Level II CFA® Program Exam Prep
2022 CFA Exams
Later Study Stress
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Study Packages
Cover all your Level II CFA exam bases. As captivating as in-person prep but on demand.
Most Comprehensive
Focus Course: Plus
118hoursIncludes everything in:
10 Topic Modules
+ Power Review+ Ask the Prof.
+ Success Guarantee
Most Flexible
Focus Course: Total
93hoursIncludes everything in:
10 Topic Modules
Single-Topic Modules
Hone specific topics for your Level II CFA exam, on demand.
Most Targeted
Focus Course: Topic Modules
9hours
Get exactly the ones you want.
Choose between 10 Topic Modules,
on average 9 hours each.
Final Practice
Get a crunch-time content and
skills tune-up for your Level II
CFA exam, on demand.
Power Review Course
25hoursInstantly boost your score with a blast
of mini-mock-exam question practice
and assessment in the final stretch.
Summary Notes
Our ace-in-the-hole study manual
breaks down every topic tested
on the Level II CFA exam.
Study Notes Set
50hoursConquer the concepts, skills and strategies
needed to pass with this printable quick-
reference CFA curriculum pocket guide.
1 on 1 Tutoring
Customized on-demand prep for
your Level II CFA exam. Enjoy
a class size of one.
Private Tutoring
2hoursSchedule personalized tutoring with
Prof. Brian Gordon, CFA, CFP, CIM,
MBA, FCSI.2-hour minimum.
Level II CFA Exam Dates
In 2021 CFA Institute transitioned the CFA exams to computer-based testing (CBT), offered in proctored test centers worldwide. In 2022, the remaining Level II CFA exam window is November.
For 2023, CFA Institute has announced three Level II CFA exam test windows:
May, August and November.
Level II CFA Exam Format
The Level II CFA exam is divided into two 135-minute (2-hour and 15 minute) sessions, with a 30-minute optional break in between. The CFA Level II exam consists of item sets comprised of vignettes with 88 accompanying multiple-choice questions.
Level II CFA Exam
Prof. Brian Gordon
CFA, CFP, CIM, MBA, FCSI
The Level II CFA exam (Analyst's exam), is considered to be the toughest of the three. This is due to the huge content volume relative to the number of exam questions, content complexity and new question format (Item Set). These added challenges call for a new game plan — and Exam Success delivers.
Exam Success' winning study solutions synthesize the material, cut the distractions and teach the topic knowledge and analytical skills you need to be able to "crack the Item Set code"...
Level II CFA Exam Top FAQ
You must register and enrol for the Level II exam directly with CFA Institute at: https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/programs/cfa/register.
Level II CFA exam registration prerequisite: Pass Level I CFA exam.
Level II CFA exam registration prerequisite: Pass Level I CFA exam.
The amount it will cost you to sit for the Level II CFA exam depends on how early you register with CFA Institute.
CFA Institute offers two tiers of pricing: one for early registration and the other for standard registration.
You should check CFA Institute's website for the exact pricing.
CFA Institute offers two tiers of pricing: one for early registration and the other for standard registration.
You should check CFA Institute's website for the exact pricing.
As of 2023, CFA Institute the Level II exam is being offered 3 times per year. The exam windows are:
May, August and November.
May, August and November.
The 10 year average Level II CFA exam pass rate is 45%.
According to UK NARIC (the national agency, managed on behalf of the UK Government responsible for providing information, advice and opinion on vocational, academic and professional skills and qualifications from all over the world), the CFA exams have been benchmarked individually by Level under UK Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF):
CFA Level II's difficulty is comparable to a Bachelor's degree (Level 6 qualification under RQF).
In other words, the Level II CFA exam is considered to be more difficult than the Level I CFA exam, both in content and format. While the names of the Level I and Level II topics are the same, the Level II content is much more in-depth, specialized and advanced than what is covered at Level I and there is much more memorization required: from spanning from formulas to calcuations to definitions and rules, and differences in accounting standards (GAAP vs IFRS).
The exam format at Level II is also a greater challenge. While the CFA Level I exam has short questions followed by three multiple choice answers, the CFA Level II exam questions are asked in the form of 1 to 2-page case studies (vignettes), each followed by 4–6 multiple-choice questions. These can take as much time as 5 minutes to read through and require great attention to detail and focus to ensure you can extract, synthesize, retain and apply all of the pertinent information required to answer the questions. For all these reasons, the Level II CFA exam is considered to be harder than Level I as well as the hardest exam of the three.
CFA Level II's difficulty is comparable to a Bachelor's degree (Level 6 qualification under RQF).
In other words, the Level II CFA exam is considered to be more difficult than the Level I CFA exam, both in content and format. While the names of the Level I and Level II topics are the same, the Level II content is much more in-depth, specialized and advanced than what is covered at Level I and there is much more memorization required: from spanning from formulas to calcuations to definitions and rules, and differences in accounting standards (GAAP vs IFRS).
The exam format at Level II is also a greater challenge. While the CFA Level I exam has short questions followed by three multiple choice answers, the CFA Level II exam questions are asked in the form of 1 to 2-page case studies (vignettes), each followed by 4–6 multiple-choice questions. These can take as much time as 5 minutes to read through and require great attention to detail and focus to ensure you can extract, synthesize, retain and apply all of the pertinent information required to answer the questions. For all these reasons, the Level II CFA exam is considered to be harder than Level I as well as the hardest exam of the three.
The topics and topic weights on the Level II exam are subject to change on a year-to-year basis.
Here are the latest topic weighting:
| Exam Success Topic Modules (10) |
CFA Institute Core Curriculum Exam Topics (10) |
CFA Exam Weights (100%) |
| 1 | Quantitative Methods | 5-10% |
| 2 | Economics: Micro & Macro | 5-10% |
| 3 | Financial Reporting & Analysis | 10-15% |
| 4 | Corporate Finance (Corporate Issuers) | 5-10% |
| 5 | Equity Investments | 10-15% |
| 6 | Fixed Income | 10-15% |
| 7 | Derivatives | 5-10% |
| 8 | Alternative Investments | 5-10% |
| 9 | Portfolio Management | 10-15% |
| 10 | Ethical and Professional Standards | 10-15% |
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