Any other CFA®L1 hopefuls here's the best sheet I've found for filling in and drilling formulas over these few final days. More comprehensive than the Schweser quicksheet (which is also good though and worth the $29 imho).
Note that there are quite a few formulas in the Elan sheets that are not totally necessary, so of course be sure to cross reference with the CFA®LOS before you decide to commit to learning a certain formula.
But this is great for checking if you have any gaps you want to fill in and clarifying any fuzzy concepts.
Good luck on December 1 gents and ladies!
http://www.elansguides.com/free-CFA®-materials/free-CFA®-books/L1-2012J-FS.pdf
oh so you're the new elan guy?
Elan or Schweser for CFA Level I?
Lol no I used Schweser. Can't speak for the Elan guides but the formula sheet is good. Have also heard good things about Stalla.
I'll let you know what I really think of Schweser after I get my results...
This can be useful for others as well, for people interviewing for internships this could possibly be a partial guide to help preparing for some techincals. It won't have financial modeling details or anything, but browsing through it to see if you understand the concepts can help a lot.
Wow. Amazing stuff.
Thanks for the link frgna.
Whoa! Thanks for sharing. I really needed this. :)
CFA Formulas Question (Originally Posted: 04/20/2011)
This pertains to the CFA Lvl 1.
Did you memorize all the formulas on paper?
Or did you simply do enough practice problems to 'understand the formula' by just looking at the problem & the numbers.
I'm horrible @ memorizing but when I look at a problem I can start remembering the formula pretty quick. I was wondering if anyone else just did so many practice problems that they didn't have to memorize the formulas on paper and write them down as soon as they got their exam.
there are too many formulas to memorize. Unless you understand the relationships between the variables give to you, you will have trouble.
Yeah, I just talked to a buddy of mine who passed Lvl 1 last year and he told me that the real test is more conceptual than based on formulas.
He said he spent less time on his calculator and more time determining if x decreases given that a certain set of variables rises/falls, etc.
Anyone have comments on schweser's practice questions? I've been doing those for the most part, but I have heard analystnotes.com has the best practice exams. I've almost covered all the LOS and dedicated the whole month of May to doing practice exams so hopefully that will be enough time to grasp the concepts of the full curriculum.
It's definitely tough to memorize all the formulas, but going over them you see that a lot are just variations of the same base. If the formulas come to you as you go over the problems that's a good sign. The hardest part is figuring out which formula to use. That's why the best approach is to have the formulas down cold. A good tool I found for this was Elan's 11th Hour Guide for Level I.
Also, if you haven't looked at Analyst Forum check out: http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/list.php?11
You can find a lot of good info searching through old topics, and most of the people there are helpful, especially as it gets closer to June.
I used flashcards lightly to memorize the formulas. You will eventually memorize the formulas just from doing so many practice questions. Don't memorize the quant section formulas, you have a calculator for all that. Do memorize all the accounting, corporate finance, equity, fixed income and derivative formulas.
CFA formula approach (Originally Posted: 10/25/2012)
Can any recent Level 1 examinees share what formulas or topics they did/did not/wish they had memorize(d) for the exam? In the midst of prepping my formula sheet now.
I'm imagining that for example memorizing the formula for excess kurtosis will not be worth my time/brainspace.
Any advice on what areas/formulas to focus on etc. would be greatly appreciated.
I'll be posting the sheet once it's done for anyone interested.
Thanks in advance and SBs for good advice.
Kurtosis is easy - Skewness formula with powers of 4 instead of 3 and subtract by 3. :)
You can tell I just had an investments test.
Quick sheet is good for level 1. Know this like the back of your hand and you should be set. (This is exclusive to level 1 btw)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28074300/CFA-Level-1-Quick-Sheet
I went through a 3 hour practice exam and filled up a few pages with all the formulas I needed to pass it. Studied that with only a few additions thereafter, worked like a charm. I personally find that method more effective because you understand when and where to apply the formulas as opposed to just memorizing a bunch of letters and numbers. $0.02
Thanks guys - worked through a practice test today and it actually seems like they're not so demanding on the formulas. My stress levels are down.
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