The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is regarded by most to be the key certification by financial professionals. It is essential in the areas of financial and hedge fund research, portfolio management, investment consulting, investment banking, and research within academic institutions. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program has even been ranked by The Economist as the "gold standard" among investment analysis designations.

So how does one go about acquiring the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation? For starters, check out cfainstitute.org for registration information and schedules for the exams. It's important to understand that the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a rather rigorous academic curriculum. The program is comprised of three levels, Level I, Level II and Level III. Each candidate is expected to study at least 250 hours per level, with substantially more, depending on the level of the individual.

The program is designed as a self-study curriculum, but there are abundant resources available to help candidates along the way. Many candidates prefer to use the Schweser or Stalla study programs, which can be purchased online at Schweser.com and Stalla.com. There is no definitive answer as to which program is the better of the two. Stalla tends to be a little more in-depth but is also more expensive, whereas Schweser is cheaper but covers less material. Another great resource for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is analystforum.com. Analyst forum is a free community for fellow candidates to discuss topics, problems and arrange study groups for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification. They also have a few helpful study tools and other resources available at each level.