NEW YORK, February 12, 2020 / — The Princeton Review®, which for more than 35 years has helped people attain their educational and professional goals with resources for dozens of important exams—from the SAT® to the USMLE®—now offers an innovative test-prep course for the Level I CFA® (Chartered Financial Analyst®) exam.

The CFA is a post-graduate designation given by the premier global organization for investment management professionals, the CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research). It is the most respected designation in the field of financial analysis and one of the most challenging professional designations to earn. Candidates for a CFA charter must show proficiency in three areas, each of which involves sitting for and passing a very rigorous, lengthy exam. (Notes on the exam pass rates follow.) 

The Princeton Review's course for the Level I CFA exam is an online, self-paced, comprehensive program of study. Priced at $399 (and available for a limited time at $349), the course features 50+ hours of video lectures, hundreds of practice questions with answer explanations, and two mock exams that resemble the real Level I CFA exam. Detailed information about the course, as well as clips from the course's video lectures, tips for taking the exam, and FAQs about the course and exam are accessible on The Princeton Review's website, here.

The Princeton Review worked with investment industry experts to develop the course format, content, instructional videos, and test-taking strategies. The six instructors in the course videos are all CFA charterholders. Some of them are portfolio managers at investment banks. Others are tenured professors at top-tier institutions. All are renowned in their fields, from financial reporting and analysis to corporate finance and equity investments.

"We salute the investment industry professionals who contributed so much to this project," said Juwon Lee, The Princeton Review's Vice President for Finance and Business Development. "We are delighted to bring their deep knowledge of the material on this exam and their experience as instructors to all who use our course to study for the exam—especially to those who need to prepare for it as effectively and efficiently as possible."

Lee noted that course was designed dynamically to make it possible to review the material on the exam and master the skills necessary for it in just 120 hours—dramatically fewer than the number of hours other Level I CFA exam courses cite as necessary to study for the exam using their materials. He added that The Princeton Review course developers also took into account the fact that many Level I exam-takers have demanding schedules, juggling dual responsibilities of work and family. "We knew it would be essential that our resources be available 24/7 to enable our course-users to study for the exam on their own time and at their own pace."

Currently, the pass rate for the six-hour Level I CFA exam is 43 percent. The pass rate for the Level II (also six-hour) exam is 45 percent, and the rate for the Level III exam (an essay test with a slightly shorter duration) is 56 percent. All of the exams are administered in June.  The Level I exam is also given in December. CFA candidates must also meet other requirements specified by the CFA Institute to be named charterholders. 

The Princeton Review's self-paced Level I CFA exam preparation course includes:

  • 50+ hours of video lectures
  • 900 slides covering the content most likely to appear on the test, plus comprehensive study notes
  • 1500+ practice questions with detailed explanations of answer solutions
  • 2 mock exams that resemble the real Level I CFA exam
  • A limited time money-back guarantee (terms for the tuition refund are specified here)

According to the CFA Institute, more than 150,000 individuals in 165 countries and regions worldwide have been awarded the designation of CFA charterholder. It brings many benefits, from enhanced status and earnings potential as a finance professional to lifelong networking and education resources available to CFA Institute society members.

Over the years, The Princeton Review has created resources for other exams required for professional certification, licensing, or proficiency assessments. These resources have included test-prep guides for the USMLE® (U.S. Medical Licensing Exam), the NCLEX-RN® (a series of licensing exams for nurses), the Praxis® (a series of American teacher certification tests), and the CBEST® (a credentials/proficiency test for public school teachers in California and Oregon). The Princeton Review has also created resources for professional school admission tests. Among them are guides for the MCAT® (Medical College Admission Test), the DAT® (Dental Admission Test), the OAT® (Optometry Admission Test), and the PCAT® (Pharmacy College Admission Test).

Given the early response to The Princeton Review's self-paced course for the Level I CFA exam, the company has engaged its experts to begin research and development for component courses for the Level II and Level III CFA exams.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors, online resources, and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. The company’s Tutor.com brand is the largest online tutoring service in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 18 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com. Follow the company on Twitter @ThePrincetonRev and Instagram @theprincetonreview

The CFA Institute does not endorse, promote, or warrant the accuracy or quality of the products or services offered by The Princeton Review. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

SAT® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this product. All test names in this release are the registered trademarks of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with The Princeton Review.

-###-

CONTACTS: Jeanne Krier, Publicist for The Princeton Review,  pressoffice@review.com, or Suzanne Podhurst, Director of Communications and Social Media, The Princeton Review, suzanne.podhurst@review.com

-0-