Pass Rate Explained | Inside the CFA Program

Deferrals and cancellations have upended CFA study plans again and again. Understand the reason for recent results and how to prepare for future exams.

[@someonespeci1697]

The results for Nov 2021 CFA level 1 have been released (27%). The majority of the candidates who had their exams deferred had taken the exams already. It is becoming obvious that the pass rate is not going to go up anytime according to old normals. Could you please explain why the pass rate is so low this year? The CFA institute has been publicly saying that low pass rate was due to the pandemic. But now, the pass rate has dropped for even first time exam takers. Why is this situation persisting?

[@Residentevil659]

No…they blamed candidates are less prepared and lazy…as well as pandemic…but the case reported in nov was fewer than before…pass rate should be higher…COVID changed from delta to omicron to ihu…so provide an excellent excuse to keep pass rates low

[@SachinGupta-ot1to]

It is Bunkum to say CFA institute is Nonprofit organisation, instead it is Butcher house.

[@AJ-iu6nw]

Transparency, that's an important theme in Ethics. I know this because it's in the curriculum, and it validates my studies when I can see the Institute practice it too. Thanks.

[@fiasamad]

Lol, why did you change your comment mate?

[@moaarifidrisi714]

@@fiasamad jhh

[@DevendraKumar-yj9yl]

@@fiasamad से

[@santoshthapa491]

Poppppppppppppppppppp

[@lavishporwal5112]

I have a very genuine question - there is a window of 4 days for giving exam. A student appearing on say 15th Feb 2024 will know exam questions of what have been asked and discuss with his friends who have his exams from 16th Feb to 18th Feb 2024. How CFA Institute addresses such things ? This would be to a disadvantage to the person appearing on 15th ? Please note while law says nothing exam topic should be discussed however who knows what is happening informally ? How students are judged if ques paper are different. Should ideally this not happen on same day and time for all ?

[@sadanandpadala1042]

This year the passing rate was low 22% and people criticize the institute i think that's why they are making this video

[@fiasamad]

That's a whole load of bullshit. CFA should provide figures with transparency. There should be more information on what the bar was and what our grades are being compared to.

[@fiasamad]

That is pretty specific. Your comment also stated their lack of transparency. What are you on about?

[@AJ-iu6nw]

@@fiasamad CFA candidates/members are here to protect the integrity of the capital markets around the globe. We seek professional conduct, and focus on helping other candidates/members do the same. Please act Professional, and refrain from using foul language in order to maintain the professional image of the Charter

[@fiasamad]

@@AJ-iu6nw that's a drastic change from your actual comment, before editing. I read the news, not a member. Kindly mind your own business and respect others rights to their opinions. You can kiss their asses elsewhere

[@TheAdarshMehta]

@@fiasamad What was the comment that he deleted? 😂 Can you please tell me?

[@fiasamad]

@@TheAdarshMehta he was on the same boat talking about how CFA lacks transparency and doesn't implement what it teaches. Then he decided to be team CFA randomly

[@ravarusama]

Please put some light on the Access Scholarships for 2022 exams.

[@bobandhisarmy4192]

Hope they upload often. Would love to hear about the challenges facing CFA and how they come up with solutions.

[@melvinlee6715]

Everyone should stop taking the CFA exam as soon as possible! It won't take you where you wanna be or the time simply doesn't worth it. Under the current job market, if you spent the same 300 hours polishing your resume, learning about financial modeling, and applying for jobs, I am sure you will be able to find a front-office job. Like Equity Research or Investment Banking. I been through so many ER interviews and none of them requires or asks about CFA during the interview and I have three Equity Research Associate offers in hand. Taking this exam while working is torture as it takes away all your personal time, you won't have time to exercise, have dinner with your loved ones or attend gatherings. I really regret dumping over 600 hours into this and should stop immediately after taking level 1. If level 1 won't get you the job you want level 2 won't take you there as well, Stop taking the CFA, go to the real world, apply for jobs, meet people, you will get into the front office.

[@omkar9783]

Then why did December 2020 exam had not seen decrease in pass rate....

[@Chinhhuy-1]

Chris’ eyes are pretty blue and crystal, demonstrating a significant depth of wisdom.

[@Marioheavy1986]

I wish I can do CFA mock exam as the instructor suggests in the video. I am a candidate for the November level 2 exam and we do not have any digital mock exam as we had for level 1.

[@santoshvellayan5150]

Do the mock exams for level 1 replicates the actual exam in the sense of weightage and concepts

[@redorbluepill]

Why would you need an electronic mock exam? The normal mock exams for level 2 should be good enough? For example the ones from CFA Society UK… or am I missing something here?

[@gggiiigggiiigggiii4203]

This man has snorted a lot of spice

[@sharonpaulson31]

Thanks for the amazing info

[@aalh7975]

“Don’t let the low scores discourage you” = Please keep paying exam fees and making us profitable. Lol.

[@freshpistachios275]

They are a non-profit organization. If you don't know what you are talking about, maybe don't talk.

[@PeteR90468]

Be a better candidate. Nothing has changed except deferred candidates did worse.

[@AJ-iu6nw]

@@PeteR90468 The deferred candidates most likely did a bunch of studying in the early months, and later started procrastinating, falsely believing they had grasped the material solidly but came to realize that the last few weeks are the most important in terms of retention of information - bam, low score outlier group identified

[@caseybassett5210]

@@PeteR90468 You do realize that the CFA used a curved grading system until now, right? Also, there are less questions for the mountains of material you must know, giving you less opportunity to showcase knowledge in key areas. I know this has always been the case, but now that problem is amplified with 25% less questions on the same amount of material. CFAI says the difficulty is on par with historical exams, yet the estimated MPS was almost 10 points higher than the historical average. Seems as if it might’ve been easier to pass the exams in previous offerings. New candidates should be awarded CFA Plus to show they faced a more difficult grading process

[@caseybassett5210]

@@AJ-iu6nw So you are saying that 88% of people that sat for the July exam simply didn’t hit the books hard the few weeks leading up to a test that they paid $1,450 + additional study materials? Oh and not to mention the hundreds of hours of studying they put it leading up to it. Get outta here with stupid ass assumptions

[@allforyou2325]

Thank you CFA for the explanation . We were hang over about the results .

[@Andy-no9zl]

I think the process is too complicated; illusion of control?. Why not have existing CFA candidates take the exam, and the lowest score should be the passing score? CFA needs to talk more about the impact of CBT rather than just blaming the pandemic.

[@rishimehta5117]

And what is that fixed bar, that you guys consider?

[@bharat-dz9wi]

Thats where the secret lies. The thing is that is why you need to prepare well for CFA. Imagine if you took liberties for the exam. I think that bar is an internal thing.

[@mohamedamin7130]

If this is true why you guys don't put minimum pass score for example If u answerd 80% of the exam right u will succeed, maybe the world don't need financial analysts so that u keep them falling , let us see what we need to do in exam to be in the 22% or maybe make a discount and let us pay 22% of the fees cause of the pandemic , let's look at the passing rate in 1960 we talke about 90% pass rate cause the world needed more people in the stock market now let us throw the hard work and money of this young hardworking people who invested there money and effort to enhance there career's in the trash because the institute said so , my advice to delete the ethics book in the criculam cause no one is using it in the institute.

[@melvinlee6715]

Everyone should stop taking the CFA exam as soon as possible! It won't take you where you wanna be or the time simply doesn't worth it. Under the current job market, if you spent the same 300 hours polishing your resume, learning about financial modeling, and applying for jobs, I am sure you will be able to find a front-office job. Like Equity Research or Investment Banking. I been through so many ER interviews and none of them requires or asks about CFA during the interview and I have three Equity Research Associate offers in hand. Taking this exam while working is torture as it takes away all your personal time, you won't have time to exercise, have dinner with your loved ones or attend gatherings. I really regret dumping over 600 hours into this and should stop immediately after taking level 1. If level 1 won't get you the job you want level 2 won't take you there as well, Stop taking the CFA, go to the real world, apply for jobs, meet people, you will get into the front office.

[@user-ve3sz7ne1f]

So the minimum passing score has’t changed over the years, right?

[@anujbajaj5911]

finally understood the criteria

[@zlouga]

Really?

[@Fercoppelia]

I was about to say the same... Ohh really???

[@AJ-iu6nw]

@@Fercoppelia yes xDD

[@snehasis28]

Great explanation... Thanks for coming forward and clearing the doubts of many students...

[@bhavinmaru2075]

Hats off to the CFA institute for the way they are set the CFA program. This is why it is known as a gold standard in finance industry.

[@terricor]

Except most highly regarded roles in finance don't require or expect CFA lol

[@SuperIceman44]

@@terricor Yeah, but you don't magically get to those roles either. Those who chase CFA for the knowledge and not just for a mere degree definitely go places.

[@AJ-iu6nw]

@@SuperIceman44 I am literally doing it to prove to myself that I am capable of entering this realm of finance

[@Unbiased-mp6sg]

Thank you

[@ygt7348]

Thanks for this explanation however the question hanging over exam taker's mind is not actually what the pass rate is but whether the questions asked on the CFA exams are harder than previous ones. This is also a query being raised recently simply because some charter holders openly say that as more people get CFA then the value of the title decreases, something i totally disagree. My concern is whether CFA instituonally carries the same concern and maybe you can address this as well in a seperate video. Thanks.

[@jagatdave]

Infact...I would say. CFA institute ask people to write refresher exam every 10 years

[@bayanm.3564]

The exam is super hard I have level 3 exams since 2007 nothing like I have in may. Stop lies

[@ryanganador1214]

No mention of offering the exam more while lowering the pass rate = more revenue. What a joke of an organization! Show studies of the nonlinear relationship of charterholders and real life active managers outperforming their bench LOL

[@AJ-iu6nw]

which studies are those referring to? I'm curious

[@ryanganador1214]

Look up Warren Buffett's $1M bet with any Hedge Funds over a 10YR period where his randomly walking passive index investment outperformed by quite a bit. Then the S&P puts out a SPIVA US scorecard showing just as an example that for the 11th straight YR (not a typo), the majority of Large Cap Actively Managed Funds UNDERperformed their bench. It was 60% UNDERperformed last yr during the pandemic when you would think they should be outperforming. This institute doesn't show those studies bc they aren't favorable. Good luck with all that group think studying!

[@resist_act_consciously]

If your argument was true, the pass rate would have come up in 2023 at least already (I'm talking for CFA L3 for candidates who have already commited a lot of their professional life, time and energy to pass the exam): however it is still around 48% or about 7-8% below its 2014-2019 average or historical average at 55%... The format of the exam has come through so many changes in the last decade and (is going to continue to change in 2025), that it is unfair for newly (actually finishing) candidates to apply the same grading bar as former charterholders had different conditions. In other words: set a passing percentage Sir (rather than naming it forced curved). You created the chaging conditions and implemented those disruptions to the exam, now be fair to the ones who have to deal with it: passing percentage should pass Sir... Pass rate... literally, simply.

[@vivalavica.08]

thanks a lot for the explanation

[@rishipahwa3817]

Please anyone explain in simple language what he said

[@adityadesai2038]

The quality of students passing is same, this time because of covid students performed bad hence lower results

[@adityadesai2038]

If you still didn’t understand Paper same Students bad

[@SuperIceman44]

@@adityadesai2038 lol

[@milanpatel2660]

@@adityadesai2038 I have seen many results pics and candidates with 70-72% marks failing how is that bad performance, cfai have raised mps

[@adsdasfsdgadg]

@@milanpatel2660 True. I have seen people claiming having 7 - 8 sessions above 70% and only 2 - 3 below 70% (slightly) and 1 - 0 at 50%. All failed. Their scores are at least 68% doing the math. MPS is certainly is slightly lower 70% or even higher.

[@Residentevil659]

That means it only worths to take it when the pandemic is over and pass rate increases again…otherwise it’s just wasting money…1 out of 4 candidates can pass…excl no show…I would probably have failed level 1 now despite the fact that I passed few years ago

[@poochauhan5899]

But how to pay the fee ?

[@hubertschulz3027]

Hello I will advice you to contact mr James for a help he will give you some questions and answers which you will study and you will see it on your exam day

[@hubertschulz3027]

①⑨①⑥⑧⑧④⓪⑤⑧④

[@hubertschulz3027]

Text him on WhatsApp if you really need help to pass your exam I wish you good luck ❤️

[@abhijitpatil8342]

# BUYCOTT CFA Pure buisness, poor management, increased MPS so maximum candidates will fail & enroll again so institute could earn extra revenue. Simple equation that's it.

[@sahilgarg2434]

Thanks a lot sir

[@rezamaleki79]

Please speak and explain slowly

[@AntonPietersen]

Lower the play back speed

[@AJ-iu6nw]

@@AntonPietersen For some reason I don't think that would work for him

[@sharemarketrahulsingh4326]

Thank you