What Is the CFTe? Spencer Li’s Guide to the IFTA Exam He Passed in 2014

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By Spencer Li, CFTe · Last updated: 26 October 2026

The CFTe, short for Certified Financial Technician, is the professional qualification in technical analysis awarded by IFTA, the International Federation of Technical Analysts. It has two exams. CFTe I is a 120-question multiple-choice test you can book any time of year at a Pearson VUE test centre. CFTe II is a written exam where you analyse a set of current charts as though you were reporting to a fund manager. I passed both in 2014, scoring 86 on Level 1 when the pass mark was 74. The CFTe proves you know the field. It does not prove you can trade, which is a different exam altogether, and one that never ends.

Every IFTA fact below was checked on ifta.org on 26 October 2026, because fees, dates and member counts all move.

Why update a post that opened with “Yay”?

On 7 January 2015 I published a short and very excited post on this site. It began by announcing that I had passed Level 2 of the CFTe, it called my Level 1 score “whooping”, and it signed off with “Cheers!” and a smiley.

Nearly twelve years later, that post still turns up in Google for people searching for the CFTe. They deserve more than a celebration, so this is the guide those searchers were hoping to find, with my pass kept in as the example.

What does the CFTe actually test?

Here is an odd fact about my own pass. IFTA now recommends about three months of study for Level I and six months for Level II. In 2015 I wrote that it took me “2 whole weeks of serious studying” to cover all the topics, and that the syllabus was “not for the faint-hearted”. Treat my two weeks as the exception and IFTA’s months as the plan.

The two levels test different things, and the gap between them is the whole point of the qualification.

	CFTe I	CFTe II
Format	120 multiple-choice questions	Essay answers analysing current charts on one market
When	Any time of year	Twice a year, usually April and October
Where	Pearson VUE test centres	Online, proctored over Zoom
Results	Straight after the exam	Six weeks to three months later
Fee, IFTA society member	US$550	US$850 plus a US$100 proctor fee
Fee, non-member	US$850	US$1,150 plus a US$100 proctor fee

Level I checks that you know the tools. IFTA says it covers a wide range of technical knowledge but usually does not involve experience, which is a polite way of saying you can pass it from books.

Level II is where the experience comes in. IFTA hands you a set of current charts, often of a single stock, and asks you to analyse them as though for a fund manager. You have to pick the tools, combine them into one view and defend it in writing, which is much closer to the real job than any multiple-choice question can get.

IFTA puts the pass rate at approximately 60 to 70%, varying from year to year. So roughly one candidate in three does not pass at a given sitting.

If you would rather start with a routine than a syllabus, my free 15-minute swing trader checklist is the daily process I use myself.

How is the CFTe different from the CFA and the CMT?

My 2015 post described the CFTe as “something like the CFA exams, but for technical analysts and traders”. That still holds, with a few numbers attached.

The CFA Program is three exams. CFA Institute recommends 300 hours of study per level, says the whole thing takes three to four years, and requires 4,000 hours of relevant work experience before you can call yourself a charterholder. Its centre of gravity is valuation, accounting and portfolio management. The CFTe is two exams, and its centre of gravity is the chart. If you want to see how those two ways of reading a market fit together, I compare them in technical analysis vs fundamental analysis.

The CMT, from the CMT Association, is the other technical analysis credential people weigh it against. For years the two were linked. Anyone who passed CMT Levels I and II could apply for the CFTe and receive it for a one-time fee. IFTA ended that route for CMT Level II exams taken on or after 1 January 2025, saying it had reviewed the programme and that the CMT material “may no longer align” with its own study materials. If you passed CMT II before that date, the old route is still described on IFTA’s site. If you sit it now, the two are separate journeys.

How widely is the CFTe recognised?

In my 2015 post I wrote that the CFTe was “recognised internationally in 26 countries”. IFTA’s About page today says it has members in 22 countries, and the same page calls it a federation of 24 societies.

The member list on its site matches the second number. As at 26 October 2026 it shows 20 full member societies and 4 developing ones, the newest being Peru’s, added this month. Singapore’s society, TASS, has been a member since October 2002. You cannot join IFTA as an individual, by the way. You join one of those societies, and members pay less for the exams than non-members do.

The screenshot above is IFTA’s About page as it looked when I passed, which is where my 26 came from. Counts like these drift as societies join and leave, so the live member list is the one to trust.

My 2015 post also made a wider point. I wrote that with blogging and social media it had become easy for anyone to become “an instant market Guru overnight”, and that certifications would help the public tell real traders and trainers from “the lemons in the market”. I even said SGX or MAS should “force” all trainers to take more accreditation exams. That was my view in 2015, and you can judge for yourself how social media has gone since.

Will the CFTe make you a profitable trader?

In February 2023, a trader on Reddit’s r/technicalanalysis asked which certification “is the best way to become a profitable trader”. It is a fair question, and no syllabus on earth can answer it for you.

IFTA’s own wording is careful about this. Its FAQ says the designation certifies “a thorough knowledge of the field” and the ability to understand and apply advanced technical analysis concepts and tools. Knowing the field is the claim, and making money from it is not.

Chess has a neat way of handling the same problem. Nobody sits an exam to become a grandmaster. FIDE, the world chess federation, awards the title for results, which means three norms earned in tournaments against strong players and a rating of at least 2500 at some point. The title is a record of games won, so a grandmaster cannot be a person who merely knows a lot about chess.

Trading has no FIDE. The CFTe is the closest thing we have to an exam, and the only equivalent of tournament results is a public trading record.

So the sceptics have a fair point, and I would rather say it plainly. Neither CFTe exam looks at a single trade the candidate has taken. That is why, as at 3 August 2026, all 470 of my closed trades since 22 April 2024 sit in my public trade log, dated, with the losses left in. The certificate shows I learned the material. The log is the part you can check against the market.

Who is the CFTe for?

It suits three kinds of people. The first is anyone whose work includes writing chart analysis for someone else, because CFTe II is that task under exam conditions. The second is the self-taught trader who wants a full syllabus instead of a pile of videos, since the exam forces you through the chapters you would happily skip. The third is a trainer who wants an independent body to check the knowledge behind the teaching.

If you are newer to charts, it helps to know what technical analysis is before you pay for an exam in it. My plain-English guide to technical analysis starts there, and my free trading guides collect the rest.

A syllabus teaches the tools. A daily habit is what puts them to work, and the free 15-minute swing trader checklist is the routine I run each day.

How do you register for the CFTe in 2026?

The first step surprises people. You do not book CFTe I with Pearson VUE directly. You register and pay through IFTA, and within 72 hours IFTA emails an authorisation letter that lets you choose your date and test centre on the Pearson VUE site.

CFTe II runs on a fixed calendar. As at 26 October 2026 the next sitting is on 15 April 2027, and IFTA’s registration deadline is 4 March 2027. It is proctored over Zoom, so you sit it from your office or home. Both levels come with a syllabus and study guide that IFTA updated on 7 May 2026, plus mock exams, and the programme is designed for self-study, although some member societies run preparation courses.

FAQ

What does CFTe stand for?
Certified Financial Technician. It is the professional qualification in technical analysis awarded by IFTA, the International Federation of Technical Analysts.

How many levels does the CFTe have?
Two. CFTe I is a 120-question multiple-choice exam. CFTe II is a written exam in which you analyse current charts on one market as though for a fund manager.

How long should I study for the CFTe?
IFTA recommends about three months for Level I and six months for Level II. It encourages candidates to finish the whole qualification within two years, and most sit the two exams in successive years.

What is the CFTe pass rate?
IFTA says it varies from year to year and is approximately 60 to 70%.

How much does the CFTe cost?
As at 26 October 2026, members of an IFTA society pay US$550 for CFTe I and US$850 for CFTe II. Non-members pay US$850 and US$1,150. CFTe II adds a US$100 proctor fee.

Can a CMT holder still get the CFTe?
Only if they passed CMT Level II before 1 January 2025. IFTA ended that route for CMT II exams taken on or after that date.

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Have you sat a trading exam, and did it change the way you trade, or only the letters after your name? Let me know in the comments.

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About the author. Spencer Li is The 15-Minute Trader and the founder of Synapse Trading. He is a Certified Financial Technician (CFTe) with 15+ years of trading, run from 70+ countries. He holds a B.Acc and B.BM from SMU. Every trade he takes is public, dated, losses left in. He teaches rules-based swing trading in 15 minutes a day, one system for any market.

Education, not financial advice. Synapse Trading is not licensed by MAS to advise on investment products. Trading carries risk of loss, and past performance is not indicative of future results.

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Educational content only, not personalised financial advice. Trading carries risk, including loss of capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Synapse Trading is not licensed or regulated by MAS.