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"Anyone pass the CFA level 1 without studying?"
You have twenty pages of formulas memorized?
What is that supposed to mean? Why don't you just answer the question...
sighs
It means no...
If you have any idea what's in the exam...you'll know that at the very least you'd probably need a few browse overs even if you're a genius...
Looks like it means nope.
The average person who passes the CFA-1, which is the top 35%-40% of all test takers, spent 250-300 hours studying for this.
This has to be the most dumbass question I've ever seen on this forum. The level 1 kaplan study notes has 1,300 pages. The CFAI source material is even longer.
Look, the CFA is just a bunch of volume - if you did undergrad econ or finance, nothing should be new to you.
Yeah, so most of the material you should know already. Have any of you guys actually wrote the exam? Why is this a stupid question? I know someone who passed level 3 without studying...
Once again...at the very least you'll need some browse over and refreshing...so great, you know someone who went in and did the level 3 without studying...but I wouldn't use that person as your benchmark.
The sheer volume of material...I highly doubt you remember everything from your first years at uni...
CFA is 25% Accounting, 25% Ethics, 25% Finance related and Econ plays a smaller part at around 10% with the balance being Quantitative/Stats stuff.
Look I just passed it in June 2007, and I did Econ and Finance as my honours program and HELL NO would I consider it a total walkover. I revised hard because its unlikely at an undergrad level you majored in Accounting, Finance AND Econ...and even the things you major...you're effectively watching it boil down to a 6hrs exam on material spanning 3-4 years of study...
I agree with the above poster. It's painful answering this extremely childish question. The CFA is not offered in May..........
I took and passed level 1 and 2. I majored in finance, C.P.A. accounting from a top 10 (back then when I was in college, top 5) target and it took me circa 120-150 hours to pass the level 1. The test is more focused on accounting than economics BTW, so if you don't major in accounting you will have difficulty. Level 2 took me about 200-250.
My buddy with a cornell Master's in quantitative finance cum laude failed level 1 the last time he took it.
The person who passed level 3 without studying is lying to you. It takes a few hundred hours to clear the thing, and the material tested is much more advanced than anything encountered at the undergrad level.
Study 10 hours, and throw your money away when you fail.
BTW, if you guys are just college nerds who don't know anything, please don't comment...
i think you asked an inherently dumb question, and all who's read this is now suffering from loss of brain cells from having read your question.
in this world, nothing worth getting is easy. you have to fight for everything, no such thing as the easier path. and judging from your responses, you are actually in high school. and also, there will never be a korean "gekko"
Actually I'm an analyst working at a top bank considering writing the CFA but don't have the time to study due to work. I'm sure people have passed level 1 studying much less than the required 200 hours. By "not studying", I was implying a quick review (ie. 10 hours), and I believe that's doable.
I passed it this June without even knowing what CFA stands for...
That is really impressive, I didn't know the test was offered in May.
I guess you should just ask yourself if you can pass it without studying, not us. I mean there have been Computer Science exams in college when I didn't study for the whole semester and still got an A, and the class average was 65, and there is a humanities course where I got a B when 50% of the class had an A. So I guess stuff isn't easy or tough in absolute terms. It depends relative to you.
This thread is a bit ridiculous, but I'll humor it a bit.
The "300 hours" requirement comes from surveys conducted by the CFAI on candidates, whether they pass or fail. You will not find any legitimate CFAI source that says, "The CFAI recommends 300 hours of studying to pass each level." The pass rate has hovered around 40% in recent years, indicating that the average candidate studying 300 hours isn't passing.
I'm sure people pass with significant less time spent studying, but it is very unlikely.
A professor I had got his PhD in finance, thought he knew it all, didn't study, and failed Level I (he would go on to become a Chartholder). So the, "I went to a top 10 school and got my degree in finance/econ/accounting, I can wing it" argument doesn't hold water here. Ethics especially would be difficult because it is very CFAI specific.
Here's a story of a sharp guy who crammed it into a couple weeks thanks to his education background and work experience.
http://www.300hours.com/blog/how-i-passed-the-cfa-level-i-exam-with-jus…
That being said, if it could be passed without studying, do you think the pass rate with candidates studying an average of 300 hours studied would only be 40%?
EDIT 9/11/2014: Just realized this is an older thread.
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