Job role discovery using real CFA exam questions.
The CFA Program is relevant to dozens of job roles in institutional finance. Use our interactive graph to discover the breadth of roles served by the CFA Program and sample the sort of questions we ask about each job role in Level I of the CFA exam.
How to use this tool:
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The key job roles in finance are arranged in four quadrants: buy-side, sell-side, corporate and advisory.
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The size of each bubble is proportional to the number of CFA Charterholders who perform that job role.
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Hover over the bubbles to explore what each job role does.
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Click on the "Take Quiz" link within any bubble to take a 10-question quiz related to that job role composed entirely of real CFA exam questions.
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Your scores and explanations will be provided at the end.
View as:
Graphic
Text
CIO
3,800 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches CIOs how to value entire markets and indices and conduct dynamic strategic asset allocation.
Product Manager
500 Charterholders
Build, develop and oversee the design, construction and operation of investment products and processes. Integration of investment processes with sales, market and service to provide turnkey solutions for clients.
Buy-side Quant Analyst
1,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches all about the instrument products and dataset which are the raw materials for quantitative analysts.
ESG Analyst
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about the applications of ESG analysis across asset classes and role types.
Sell-side Credit Analyst
2,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the full credit analyst toolkit all the way from anaylising the creditworthwiness of a single company or governemt and pricing the related debt instruments.
Economist
700 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the full spectrum of the role of both sell-side and buy-side economists, ranging from country analysis, prediction of interest rates and inflation rates and currency market valuation.
Sales
4,200 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the workflows of the most common clients of institutional sales people.
Central Banks
300 Charterholders
Central banks control short term interest rates and oversee inflation in their home market. The CFA Program teaches how those interest rates and inflation impacts the entire financial market through the yield curve.
Regulators
1,100 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the key role types and workflows that regulators regulate.
Buy-side Credit Analyst
1,400 Charterholders
Analyses debt issuers and structured credit products, assesses market exposures, seeks relative value opportunities to promote trade ideas to portfolio managers, and determines the balance of risk vs reward involved in extending credit.
Compliance
500 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about the roles of dozens of actors in the financial markets and how they are affected by both regulation and the code of ethics.
Portfolio Manager (including hedge fund manager)
33,000 Charterholders
Almost half of portfolio managers in the world are CFA Charterholders.
Investment Strategist
5,900 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches not only single security valuation but also the valuation of indices and entire asset classes which makes it the most popular choice of finance course for investment strategists.
Manager of Managers
4,800 Charterholders
Analyses and identifies investment managers to oversee aspects of client funds through the creation of “fund of funds” and/or multi-manager strategies, conducts qualitative and quantitative due diligence in selecting, monitoring and/or terminating investment managers.
Sell-side Trader
4,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches how the clients of a trader value the securities they are trading.
Investment Consultant
3,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program has waterfront coverage of both asset classes and valuation techniques which makes it the number one training program for investment consultants.
Buy-side Trader
1,000 Charterholders
Executes security and derivative transactions making heavy use of market data tools, seeking best execution and minimizing market impact to trade portfolio manager strategies and/or execute proprietary or algorithmic strategies.
Performance Analyst
1,600 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the inputs to the portfolio management process while performance analysts analyse the output from that process and so, it makes for a better-rounded performance analyst professional.
Buy-side Equity Analyst
4,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program is the single biggest training program in the world for both sell-side and buy-side equity analysts.
Private Wealth Management
9,300 Charterholders
Private wealth manager: The very first question on the very first CFA exam in 1966 was a private wealth question. The CFA Program is the main training ground for private wealth professionals who are close to the investment part of the business.
Market Data & Indices
2,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches all the key workflows of the main user types of both market data platforms and indices.
FinTech
300 Charterholders
Development and design of technology products across the spectrum of financial services. Exploration of unmet needs in financial services that can be met with innovative technology solutions. Promotion and sales of new technologies within financial services.
Sell-side Data Scientist
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the data scientists how their toolkits and methods are most commomly used within institutional finance.
Sell-side Equity Research Analyst
18,000 Charterholders
Covers industries, collects industry and company data, analyses companies, and builds single company earnings models in order to conduct absolute and relative valuation culminating in recommendations to pitch mispriced equity securities to traders and portfolio managers.
Broker-dealer Risk
6,000 Charterholders
Oversees aggregated risk across trading books for a firm, undertaking analysis (stress-testing, scenario analysis etc) and ultimately imposing rules to reduce tail risk and meet regulatory requirements.
Sell-side Quant Analyst
1,000 Charterholders
Identify, test and implement financial models and investment ideas by applying statistical techniques, using data-sets/quantitative tools to analyze and predict market movements and exploit market anomalies. Construction and delivery of efficient decision-making tools in the investment process.
Buy-side Data Scientist
300 Charterholders
Analyses data-sets, applies coding/programming skills and modern analytical techniques to seek meaningful patterns and insights, and communicates relevant findings to key stakeholders. Develops tools and dashboards to enhance the overall investment process.
Buy-side Risk
2,500 Charterholders
Optimizes portfolios through the modeling of historic asset returns and covariances, undertaking analysis (stress-testing, scenario analysis etc) and ultimately suggesting trades to maximize risk-adjusted returns or minimize risk exposure.
Exchanges
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about all the main users and workflows related to securities on exchanges.
Accountant/Auditor
4,300 Charterholders
Through the CFA Program, accountants and auditors will learn how their output is used as a key input in the investment business through areas such as industry analysis and security valuation.
Strategy Consulting
300 Charterholders
While strategy consultants work within corporations, the CFA Program teaches the equally valuable outside-in analytical perspective on corporations.
Corporate Finance/M&A
8,400 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches investment bankers how companies make money, how they select their optimal capital structure and how they make decisions around inorganic strategies.
Equity Capital Markets
500 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about both corporate finance and equity valuation both of which are critical to the ECM role.
Debt Capital Markets
100 Charterholders
The CFA Program is the single most popular course for those seeking a grounding in the fixed income business.
Academics
1,700 Charterholders
The CFA Program offers academics a valuable window into the cutting edge practice of institutional finance.
Corporate Development & Strategy
2,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches professionals within corporate strategy how the valuation toolkit is applied to strategic decision making within corporations.
Venture Capital
300 Charterholders
The role of a venture capitalist has much in common with the role of an equity analyst and as such the CFA Program is a valuable complement to their transactional toolkit.
Treasurer
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about the key instruments that a treasurer will typically invest in and how to value them.
CFO
3,700 Charterholders
CFOs are a key interface between a corporation and the investment community. The CFA Program teaches them how their outputs serve as critical inputs to investment decision making.
Investor Relations
500 Charterholders
The CFA Program is of great value to investor relations professionals because it teaches the perspective of the analysts and portfolio managers on the other side of the table from investor relations.
Private Equity General Partner
8,000 Charterholders
The private equity general partner role is fundamentally to that of an equity analyst and as such they benefit greatly from the CFA Program.
CEO
4,900 Charterholders
Through the CFA Program, CEOs learn how their words, actions and performance are appraised by the financial analysts and the financial market.
Buy-side:
1.
Portfolio Manager (including hedge fund manager)
33,000 Charterholders
Almost half of portfolio managers in the world are CFA Charterholders.
2.
Compliance
500 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about the roles of dozens of actors in the financial markets and how they are affected by both regulation and the code of ethics.
3.
Buy-side Credit Analyst
1,400 Charterholders
Analyses debt issuers and structured credit products, assesses market exposures, seeks relative value opportunities to promote trade ideas to portfolio managers, and determines the balance of risk vs reward involved in extending credit.
4. (Government)
Regulators
1,100 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the key role types and workflows that regulators regulate.
5.
Buy-side Risk
2,500 Charterholders
Oversees aggregated risk across trading books for a firm, undertaking analysis (stress-testing, scenario analysis etc) and ultimately imposing rules to reduce tail risk and meet regulatory requirements.
6.
Buy-side Quant Analyst
1,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches all about the instrument products and dataset which are the raw materials for quantitative analysts.
7.
Product Manager
500 Charterholders
Build, develop and oversee the design, construction and operation of investment products and processes. Integration of investment processes with sales, market and service to provide turnkey solutions for clients.
8.
CIO
3,800 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches CIOs how to value entire markets and indices and conduct dynamic strategic asset allocation.
9.
Relationship Manager
5,600 Charterholders
First point of contact for clients, with responsibility for pro-actively understanding and responding to their needs, articulating the products and services of the firm, and identifying appropriate investment solutions to support them.
10.
Manager of Managers
4,800 Charterholders
Analyses and identifies investment managers to oversee aspects of client funds through the creation of “fund of funds” and/or multi-manager strategies, conducts qualitative and quantitative due diligence in selecting, monitoring and/or terminating investment managers.
11.
Buy-side Data Scientist
300 Charterholders
Analyses data-sets, applies coding/programming skills and modern analytical techniques to seek meaningful patterns and insights, and communicates relevant findings to key stakeholders. Develops tools and dashboards to enhance the overall investment process.
12.
Buy-side Trader
1,000 Charterholders
Executes security and derivative transactions making heavy use of market data tools, seeking best execution and minimizing market impact to trade portfolio manager strategies and/or execute proprietary or algorithmic strategies.
13.
Performance Analyst
1,600 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the inputs to the portfolio management process while performance analysts analyse the output from that process and so, it makes for a better-rounded performance analyst professional.
14.
Buy-side Equity Analyst
4,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program is the single biggest training program in the world for both sell-side and buy-side equity analysts.
15.
Private Wealth Management
9,300 Charterholders
Private wealth manager: The very first question on the very first CFA exam in 1966 was a private wealth question. The CFA Program is the main training ground for private wealth professionals who are close to the investment part of the business.
Sell-side:
16. (Government)
Central Banks
300 Charterholders
Central banks control short term interest rates and oversee inflation in their home market. The CFA Program teaches how those interest rates and inflation impacts the entire financial market through the yield curve.
17.
Sales
4,200 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the workflows of the most common clients of institutional sales people.
18.
Economist
700 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the full spectrum of the role of both sell-side and buy-side economists, ranging from country analysis, prediction of interest rates and inflation rates and currency market valuation.
19.
Sell-side Credit Analyst
2,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the full credit analyst toolkit all the way from anaylising the creditworthwiness of a single company or governemt and pricing the related debt instruments.
20.
ESG Analyst
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about the applications of ESG analysis across asset classes and role types.
21.
Investment Strategist
5,900 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches not only single security valuation but also the valuation of indices and entire asset classes which makes it the most popular choice of finance course for investment strategists.
22.
Sell-side | Quant Analyst
1,000 Charterholders
Identify, test and implement financial models and investment ideas by applying statistical techniques, using data-sets/quantitative tools to analyze and predict market movements and exploit market anomalies. Construction and delivery of efficient decision-making tools in the investment process.
23.
Investment Consultant
3,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program has waterfront coverage of both asset classes and valuation techniques which makes it the number one training program for investment consultants.
24.
Sell-side Trader
4,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches how the clients of a trader value the securities they are trading.
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25.
Broker-dealer Risk
6,000 Charterholders
Oversees aggregated risk across trading books for a firm, undertaking analysis (stress-testing, scenario analysis etc) and ultimately imposing rules to reduce tail risk and meet regulatory requirements.
26.
Sell-side Equity Research Analyst
18,000 Charterholders
Covers industries, collects industry and company data, analyses companies, and builds single company earnings models in order to conduct absolute and relative valuation culminating in recommendations to pitch mispriced equity securities to traders and portfolio managers.
27.
Sell-side Data Scientist
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches the data scientists how their toolkits and methods are most commomly used within institutional finance.
Corporate:
28. (Infrastructure)
Market Data & Indices
2,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches all the key workflows of the main user types of both market data platforms and indices.
29. (Infrastructure)
FinTech
300 Charterholders
Development and design of technology products across the spectrum of financial services. Exploration of unmet needs in financial services that can be met with innovative technology solutions. Promotion and sales of new technologies within financial services.
30. (Infrastructure)
Exchanges
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about all the main users and workflows related to securities on exchanges.
31.
CEO
4,900 Charterholders
Through the CFA Program, CEOs learn how their words, actions and performance are appraised by the financial analysts and the financial market.
32.
Investor Relations
500 Charterholders
The CFA Program is of great value to investor relations professionals because it teaches the perspective of the analysts and portfolio managers on the other side of the table from investor relations.
33.
Corporate Development & Strategy
2,000 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches professionals within corporate strategy how the valuation toolkit is applied to strategic decision making within corporations.
34.
CFO
3,700 Charterholders
CFOs are a key interface between a corporation and the investment community. The CFA Program teaches them how their outputs serve as critical inputs to investment decision making.
35.
Private Equity General Partner
8,000 Charterholders
The private equity general partner role is fundamentally to that of an equity analyst and as such they benefit greatly from the CFA Program.
36.
Venture Capital
300 Charterholders
The role of a venture capitalist has much in common with the role of an equity analyst and as such the CFA Program is a valuable complement to their transactional toolkit.
37.
Treasurer
300 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about the key instruments that a treasurer will typically invest in and how to value them.
38. (Other)
Academics
1,700 Charterholders
The CFA Program offers academics a valuable window into the cutting edge practice of institutional finance.
Advisory:
39.
Debt Capital Markets
100 Charterholders
The CFA Program is the single most popular course for those seeking a grounding in the fixed income business.
40.
Strategy Consulting
300 Charterholders
While strategy consultants work within corporations, the CFA Program teaches the equally valuable outside-in analytical perspective on corporations.
41.
Equity Capital Markets
500 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches about both corporate finance and equity valuation both of which are critical to the ECM role.
42.
Corporate Finance/M&A
8,400 Charterholders
The CFA Program teaches investment bankers how companies make money, how they select their optimal capital structure and how they make decisions around inorganic strategies.
43.
Accountant/Auditor
4,300 Charterholders
Through the CFA Program, accountants and auditors will learn how their output is used as a key input in the investment business through areas such as industry analysis and security valuation.