be adopted in class to enable practical application
- Conducted by multi trainers in accordance to their expertise of CFA syllabus
- Optimal class size enables interactive and effective discussion between CFA trainers and participants
- Free re-sitting for those who fail the CFA exam with 80% of attendance or above
Chartered Requirements
- Have 4 years of qualified, professional work experience or a combination of work and colleague experience that totals at least 4 years
- Have 48 months of acceptable professional work experience (a recognized regular member)
- Become a member of the CFA Institute and apply for membership to a local CFA member society
- Pass the CFA Program Level I, Level II and Level III examinations
- Meet the professional conduct admission criteria
Examination Highlights
- CFA Level I Exam
- Offered in every June and December
- A total of 240 free-standing multiple choice questions, 120 for each session
- All questions are equally weighted with no penalty for guessing
- CFA Level II Exam
- Offered in every June
- A total of 20 item sets. Each item set consists of a vignette (or case statement) and 6 multiple choice questions
- 120 multiple choice questions are equally weighted, 3 points each, with no penalty for guessing
- CFA Level III Exam
- Offered in June only
- Exam uses the essay format in the morning; and the item set format in the afternoon.
- Exam paper is graded for 360 points, 180 points for 10-15 essay questions and 180 points for 10 item sets
- CFA Topic and Learning Focus
- Level I Exam: Topic focus is on investment tools, and the learning focus is knowledge and comprehension
- Level II Exam: Topic focus is on asset valuation, and the learning focus is application and analysis
- Level III Exam: Topic focus is on portfolio management, and learning focus is on synthesis and evaluation
- CFA Exam Topic
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 I. Ethical and professional standards 15% 10% 10% II. Investment tools 50% 30-60% 0% Quantitative methods (12%) (5-10%) (0%) Economics (10%) (5-10%) Financial reporting & analysis (20%) (15-25%) Corporate finance (8%) (5-15%) III. Asset classes 30% 35-75% 35-45% Derivatives (5%) (5-15%) (5-15%) Equity investment (10%) (20-30%) (5-15%) Fixed income investment (12%) (5-15%) (10-20%) Alternative investment (3%) (5-15%) (5-15%) Portfolio management and wealth planning 5% 5-15% 45-55% - A 6-hour examination is divided into a morning and an afternoon session with a 2-hour lunch a 2-hour lunch break in between
- Candidates must attend both the morning and afternoon sessions to have their examinations graded
Trainers
Mr. Jimmy Lee
- CFA®, FCPA, CFPcm, MBA (Finance)
- Head of Wealth Management Limited – China Yinsheng Wealth Management Limited
- He was trained in Deloitte Touche Tomatsu as a staff accountant in its Audit Assurance department and subsequently changed his career field to wealth management. Jimmy was in senior positions of various global financial institutions like UBS AG Wealth Management, AXA Wealth management, and other local institutions like Sun Hung Kai Wealth Management and Centaline Wealth Management Limited.
- Member of Executive committee of IFPHK (2003 -2004) •He has been a guest speaker in various radio and TV finance programs including Metro Finance Program and Cable TV Program
Mr. Kevin Lee
- CFA®, FRM®
- Master of Science in Financial Mathematics
- Quantitative financial analyst in investment bank
Mr. Jack Tsang
- CFA®, FRM®, CWM™, CPA
- Master of Laws in Corporate and Financial Law
- Master of Science in Finance
- Registered Corporate Coach(RCC)
Mr. Francis Lau
- FRM®, CFA
- Ph. D. degree (candidate) specializes in quantitative trading strategies
- a seasoned practitioner who has over 10 years’ experiences in financial risk management, quantitative analysis and regulatory reporting for retail, wholesale and investing banking
What Our Clients Say
“I joined the CFA program of KORNERSTONE last year and got passed. I would definitely recommend this program to my colleagues or anyone who are preparing for CFA exam, KORNERSTONE provides excellent learning material and their trainers are with different specializations.”
Tony Leung,
Officer, Bank of China
“The CFA program provides exam-oriented materials with adequate amount of real-world applications in financial markets, which strengthened my overall understanding. I had the opportunities to interact with different trainers who are specialized in different areas, for instance, Quantitative Methods, Portfolio Management, Financial Reporting and Economics. This program helped me to study more efficiently and confidently. I would strongly recommend this program to CFA exam candidates!”
Charles Yuen,
Investment Consultant, Sun Hung Kai Financial
