As all of our team have completed the CFA exams, we know how important choosing the right provider is to give you just enough advantage to pass. Our Review series covers the best names in the CFA provider business, combining our thoughts on providers’ latest products with independent candidate reviews.
Our detailed review for Fitch Learning includes:
- Details on their full product range
- A summary of all packages on offer and what’s included with every package
- Candidate reviews and ratings
- Our final thoughts and recommendations, pros and cons on Fitch as a CFA provider
Since rebranding as Fitch Learning, they’ve continued to expand their product offering, most recently with the launch of Cognition – their personalised all-in-one CFA solution. CFA classes continue to be their specialty – with centers in London, New York, Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong, they are one of the largest full-time CFA classroom training faculties worldwide.
Package
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Price
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Classroom Course
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10 full days
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5 full days
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2 full days
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Instructor Videos
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Classroom Slide Pack
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Cognition – Knowledge Check Questions
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Cognition – Adaptive Study Plan
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Cognition – Mobile App
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Global Instructor Helpdesk
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Online Mock Exams
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5 mock exams
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5 mock exams
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5 mock exams
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5 mock exams
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3 mock exams
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One-to-One Consultation
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Final Countdown
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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No Pass No Pay1
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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Pass Guarantee2
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✔︎
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✔︎
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✔︎
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150% off all full tuition packages (except for 2-day review course), free online learning until you pass. Terms and conditions apply.
- Fitch Learning’s strong suit is classroom courses. Being ‘the largest full-time CFA exam training faculty worldwide’, it shows in the wide range of options you can choose from. Classroom options include:
- Regular weekend/weekday courses: Ten full days of classroom lessons covering the entire CFA curriculum
- Intensive courses: Five full days of intensive classroom lessons covering the entire CFA curriculum
- Review courses: Two full days of intensive classroom lessons, focusing on reviewing topics nearer to the CFA exam
- Instructor Videos: All classroom lessons are streamed live and recorded – if you are unable to attend, you can easily view and interact with the class live online, or catch up via recordings in your own time.
- Classroom Slide Pack: All courses also include a portable ‘classroom slide pack’, including summary notes, slides, useful diagrams and tables. The material in the pack is constantly updated – Fitch Learning dedicates ‘more than 240 days per year’ to updating their CFA exam course materials.
Mock Exams – four full mock exams offered
- Most of Fitch’s packages include four mock exams, except their Online Review Kit which includes three mock exams. We recommend that candidates complete about 4-7 exams, so combined with the free CFA Institute mock exam, you should have enough, although keener candidates might want to purchase a few more.
- All mock exams are taken online and include detailed answers so that you can easily debrief after attempting each exam.
- In available regions, you can also register for proctored mock exams under realistic exam conditions. Just check out if they are being offered near you here.
Fitch Learning Cognition – a comprehensive online learning solution
- Fitch Learning Cognition is Fitch’s all-in-one, adaptive online learning platform, covering an online learning program, adaptive scheduling, performance analysis, and intelligent testing.
- Candidates get a personalised study plan from the day one, guiding them through the materials before moving them on to the review and exam preparation phase. Course content such as instructor recordings, live webcasts and questions are in the intuitive content library, ordered into micro learning modules.
- Cognition is included with most of Fitch Learning’s packages, but you also can purchase access separately.
- You can read our hands on experience with Fitch Learning Cognition here.
Practice Questions & Mobile App
- In Cognition, Fitch Learning has Knowledge Checks – recurring quizzes through out the curriculum which reinforces your learning. Your performance is constantly measured and fed back to the system, where it can detect topics you’re weak on and automatically personalise your study plan to address them.
- At the end of less successful Knowledge Checks, you’ll also have a choice to revisit your problem topics on the spot to review them before moving forward, creating a more rounded learning experience.
- You can also use a more traditional Question Bank with their mobile app, which also includes course slides and instructional videos.
Final Countdown
- The Final Countdown is a full revision guide with must-know equations, key concepts and top tips for taking the exam.
- This is handy to bring around during the review period of your CFA preparations and for last-minute reviewing on exam day.
Instructor Support: Global Instructor Helpdesk, and One-to-One Consultations
- As Fitch Learning has one of the largest faculties, it’s not surprising that their instructor support is pretty good.
- The Fitch portal has a global helpdesk – just ask and one of their instructors across any region will get back to you fast.
- If your package includes it, you can also schedule a one-to-one call of web chat with an instructor to discuss specific problems you may be having.
No Pass No Pay & Pass Guarantee
- For CFA Level I candidates using Fitch for the first time, you can get their No Pass No Pay guarantee, which offers just that – a refund if you don’t pass your CFA exam when using Fitch. You’ll have to prove that you’ve seriously studied for it though, which is a reasonable condition!
- For all other candidates, there is a Pass Guarantee, which basically offers their online learning portal free of charge until you pass, and 50% off their cost of fees for retaking candidates.
- Long-standing: Fitch Learning (and 7city Learning before it) has a long-standing reputation as a strong training provider.
- Specialist CFA classroom provider: With a large established faculty, if it’s classroom learning you’re after, you can’t do much better than Fitch Learning.
- All three CFA levels covered: Newer providers may not offer support for all three CFA levels, but Fitch has plenty of experience in this area and thoroughly covers all of them.
- Consistently updated: All materials are updated every exam cycle, so you know you’re always using the latest curriculum.
- Pass guarantee: Fitch’s Pass Guarantee gives you access to their online learning portal free of charge until you pass, and also offers you 50% off their cost of fees for your next attempt. For CFA Level I candidates using Fitch for the first time, you also get their No Pass No Pay guarantee, which offers you a refund on any Fitch Learning product.
- Instructor coverage: Having loads of instructors across multiple regions mean that contacting an instructor is easy and you get a fast response.
Cons
- Classroom courses regardless of provider can be pricey, although Fitch Learning does offer discounts. You can check the latest offers here.
- Candidate feedback indicates that practice questions could be further improved.
(190 candidate ratings)
CFA Level
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Level I
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Level II
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Level III
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No. of Ratings
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109
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70
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11
|
Overall Rating
|
4.5 / 5
Excellent |
4.1 / 5
Very Good |
4 / 5
Very Good |
Study Notes
|
3.7
|
3.7
|
4
|
Practice or Mock Exams
|
4.1
|
3.9
|
3
|
Review Notes
|
–
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–
|
–
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Question Banks
|
4.2
|
3.6
|
2
|
Classroom Courses
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4
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4.5
|
5
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Review Courses
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3.9
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4.2
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4
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Video Lessons
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4.3
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3.7
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4
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Quality of Online Platform
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4.3
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4.4
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4
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Readability of Notes and Tutorials
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4
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4.3
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4
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Quality of Instructor Support
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4.3
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4.3
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4
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Value-for-Money
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3.7
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3.9
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4
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By d***** (Level III)
I found the tutor support from Fitch to be excellent. Their tutors are very knowledgeable about the curriculum and the exam experience, and I felt a lot more confident on exam day as a result. Their classroom presence was also invaluable at breaking down complex topics as well as making the drier aspects of the course material interesting. The revision materials were also very concise and useful.
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By Jgam1986 (Level I)
Fitch came and taught Level 1 during my Masters course, they were very good. The online question bank has some truly awfully worded questions and be a little frustrating at times. Otherwise really like Cognition and the way it keeps me motivated to keep going!
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By gstyle (Level II)
Fitch Learning provide a good solid learning platform, professionally presented, covered the major requirements of the syllabus. Tutor support, even if just online learning, is very good.
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By tedanderton (Level II)
I like the metrics used to show progress. I would recommend having more readable answers, as sometimes I need to copy to Word, and then break the answers apart so they’re more readable.
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By gstyle (Level I)
Fitch Learning provide a solid learning platform, professional presented, covering the major topics in the syllabus. Very good tutor support, even if just online learning.
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By Shayon Ghosh (Level I)
A decent CFA preparation institute which will be really helpful at a nacent stage of one’s preparation. However to make the cut one would require excessive self study.
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By J***** (Level II)
I really liked Fitch Learning preparation. The app is super useful to re-read a section from anywhere, whenever I have 5minutes. The question bank is quite large
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By tedanderton (Level I)
I like the metrics to show progress. There are a few things I’d probably add in the answer sections to make them more readable.
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By J***** (Level I)
I really like the Fitch Learning prep. I would be taking it again even if it wasn’t paid for by my employer.
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By Ken (Level I)
A great comprehensive program. You don’t need to touch any other content, including CFA
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By Ken (Level II)
It would be nice to have question blocks like the L2 exam but generally a great program
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By p***** (Level II)
Excellent materials but slightly lacking on the customer service representative side.
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