Korea Financial Investment Analyst study plan
Korea Financial Investment Analyst · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Financial Investment Industry and Regulation & Financial Investment Products
Map the Capital Markets Act framework by function - licensing, conduct rules, and investor protection duties - and write a one-page structure diagram from memory
Distinguish the licensing tiers and their permitted activities, then classify 20 business activities into the correct tier
List the core disclosure obligations for securities issuers and identify which filing triggers which deadline
Summarize the main financial investment product categories and the legal classification that determines which rules apply
Your checkpoint
A 2-page cheat sheet of licensing tiers, disclosure deadlines, and product classifications, self-tested with 25 recall questions scored at 80% or higher
Financial Investment Industry and Regulation & Financial Investment Products
Explain unfair trading prohibitions and the burden-of-proof structure for each prohibited act type
Compare the risk-return and tax treatment profiles of equity, bond, and fund products in a side-by-side table
Describe the structure and payoff logic of ELS, DLS, and ELB and identify the embedded option exposure in each
Identify investor-protection duties owed at each stage of the sales process from suitability assessment to post-sale explanation
Your checkpoint
A comparison matrix covering five product families across risk, return, tax, and disclosure requirements, plus 15 practice questions on regulatory duties answered with written justifications
Financial Markets and Investment Environment & Securities Analysis and Valuation
Trace how monetary policy transmission moves short rates, the yield curve, and equity risk premia in sequence
Compute and interpret key macro indicators - CPI, GDP growth, current account balance, and leading indicators - and state the market implication of each surprise
Build a three-stage top-down analysis of an industry using cycle position, competitive structure, and regulatory drivers
Read a financial statement and compute ROE, operating margin, and free cash flow without reference notes
Your checkpoint
A written macro-to-sector note applying the indicators to one Korean sector, with all ratios computed and sourced from a real financial statement
Securities Analysis and Valuation
Apply absolute valuation models - DDM and FCFE - and justify each input assumption explicitly
Apply relative valuation multiples and explain when each multiple misleads
Adjust for dilution, minority interests, and non-recurring items before computing per-share value
Identify the assumptions most sensitive to error in a valuation and run a simple sensitivity range
Your checkpoint
A full valuation of one listed company using two methods, with a sensitivity table and a written reconciliation of the resulting value gap
Securities Analysis and Valuation & Portfolio Management and Asset Allocation
Compute expected return, variance, and covariance from a return series and construct the efficient frontier for two and three assets
Derive and interpret the capital market line and the security market line, and explain what beta does and does not capture
Calculate portfolio risk contributions and explain why diversification limits differ across asset classes
Distinguish the assumptions and limitations of mean-variance optimization in practice
Your checkpoint
A spreadsheet model computing portfolio risk, beta, and the efficient frontier for a five-asset set, with a one-page interpretation of the results
Portfolio Management and Asset Allocation
Match investor objectives, constraints, and risk tolerance to an appropriate strategic asset allocation
Compare performance measurement approaches - Sharpe, Treynor, Jensen, and information ratio - and select the right one for a given mandate
Explain the mechanics and use cases of rebalancing rules and tactical deviation bands
Interpret attribution output separating allocation effect from selection effect
Your checkpoint
An investment policy statement for a sample client including target allocation, rebalancing rule, benchmark, and a performance evaluation section with computed ratios
Derivatives and Risk Management
Price forwards, futures, and plain vanilla options using no-arbitrage and Black-Scholes logic and state the assumptions behind each
Compute and interpret the Greeks and explain how each changes with moneyness and time to expiry
Distinguish hedging, speculation, and arbitrage uses of derivatives and identify the risk each introduces
Explain value at risk, its limitations, and the difference between VaR and stress testing
Your checkpoint
A worked problem set of 12 derivative pricing and risk questions solved from first principles, with assumptions stated for each answer
Investment Ethics and Professional Conduct
Apply the standards of professional conduct to conflicts of interest, priority of client interest, and confidentiality scenarios
Identify the correct action in situations involving material nonpublic information and market manipulation
Distinguish the ethical duty owed to clients from the legal minimum in soft-dollar and referral arrangements
Complete timed full-length practice under exam conditions and diagnose weak domains by error type
Your checkpoint
Two timed full-length mock exams scored, with an error log classifying every miss by domain and cause, plus a written ethics scenario analysis of three cases
Milestones
Week 2: Score 75% or higher on a 40-question set covering domains 1 and 2, and explain each licensing tier and product classification without notes
Week 4: Complete the company valuation with all inputs documented and defend every assumption in writing; score 70% or higher on a domain 3 and 4 question set
Week 6: Produce the portfolio model and IPS deliverable unaided within a three-hour sitting, and score 70% or higher on a domain 5 question set
Week 8: Achieve 70% or higher on both timed mock exams with no domain below 60%, and show a declining error rate between mock one and mock two