So I bit the bullet... CFA® June 2011
I know this topic is a horse that has been beaten time and again, however I just decided to bite the bullet and register for the June CFA® exam.
I mulled over the many posts concerning the pros/cons, etc... regarding the exam, but in the end it seemed that it was just something worthwhile in my current situation. With my employer offering reimbursement as well as zero out of pocket expenses for the Kaplan course, I figured I might as well take advantage of the opportunity and buckle down back to study mode.
In my current situation, I am in the fortunate position to only be confined at the office till 10pm if I should so choose. However, I'm also aware that it is during these early years beginning my career where I should be burning the midnight oil to achieve and be in the position I desire 10-15 years from now. The opportunity cost of working only a 50 hour work week is far too great.
With that understanding, I figure I should devote the extra time I have to further my understanding in the industry in which I wish to establish my career. With still wanting to gain an additional 3 years of work experience before contemplating an MBA, I believe the CFA® will provide me with a structure and focus to buckle down and enhance my understanding of the financial markets.
Many have stated that the 300+ hours spent studying the exam could be much better utilized by networking or other means, but I'm involved with several outside organizations and I believed why not do both? Hopefully my committing to the exam will convey my seriousness in pursuing this industry when networking and will prove to be just another component in my conversations.
And besides, I always do enjoy a challenge.
Just felt like talking about my recent decisions, so thought I'd post on the boards.
Thanks for reading,
I have been toying with the idea of L1 myself. Thanks for posting.
I have been contemplating it as well. Was a diehard opponent of the CFA, an will always be, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't give it a try. Thats awesome that your taking advantage of the zero cost for the program and the course. Many don't get that, as i know my employer doesn't do that. Good luck to you, my friend
Level 1 is very manageable, especially if you studied finance in college (I didn't), and the 300 hours is probably an over-estimation.
For someone that took finance classes at a non-target and did extremely well (straight A's), how long do you think it will take for Level 1? I realize its different for everyone and under different circumstances, but I'm just curious as to what a ball park figure would be. Love the show by the way.
Tough to put it in hour terms and like Hayek says above, I don't mean to say you should underestimate it-just that it's not exactly climbing Mount Everest. Besides finance there's also ethics/compliance, accounting, econ, and stats to consider. Once you start going over the material you'll know what you have a handle on and what you don't. The real challenge is the volume of material rather than the depth or complexity of each section/topic.
One other tip: make sure you nail the ethics and compliance section because it's really just simple memorization and those are "easy points."
Obviously I don't know your study habits, etc. but you should be fine with ~200 hours? I studied a lot more and passed L1 in June, but I didn't want to take any chances. Plus, there are lots of random trivial pursuit type questions that are definitional that are tricky part. If you studied Finance undergrad and did well, you should do fine on the main subjects.
Few points of advice: study, study, study Ethics! It is 15% of the exam (all levels I believe) and should be pretty easy points. Also, the last month or so are when it all really comes together. I took the last week off and really drilled home all the subjects.
I just started studying for L2 last week. I'm going to slowly work my way into the material. I am fortunate enough with my job that I have pretty decent hours which allows me plenty of time to study.
If you have any L1 questions please feel free to PM me. Good luck!
Just to reiterate some points above and add some of my own:
As for my point of reference, I was in a similar sitiuation, straight A's from a state school finance program, passed L1 & L2 on my first attempts and now contemplating whether going for L3 is worth the time. For L1 I don't think I studied for 250 hours, but probably 150-200 is a good estimate.
Congrats on the decision. The test is difficult, but you'll definitely learn a lot and it looks great on a resume. I'll be taking Level 2 in June. If you have any questions about Level 1, feel free to PM me. Good luck.
Hey I signed up last week too! They say it takes about four years on average, so that means people usually fail the second or third test at least once.
Obviously Level 2 and 3 are more difficult than Level 1, but don't overlook Level 1, its no cake walk...I know a lot of people that have failed it. Good luck.
Can't hurt man as long as the time you have to devote to it won't be a huge deal. Good luck.
Get very familiar with the calculator way before the test. Check out Bionic Turtle also, that site is great with prep questions.
Yeah, definitely know your calculator inside and out. Analystforum.com is a great resouce, as well.
Good luck, I think a lot more people will be pursuing both the CFA and the MBA in future years, the CFA Institute is already partnering with a number of universities, including NYU, Fordham, Ivey and Queens
http://www.cfainstitute.org/partners/university/Pages/cfa_program_unive…
[quote=dec-jun-jun]Good luck, I think a lot more people will be pursuing both the CFA and the MBA in future years, the CFA Institute is already partnering with a number of universities, including NYU, Fordham, Ivey and Queens
http://www.cfainstitute.org/partners/university/Pages/cfa_program_unive…]
Just to piggy back on this, there are already a bunch of MSF programs and grad schools that partner with the CFA Institute so if you went to one of those schools for UG, you might be able to get review materials on the cheap
I think most everyone considering the CFA knows about it, but check out AnalystForum
Also took it back in June. Definitely recommend taking it to those looking to advance their financial knowledge. It is more so the quantity of information you have to learn than the complexity, at least for Level I. Open to PM's too if anyone has specific questions.
Good to see a post on CFA here. I am planning to take level 3 in June,2011. But, it is so hard to find time to focus on the exam preparations. If there are more people of this site who are taking level 3 then we might start a level 3 discussion here and if some of you are around NYC then we might start our own study group.
It's a lot of work, even if you have a strong finance background. There is an intense amount of minutiae on the exam. Don't underestimate the L1.
Definitely focus on doing lots of practice problems and study consistently, every day, even if it's only for 30 minutes during lunch at work.
L1 is just about studying - start now, 5 hours per week, gradually work your way up to 10 hours per week, and if you can a solid 30 hours for the last 3-4 weeks you should do just fine.
L1 is doable, just need to study lots and enjoy finance. You can just Scheweser it. L2 is when the real fun begins...
I wussed out on L2 last year, and may again this year.....its a major major sacrifice to your time and energy...and my firm only pays if you pass.
But 3 of my friends banking/pe analysts all passed L2, but it sucked ass. One guy got home from all-niters at 2am and hit up CFA till 5am, got 3 hours of sleep. Repeat. Sure was motivated I guess to pass.
I hear L3 is the killer. I think the CFA institute should make all the tests bi yearly.
L2 is supposedly more difficult than L3 or so I've heard. I agree, all levels should be held bi-annually.
I am studying for L1 right now, taking the Dec exam,
I am slightly behind in my schedule, just finishing up hte ethics and should move on to mocks by the end the weeks.
I put in 140 hrs so far, 140 solid hours. I am an econ major so the econ part is pretty easy, its very basic ad/as stuff.
I had some trouble with accounting/financial statement analysis, that was the most time consuming for me.
Remember some parts carry more weight than others, for example,alternative investment is only like 5% of the questions, so don't sweat it too much
I am terrible about studying, and I was working in consulting at a Big 4 (25 vacation days a year) so for levels 1 and 2 I took two weeks of vacation before the test and crammed. 14 days X 12 hours a day got me there, although I barely passed Level 2.
For Level 3 in June 2011 I'm going to try to study more in advance, but will try to take a week off before the exam.
I'd say if you have a background in accounting and finance, 150 hours is probably the minimum you want to study for Levels 1 and 2.
I'm taking the L1 in a few weeks. As others have stated here, it's not especially difficult information, but more of a huge quantity. There are many areas that you may have glossed over that they really hit hard in the curriculum that you may find annoying. My personal pet peeves is ratio analysis (fuck you dupont analysis), and co-variance calculations. I greatly dislike tests that require you to remember unintuitive and complex formulas that you will never not have access to in practice. I guess that's part of making it difficult to give it value I suppose!
I apologize, this has probably been covered before but I find myself short on time at the moment. I haven't taken an econ class since high school (placed out by taking AP exams) and have access to free study materials, but they are older (Schweser 2008, 2009). Can I use an older study guide and look up the changes on the website, or am I better off spending the extra money on a brand new guide?
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