Each year, CFA Institute gathers input from practitioners around the world, who guide them in identifying and prioritizing the CFA Program curriculum areas that need to be added, deleted, or revised.
Ongoing practice analysis plays a major role in maintaining the stellar reputation of the CFA Program. When registration for the CFA Program opened on 8 August, candidates received the 2020 curriculum with 19 new readings and 24 revised readings that capture fundamental changes to the investment industry. The focus of these updates is on financial technology, wealth management, asset classes including alternative investments, and ethics.
This year, all Level I and II CFA candidates will study the curriculum through the best-in-class digital learning platform – the Learning Ecosystem. In September, CFA Institute members will gain access to the CFA Program Refresher Readings, a repackaged version of the curriculum updates and a highly valued CPD opportunity to stay current with the CFA Program.
The new financial technology readings delve into the mechanics of Machine Learning techniques applied to Big Data, highlighting the potential value to investment firms and professionals. For some firms, these topics have already become an integral part of their research and trading processes – especially unstructured data from social media, web traffic, electronic images, and so on.
For wealth management, major shifts are forcing the industry to rethink long-held investment beliefs. For example, large sovereign wealth funds with long-term investment horizons have emerged and the interest rate environment remains unprecedented. A new institutional investor reading discusses changing needs, particularly for institutional investors. A focused study of a university endowment highlights the challenges facing ultra-long investment horizon investors.
Changing markets and investor needs, new technology and platforms, and cultural developments are driving shifts in asset classes and how they are used in portfolios. New readings on these topics include: six major hedge fund strategies and how to incorporate them into portfolios; understanding and analyzing the risks in options strategies; and how ETFs are constructed and applied to portfolios, acknowledging that ETFs have become an important allocation tool for investors of all types and sizes.
New ethics case studies that help candidates and practitioners think through rational courses of action when challenges arise and indicate how and when the CFA Institute Code and Standards apply.
The 2020 CFA curriculum will be studied by our candidates sitting for the June and December 2020 CFA exams. Stay tuned for information about upcoming curriculum webinars, where subject matter experts will take center stage.
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