Yes, an approved calculator is essential for the CFA® Program exams (Level I, II, and III) to solve complex financial calculations within the tight 90-second-per-question time limit. The CFA Institute strictly authorizes only two models: the Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including Professional) and the Hewlett Packard 12C (including Platinum/25th anniversary).
However, one of the most overlooked — yet crucial — tools for success is your calculator. The CFA Institute permits only two calculators during the exam: the Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including the BA II Plus Professional) and the Hewlett Packard 12C (including the Platinum edition).
The CFA exam calculator policy allows only two calculator models for the exam: Texas Instruments (TI) BA II Plus (including BA II Plus Professional) Hewlett Packard (HP) 12C (including the HP 12C Platinum, 12C Platinum 25th anniversary edition, 12C 30th-anniversary edition, and HP 12C Prestige)
You can manually do the math and get away with it (time permitting). If you were very well prepared, you'd have enough time to do the math manually. Obviously, There are some CF/Bond problems you cannot manually solve for but you can still pass the exam if that's your point.
✅ Only 2 calculators are allowed: 1️⃣ Texas Instruments BA II Plus (including BA II Plus Professional) 2️⃣ HP 12C (including Platinum models) ⚠️ No other calculators — not even your phone or smartwatch — are permitted during the exam!
Three months can be enough time, but typically it takes a candidate at least six months to prepare for the CFA Level 2 exam.
CFA Exams Pass Rates
The CFA exams are perhaps the most challenging exams out there. They are often referred to as “bar none” the toughest exams—even harder than medical school or law school exams—with pass rates that hover around 50% and were much lower during the recent pandemic.
CFA Institute keeps it simple: you may bring only a TI BA II Plus (standard or Professional) or an HP 12C (Classic or Platinum). Show up with any other calculator, even a flashy graphing model, and the proctor will take it away.
A: Yes. The CFA exam does not provide formula sheets during the test, so candidates must memorize key formulas, especially in Quantitative Methods, Fixed Income, and Financial Reporting.
Most of the math is basic, but if you are going to take math anyways, statistics would be most helpful. The rest is basic algebra.
The TI 84 Plus is an easy to use financial calculator which will serve you well in all finance courses. This tutorial will demonstrate how to use the financial functions to handle time value of money problems and make financial math easy.
Is CFA tougher than CA? A: The CFA and CA (Chartered Accountant) qualifications have different focuses and challenges. While both are demanding, many find CA to be more rigorous due to its extensive practical training and exams.
CFA Level 1 is widely considered a very difficult exam due to its broad curriculum, demanding study commitment (often 300+ hours), challenging technical content, and typical ~40% pass rates, requiring strong discipline to learn and recall foundational finance concepts, though it's often seen as the most manageable of the three levels because it focuses on learning and describing rather than deep analysis. Success hinges on consistent study, mastering core topics like Ethics, FSA, and Investments, and effective exam technique, making it a significant hurdle for many.
How hard is the CFA Level III exam? Due to the difficulty of the essay format of the CFA Level III exam, it's deemed the most challenging CFA exam to pass although it has a higher pass rate than the Level II exam.
Yes, it's possible to pass CFA Level 1 in 1 month with focused study, disciplined daily schedules, and frequent practice with mock exams and quizzes.
What are common CFA Level 3 mistakes? Some common mistakes that students make in CFA Level 3 are ignoring mock tests, improper time management, and following the same strategy continuously as preparation for levels 1 and 2.
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Candidates who are unsuccessful after six attempts at the same level are no longer eligible to register —this applies to attempts under both existing and newly created accounts.