Sophie Macon 
Risk management in finance is essentially the practice of minimizing a firm’s downside exposure, through identifying, analyzing and managing acceptable levels of uncertainties in a firm’s day-to-day operations. With increasing global instability and uncertainty, risk managers are in high demand globally as corporations seek to differentiate themselves as long term winners. Given the breadth of …
Note: this cheat sheet is updated for the latest 2024 and 2025’s curriculum. If you’re following our recommended Level 1 topic study order: after going through Quant, FSA and Fixed Income, CFA Level 1 Equity Investments would be a lovely topic in comparison. Since Equity is a relatively gentle section of the curriculum, it provides …
ESG investing is one of the big asset management trends, driven by the increasing financial relevance of ESG (environmental, social and governance) factors, better ESG data, growing investor demand and regulatory pressure. This is creating a strong demand not just for portfolio managers – but finance professionals in general – with practical ESG expertise to …
Previously known as Claritas, the Investment Foundations Program by CFA Institute was paused in December 2021 for a product refresh. Since then, a new, enhanced version of the Investment Foundations Certificate was launched globally. With the same educational objective as before, it now has an enhanced, self-paced online experience, requiring only 60-90 hours of study …
It’s easy to get discouraged by the recent unexpected trends in CFA minimum passing scores and pass rates, although there are some early signs of it returning to long term averages. While there are a few reasons for the recent low CFA pass rates, the implications for CFA candidates are clear: the guidance on CFA …
Note: this cheat sheet is updated for the latest 2024 and 2025’s curriculum. Regardless whether you’ve a background in finance or economics, Economics is a central topic across all 3 levels of the CFA exams that requires some focus to master, especially the exchange rate section! Building a strong foundation in CFA Level 1 Economics …
Waiting for FRM exam results can be an anxious experience. This isn’t quite helped by the latest vague guidance by Global Association of Risk Professional (GARP): Once an exam window closes, GARP scores the exams in a timely fashion. Candidates are notified when their results are available in their GARP candidate portal. GARP on when …
Note: this cheat sheet is updated for the latest 2024 and 2025’s curriculum. Whilst a relatively smaller topic weight in the overall Level 1 exams, CFA Alternative Investments is an important topic career-wise if you work in asset management as it is expected to capture 49% of global asset management revenue by 2024. I personally …
How to study for the CFA exams (or any other finance exams for that matter)? Have you ever wondered if your current study methods are effective for passing your exams? A comprehensive study called “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques” by Dunlosky et al. (2013), may just help answer that. More importantly, I’ve read through and applied …
When preparing for my CFA exams years ago, I often wondered if there are brain foods for studying that improved my concentration. This resulted in some experiments and changes in my food intake. And my, what a difference it makes – it’s as if the heavy cloud clogging my brain lifted instantly! My concentration improved …