is it ok to study from a previous year books?

Hi Nedo,

As is the case with any exam, there will be changes from year to year. Much of the material will be the same, however new principles accepted by regulators and suchlike will be included in new books and will not be in the old material. Also any areas that the CFAI wants to test more rigorously on the next exam may be expanded somewhat in the new books / curriculum.

In short, much of the material may not have been changed much from June 2014 to June 2015, however it is not recommended to study from old material. You may find yourself up against a question which was not included at all in the old books and material, as if changes have been made, they have probably been made by the CFAI with the intent of testing it on the next exam.

I wouldn’t recommend using old books and would buy the latest curriculum from your choice of provider in order to have the best possible chance of passing the June 2015 exam.

I personally wouldn’t recommend it either. A few people I know tried it and they didn’t do well. I think the extra cost is little compared to the extra effort/stress/complexity you have to put up with.

Good luck @nedo!

@Nedo‌ Yep that’s what a few of my friends did. 2 of them failed and one passed. Both who failed said that in the end it wasn’t really worth trying to piece it together from past years’ books.

Is cost the issue for you?