Covering Material for CFA1 Dec ’14

Question

I am quite ashamed to admit that I have only finished the Quant and am half way through the Econ section, and will be sitting in for the Dec '14 CFA1. My problem? Landing a new job, moving to a new place, and attempting (failing) to juggle my life. I realize my time is very limited and have recently picked up my studying quite drastically. Any thoughts as far as how much material I should be going through weekly in order to "catch up?" I'm willing to spend 12-16hrs on weekends, 1-3hrs on weekdays. Please advise as I've been looking forward to taking the CFA1 for 2 years now, and everything just seems to crumble on top of me all at once.All input is appreciated.[Academic Background: BA in Finance]Thank you.

Maverick · Answer

Hi Dex,I'm like you, but started a little earlier. As it stands I'm a little way into FRA now, but I still need to seriously step up my speed. I have a desk with a built in mini-whiteboard and I've noted how long left till November 6th (when I want to start the 'mock month'), what date I started the current book and how many pages of how many are in the book I've covered in X many days since starting it. That's a very powerful reminder of how much I have left to do and whether I'm falling behind.My background is in financial advice and I've covered CISI exams, so have some backing in understanding securities, though the CFA takes it to a whole new level.My study plan is that I can do 3 hours per day, regardless of weekend or weekday as I really can't do much until the kids are in bed. Occasionally I might get a good run and hit 5 hours a day. Seriously, my life is: work, dinner, put kids to bed, study, sleep... I'm shattered half of the time, but it has to be done or this whole exercise was a waste of time as well as money. In all honesty, I don't think your plan looks bad. As long as you can stick to a mean average of your stated output, you can put in 172hours in the 8 weeks left to Nov 6th (discount the 300 for what you've already covered of the curriculum). You may need to pick it up a bit as and when you can, to try and hit 200 hours to Nov 6th. Then "mock till you drop"!!The fact that you have a BA in finance means you should be able to scan-read a few parts that you already know, but don't skip detail as you may find one or two conventions have been changed or modified in the CFAI way of doing things. This completely screwed with my head when I got to Foreign Exchange, as I have been in FX for years and every provider I've ever worked with do XXX/YYY with XXX being the base currency - CFAI would treat YYY as the base currency in this notation. Does anyone know if you're allowed to write on the paper to change the notation to what you know and stop having to keep mentally converting?Try using the 300hours online study planner mate here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqqWAszSRihDdG1CN19aNjlqUFg0SC1fQWFJajFWVVE#gid=0Instructions for use live here: https://300hours.com/cfa-study-planner/#.VBAZHGOFnKcThis may help you set your study up in a structured manner.Ramble over! Enjoy the study :smile: Mav