The process of earning a CFA has always been gruelling with candidates expected to master 3,000 pages of material and demonstrate their ability to analyse companies' financial statements, forecast investment profits and manage conflicts of interest
Outside the New York Stock Exchange, Sept. 23, 2021. This summer, a record low number of chartered financial analyst test takers passed the first level of the notoriously difficult exams, reviving an old debate about the merits of the qualification. (Victor Llorente/The New York Times)
When the pandemic hit, Irene Zhu decided to explore switching careers from tourism to finance. A lifelong math whiz, Zhu, 37, set her sights on becoming a chartered financial analyst, a highly coveted professional qualification in the investing world. But to do so, she would need to pass three notoriously difficult tests, the first of which she sat for in February — after staying up well past 1 a.m. on many nights studying.
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