Practice Analysis and Curriculum Development
Mission Statement
To lead the investment profession globally by setting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence. Page 2
The CFA® Program
A self-study, distance learning-based program that takes a generalist approach to security analysis and portfolio management and emphasizes the highest ethical and professional standards. Page 3
The CFA® Program Cycle
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Bodies of Knowledge Based on an Analysis of Practice
Bodies of Knowledge Global Body of Investment KnowledgeTM The GBIK is the comprehensive outline of knowledge for the investment profession. Investment professionals may use GBIK concepts at any stage of their career - novice through expert, generalist and/or specialist. The GBIK includes mainstream and frontier concepts based on research that is still being debated and may encompass views well outside those of the mainstream. Candidate Body of KnowledgeTM The CFA Program CBOK is the core knowledge, skills, and abilities (competencies) that are generally accepted and applied by investment professionals. These competencies are used in practice in a generalist context and are expected to be demonstrated by a recently qualified CFA charterholder. Specialized Bodies of Knowledge [e.g. Private Wealth, CIPM]: These SBOK represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities (competencies) that may be applied by investment professionals within specialty areas. SBOK can include mainstream and frontier concepts. Page 6
Practice Analysis: What and Why?
Most respected authorities in education, testing and certification recommend or require periodic practice analysis studies Focuses on the critical tasks performed by competent people working in the profession Establishes content validity – curriculum and exams must be linked to the knowledge and skills needed by practitioners
Results in new GBIK & CBOK – the blueprint for curriculum and exam content The only way a topic gets into the CFA Program (and eventually tested) is if practitioners throughout the world deem it important. Page 7
Practice Analysis Process
2006 and Prior Approximately 5-year cycle CBOK focus Develop Degree of Understanding Outline and Topic Area Weights Foundation for Curriculum and Exam Development
New Practice Analysis Process Continuous, four-phase development process GBIK and CBOK focus GBIK and CBOK updated on an annual basis Test specifications will continue to be updated on a multi-year cycle Foundation of All Educational Activities at CFA Institute
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Phase 1 of Practice Analysis Process
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Collaborative Community for Practice Analysis/GBIKTM The purpose of this site is to continuously update and refine our Global Body of Investment Knowledge (GBIK) --- a living document. There are three main areas of interest:
Documents: Contains the current GBIK in hierarchical form Discussions: Discussions about additions, deletions, improvements or a revised structure to the GBIK
GBIK Wiki: Presents the GBIK topics in tree format Domain Moderators are responsible for the oversight of GBIK topics EAC Working Body assigned to domain topic and provides support to domain moderators. Page 10
Collaborative Community for Practice Analysis/GBIK
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Collaborative Community for Practice Analysis/GBIKTM
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Collaborative Community for Practice Analysis/GBIK
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Collaborative Community for Practice Analysis/GBIK
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Collaborative Community for Practice Analysis/GBIKTM
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Phase 2 of Practice Analysis Process
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Employer Advisory Panels
To obtain input on industry trends to ensure that the GBIK and CFA Program CBOK remain current To assist CFA Institute in better understanding employers’ expectations regarding the competencies and skills and abilities of investment professionals To learn more about how CFA Institute and the CFA program can better serve employers’ needs
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Regional Expert Panels
To assist CFA Institute in identifying changes necessary to ensure that the GBIK and CFA Program CBOK remain current To obtain input from a wide variety of professionals
To ensure that the CFA Program CBOK reflects the diversity of practice within the investment profession
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Locations of Practice Analysis Panels
New York – December 2008
Dubai – February 2009
Hong Kong – March 2009
London – October 2009
Zurich – October 2009 Page 19
Phase 3 of Practice Analysis Process
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Member Survey
Based on results from collaborative website and panel discussions Regionally stratified-sample to reflect membership
Over 2,000 responses with the following regional breakdown: Americas 35% Asia Pacific 29% EMEA 36% Output used by Practice Analysis Task Force to set topic weights and specific knowledge areas Page 21
Phase 4 of Practice Analysis Process
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The CFA® Program Cycle
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CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge
Ten CBOK Topic Domains
Ethical and Professional Standards Quantitative Methods Economics Financial Reporting and Analysis Corporate Finance
Equity Investments Fixed Income Derivatives Alternative Investments Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning
Investment Tools
Asset Valuation
Portfolio Management
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Curriculum
The topic focus and learning focus differ at each level Topic Focus
Learning Focus
Level I
Investment Tools Ethical Standards
Knowledge Comprehension
Level II
Asset Valuation Ethical Standards
Application Analysis
Level III
Portfolio Management Ethical Standards
Synthesis Evaluation
The curriculum at each level is organized into 18 study sessions
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Principles of Curriculum Development A curriculum that is: Faithful to the practice analysis and CBOK Fair to candidates Valuable to members, employers, and investors Incorporates “best practices” in content and pedagogy The curriculum content should be: Globally relevant Generalist (as opposed to specialist) in nature Appropriate for a new charterholder Testable Authoring/selection/review processes that are extensive, intensive, and diverse in all topic domains Uses both candidate time and CFA Institute resources appropriately and effectively
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Curriculum Ground Rules Teach the knowledge and skills required of a generalist Identified in the Global Practice Analysis Defined by CBOK and DUO Select, develop and regularly review materials that: Are appropriate in a distance-learning environment for a global candidate base Are clear and accurate Contain numerous examples/problems with solutions Avoid curriculum materials that are: Predominately empirical/historical in nature Topical (current events oriented or survey articles) Country specific and/or specialist in nature Page 28
Custom Curriculum
Custom curriculum gives us flexibility to: Publish only readings that are required for knowledge Expand pedagogy (examples, questions, problems) Revise readings based on practice analysis
Update examples and scenarios to current environment
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The Curriculum Team
Educational Advisory Board (EAB)
Project Consultants (PCs) Assistant Project Consultants (APCs) Topic Area Experts (TAEs) Authors Reviewers Other Volunteers Staff
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Challenges Continuous development of the Global Body of Investment Knowledge
Participation on collaborative website Panel discussions on both CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge and Global Body of Investment Knowledge simultaneously Integrating other specialized bodies of knowledge
Translating into comprehensive competency profiles/learning paths for generalists/specialists. Page 31
Contact
To learn more about participating in the practice analysis collaborative website and discussion forum, contact: Carey Hare Project Manager, Curriculum Development CFA Institute Phone: 1.434.951.5286
[email protected]
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