Banking, Finance & Insurance

The following Practical Skills Module is available for the Level 3 CFA candidates. They need to complete the PSM in order to view their CFA result:

• Analyst Skills
• Financial modelling
• Portfolio Development and Construction
• Python, data Science and AI
• Python Programming Fundamentals. 

The following PSM is availabel for the Level 2 CFA exam:

• Analyst Skills
• Python, Data Science and AI
• Python Programming Fundamentals

Candidates should complete their PSM in order to view their CFA result. Each PSM takes about 10-20 hours to complete. The level 1 CFA exam has the following PSMs:

• Financial Modelling
• Python Programming Fundamentals

Three pathways will be released in mid-August 2025 for the Level 3 PSM. These are:

• Practical Macro (Portfolio Management Pathway)
• Due Diligence (Private Markets Pathway)
• Managing Private Wealth Clients (Private Wealth Pathway)

After passing the Level 3 of the CFA exam, candidates should register officially with the CFA Institute as the CFA Charterholder. This will open doors to various opportunities. Students can opt for jobs such as Investment manager, hedge fund manager, investment banking analyst, corporate financial analyst, stock analyst, etc. 

Students can also opt for further certifications such as Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)

Once the candidate has cleared Level 2 of the CFA exam, they should start preparing for the Level 3 exam. Starting the CFA Level 3 preparation early and strategizing will help candidates pass the CFA Level 3 exam with a better score. 

To prepare for the CFA exam, students should focus on the constructed response questions, writing skills, curriculum topic differences from the previous levels, and weightage of topics in Level 3 of the CFA exam. 

Candidates who have appeared for the CFA Level 1 exam and have received their result can apply for the Level 2 CFA exam. The CFA Level 2 exam for the May exam registration window is open and the last date to apply is February 12, 2026. For August session, the last date is May 6, 2026. 

November CFA Level 2 registration last date is August 11, 2026.  

The subjects included in the IILM Lucknow PGDM (Finance) course are categorised as core and finance courses. Candidates also have to complete a summer internship and placement workshops. The academy also provide a list of recommended finance certifications. Aspirants can check below some of the finance courses: 

• Fintech Foundations
• Financial Derivatives
• International Finance
• Financial Planning and Wealth Management
• Corporate Finance, etc.