6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...and More.

Enter your e-mail below to get our new Free Modeling Tutorials ($200+ Value).

< previous | next >

If You Failed Your CFA Exam Next Week, Would You Retake?
 

300 Hours's picture
O
(Orangutan, 339
 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 6:30pm
Angry Hulk

Apologies in advance for the negative nature of this post, but I feel that failure in the CFA is not an area that's covered enough - people don't like talking about it, perhaps. That's exactly why I feel that sometimes it should be addressed properly.

Besides the basic degree and professional certifications like the CFA charter, I also pursued Taekwondo, mostly as a teenager. As I progressed to more senior levels I competed in a few sparring sessions.

I wasn't pro in any sense, mind you - just some basic fooling around with some coaching from my instructor. But one phenomenon I observed within my own sparring technique was that I would start the fight very conservatively. I would keep my distance and try to slowly work my way in. 

It was only if and when my opponent landed a first proper hit on me that I would get pissed off and really aggressive. It wasn't due to any thinking on my part, purely primal - the aggressiveness was immediate and automatic.

I felt this way again years later, when I stared at my results for my first CFA Level II exam. Failure Band 10 (see here for more info on bands and other aspects of the results). I got pretty annoyed and thought man, now I really gotta finish this damn thing. 

It served me well - the drive I got pushed me through the next two levels and I never failed again.

In my retake, I realised I made several mistakes. I underestimated the amount of work involved the last time, and was multi-tasking doing extra freelance work & attending courses to learn a new language. So this time I really made sure I concentrated on just hitting my CFA studies. I also paid more attention to topic weightings and concentrated my efforts accordingly. I also paid more attention to topic weightings and concentrated my efforts accordingly. 

Now that the results are coming out soon - if you're expecting your results, what are your thoughts? Have you decided on whether you would be retaking if you failed? That's what I've polled this week (sorry, tried to embed it here but it didn't work out) - an overwhelming response so far has been "Yes, I would retake immediately".

I would definitely urge you that should the worst happen and you fail, use that experience to ensure that doesn't happen the next time. Learn from any mistakes that may have been made and utilize your emotion to drive your efforts!

Having said that - here's to hoping you don't have to face this decision on results day!

CFA Blog - 300hours.com | Twitter | Facebook

See my other WSO posts

Tags:

Comments

Oreos's picture

I'm going to avoid anyone to

HF
(Neanderthal, 2,450
 
Points)
 on 7/18/12 at 3:50am

I'm going to avoid anyone to whom I ever said "sorry, cant come out this eve, got to revise for this exam you've never heard of"
"is it compulsory?"
"nope"
"does it qualify you to do anything?"
"nope"
"but work are paying for it and making you do it, right?
"wrong again"
"so why can't you come out drinking again?"
" *sad face* "

Tolland15's picture

Oreos: I'm going to avoid

O
(Baboon, 150
 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 11:20am
Oreos:

I'm going to avoid anyone to whom I ever said "sorry, cant come out this eve, got to revise for this exam you've never heard of"
"is it compulsory?"
"nope"
"does it qualify you to do anything?"
"nope"
"but work are paying for it and making you do it, right?
"wrong again"
"so why can't you come out drinking again?"
" *sad face* "

This. Foregoing spring break in Cabo my senior year with 20+ friends to study was easily the hardest thing I have ever had to explain. Especially if I don't pass. Oh boy there will be blood.

I was taught that the human brain was the crowning glory of evolution so far, but I think it's a very poor scheme for survival.

Moneyball's picture

I took CFA level II in June.

ER
 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 2:35pm

I took CFA level II in June. I'm quite confident that I didn't pass, not that I didn't study, but I felt I had underestimated some sections. I will be taking it again. I hope anyone who is determined to make it in investment management to never give up. As much as I hate the CFA for what it's put me through, press on. Anything hard is worth doing.

Moneyball
See my other WSO blog posts

aempirei's picture

Sat for Level II in June. 80%

IB
(Gorilla, 726
 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 4:21pm

Sat for Level II in June. 80% sure I failed. Regardless of the band, I don't think I will be continuing with the designation unless I passed. I am a grad student looking to break into IB/PE and only see myself continuing with the CFA if I can only land an ER Associate role.

My name is Nicky, but you can call me Dre.

Oreos's picture

I'm L2 taker too, pretty sure

HF
(Neanderthal, 2,450
 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 5:40pm

I'm L2 taker too, pretty sure I bummed it also. All my friends who took it think the same, i'm yet to hear of anyone claiming to have passed that bugger yet.

FutureBanker09's picture

Sat for Level II, 90% sure I

AM
 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 7:14pm

Sat for Level II, 90% sure I failed. I'm gonna give it one more go. It's still fresh enough in my head that I could probably do decently right now if I had to take. Problem is maintaining that info. after I drink myself into a coma when I fail.

WalMartShopper's picture

lvl 1 failure here, i know i

 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 8:55pm

lvl 1 failure here, i know i didn't commit like i should and as soon as i get the results i'll be in study mode. i don't mind it that much because i save so much money not doing anything haha

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!

WSOusername's picture

Its not the test that makes

 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 9:57pm

Its not the test that makes it hard to keep pursuing, its the timing imo. Like if it was more like the CPA, where you can retry in 3 month intervals I believe(?) I would definitely keep going. Having to wait a whole year is a killer though. Let's be real, the material isn't exactly the type of stuff that is going to stay on the tip of your mind unless MAYBE (very maybe) you're in industry during the interval and actually using it (and i said maybe because even then, I'd imagine you wouldn't be using half this shit, lol). I know they claim the long gap is for grading, refreshing material, blah blah blah. But I feel like its a sneaky filter to keep the # of ppl going the distance down. It's amazing how many people are pursuing the designation nowadays, and you got to figure that huge %s of them making it would distill its "prestige" to some extent. Just my .02

GBS

pac12's picture

Win or lose, I'll still booze

(Chimp, 10
 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 10:17pm

Win or lose, I'll still booze and be back at it next June for some exam. Good luck all

Rdonahue7's picture

I'll be pretty miserable for

 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 11:11pm

I'll be pretty miserable for about 2 weeks if I didn't pass, but then I'll probably just go right back to studying.

syntheticshit's picture

99% sure i failed l2. unusual

 
Points)
 on 7/19/12 at 11:30pm

99% sure i failed l2. unusual for me, because my combined record of taking standardized exams prior to this test gave strong evidence that i am a very good test taker. in the end though, although it was incredibly humbling to attempt this 6 months after I passed level 1 while trying to survive analyst year 1, you almost relish the challenge again. it's not like any of the material is actually hard per se--it's the perfect recall necessary so you don't die at any given vignette and have a fighting shot of nailing a 4/6 on your weak areas.

whatever doesn't kill you just makes you stronger

aempirei's picture

syntheticshit: 99% sure i

IB
(Gorilla, 726
 
Points)
 on 7/20/12 at 1:02am
syntheticshit:

99% sure i failed l2. unusual for me, because my combined record of taking standardized exams prior to this test gave strong evidence that i am a very good test taker. in the end though, although it was incredibly humbling to attempt this 6 months after I passed level 1 while trying to survive analyst year 1, you almost relish the challenge again. it's not like any of the material is actually hard per se--it's the perfect recall necessary so you don't die at any given vignette and have a fighting shot of nailing a 4/6 on your weak areas.

whatever doesn't kill you just makes you stronger

I'm a good standardized test taker as well but CFA ain't no typical standardized test. After talking to many people in the banking/PE industry (some that even have the designation), they are all telling me it is virtually worthless and not worth the time.

If you are going for ER/Asset Management, go for it. Otherwise, I don't see the point.

Level 2 stole my soul and I don't think I'm getting it back.

My name is Nicky, but you can call me Dre.

nhlfan's picture

I wrote Level II, and like

ER
(Monkey, 52
 
Points)
 on 7/20/12 at 2:09pm

I wrote Level II, and like everyone else, I'm expecting a fail. I'll retake it, though.

torreador's picture

My perception about CFA. 1).

IB
(Monkey, 36
 
Points)
 on 7/21/12 at 11:22pm

My perception about CFA.

1). Do it if you are in an emerging market, specially India, Singapore, China. Boutiques here worship it. If you want to break into a boutique in one of these regions, go for the CFA. Most firms here do PE/IB under the same roof, and most of the times, the same set of bankers work on these deals, for both IB and PE. So a boutique in India is not as useless as perceived.

2). If you are applying to B School and your UG GPA is not upto the mark, try clearing a couple of levels if before applying. I'm by no means trying to suggest that you would have an edge over candidates with great GPA's. But this could at least make your case presentable.

lynetter1's picture

Anybody have a suggested

(Chimp, 2
 
Points)
 on 1/13/13 at 1:42pm

Anybody have a suggested study plan for retaking the exam? I'm in a predicament where it'll be ideal to sign up for the June 2013 exam to fit my timeline but 5 months of studying seems aggressive for this exam. I took Stalla for level 1 which was great b/c they gave you access to both an online portal and CDs w/ lectures and test banks. So I solely utilized the online portal for my first pass at level 1. When I had to retake but my portal access had expired, I then opened the CDs so I still had access to the lectures and QBanks.
However it seems like Schweser only allows you to choose one or the other (online portal or CD study plan) and both are only good for a year so you're stuck w/ making the decision whether to retake solo or cough up another $800. Grateful for any tips or suggestions on how people successfully retook level 2.

Unforseen's picture

Lynetter, take a look at how

(King Kong, 1,099
 
Points)
 on 1/13/13 at 1:40pm

Check out my Blog

6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...Straight to Your Inbox.

Confirm your name and e-mail below to get our best tips

Monkey Stats
Account information
We respect your Name and E-mail privacy. By joining you accept our terms of service.