@financialexamacademy
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Up5
@perspective I do not want to discourage you, but are you aware that you need four years of relevant work experience before you can earn the charter? Also studying for the CFA charter is a massive commitment of time and energy, you are likely to spend nearly 1000 hours (even if you pass every test) over the next 3 years, so you really need to be sure this is what you want before you commit.
Up5Another way to speed up the process is if you write the LOS on individual flashcards before starting each reading, and then sift through the reading focusing on getting the answers to the questions prompted by the LOS and print them on the flipside with book-, reading-, LOS- and page number. This way you will focus your mind on figuring out which parts of the curriculum are really relevant, and which parts are “fluff” and “story telling”. This way you will also be building a helpful revision tool for later in the process.
Up4Hi DR515
The CFA institute only authorize two different calculator models: The Texas Instruments BA II Plus and the Hewlett Packard 12C (There are some different versions of the Hewlett Packard calculator but it is essentially the same model). When I sat the tests the vast majority would use the Texas Instrument calculator. The HP calculator seems a bit “old school” for lack of a better description. Unless you are already familiar with the HP calculator (which doesn’t seem to be the case) I would stick with Texas Instruments. You can’t go wrong with that one!Best of luck with the test!
Up4Hi RoyD,
I agree with fabian. Go with your gut, but for what it is worth I would always spend the last week prior to the test doing mock exams and revising my incorrect answers in detail.
Also if you haven’t already try and replicate the exam conditions as closely as you can. Literally sit the morning paper from 9AM to 12AM and the afternoon paper from 2PM to 5PM uninterrupted with a break in the middle somewhere where you are unlikely to get disturbed with no phone/computer/study aids. If you do this a couple of times it will really help with little subtleties like perfecting how you pace yourself, and it will reduce the shock to the system on Saturday..
Best of luck!Up3@amitforall It really depends on your ambitions? If you are 10 years down your current career track you are clearly unlikely to pick up many details from the CFA curriculum that you do not know already relevant to your current job. That said if you are looking to change your career track it could still be relevant. I don’t think it is ever too late to study for the CFA. But you need a really strong reason to do so, as it is a massive commitment.
Up3The end of chapter questions are pretty good too. I used to do the end of chapter questions for each reading and collate a list of all of the questions that I found difficult and/or answered incorrectly while reading the curriculum.
Then I would revise only those questions on the “difficult list” and redo them until I was able to answer all of the end of chapter questions correctly (and more importantly understood the reason for the answers).
This same list of difficult questions from each reading was super helpful in the final month when revising for the test, as it helped me focus my attention on revising the questions that I found the most difficult.Up3Sure, I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all approach, it kind of depends on your personal circumstances (How many hours you have got, how quickly you read, your academic background, how much experience you have got in the industry already etc…), and opinions vary massively as to what is the best approach.
But here are a couple of points that helped me through this ordeal:
– Try and work out your best guestimate about how many hours total you are likely to be able to set aside for the test. E.g. 20 weeks of 15 hours = 300 hours or whatever it might be.
– Try and work out how many hours your chosen study plan will take to complete. E.g. if your plan is to read the entire curriculum cover to cover (roughly 3000 pages) and you only read about 10 pages an hour then that is clearly not going to work. Since you will be spending your entire 300 hours reading the curriculum with no time left over for Fitch classes, question practice and revision.
– If something has got to give, don’t skimp on question practice. Start doing end of chapter questions as soon as you start reading and make a list of all of the end of chapter questions that you find difficult and/or answer incorrectly. Then revise your answers and redo this list of difficult questions until you have understood the reason behind the answers. Keep this list of difficult questions for the last month when it is revision time.
– Whether you are relying on the curriculum, SchweserNotes, Fitch Learning notes or any other material write down every single LOS (learning outcome statement) on the front of flashcards (you can get a flashcard app for your smartphone if you can’t be bothered with cardboard), before diving into each reading. Then instead of mindlessly flipping pages search through the material to seek out the answers to the LOS and write the answer on the flipside of your flashcards with page numbers. These cards will be really useful for revision later as well (you can do the same for formulas and key concepts if you are super keen 🙂
– Aim to be done reading the curriculum/study notes a month prior to the exam, and spend the last month on revision, question practice and mock exams.If you haven’t already have a browse around this forum and the 300hours blog to get an idea about the various study approaches out there, here is a couple of good pieces from the 300hours blog on strategy:
– Do you realistically still have time to study for the CFA Exam
– How to effectively balance CFA studies and work
– The one thing you should know to pass the CFA level 1 exam
– What is the most effective level 1 CFA exam study session orderFinally you can have a peek at the Financial Exam Academy blog where I have got a free study guide expanding on the above approach that will hopefully be of help.
Up2Hi,
There isn’t really a minimum acceptable grade for two reasons. 1) the CFA Institute does not publish the exact % needed to pass the test and 2) there is no guarantee that the Schweser Q bank questions are exactly as difficult as the questions on the actual exam.
I wouldn’t focus too much on the absolute level, or comparing with other people’s scores (it will drive you crazy). Instead I would use the scores to identify the areas of the curriculum that you score the lowest and go back and do more end of chapter questions and really focus on revising and understanding why you answer some the questions incorrectly. If you continue this process for the next two weeks targeting your weakest areas, it is arguably the fastest way to identify your blind spots and improve your overall grade (irrespective your starting point at this stage).
Don’t beat yourself up if your scores are not great at this stage. You have still got nearly two weeks, and targeted revision can make all the difference.
Up2I agree with most of the above.
One distinction that has not really been mentioned.
If you look at the size of the individual topic areas in the curriculum compared to the guideline exam weights: Ethics takes up roughly 9% of the curriculum (based on word count) but carries a guideline exam weight of 15%. Conversely economics takes up roughly 17.5% of the curriculum for a 10% guideline exam weight (all using the June 2015 curriculum). I don’t want to get too hung up on these numbers, but if you are constrained for time (aren’t we all), it probably makes sense to rely on an abbreviated study guide for some areas of the curriculum, but I would still study ethics at source…Up2Hi klrups. You can always add more material, but if like you describe you have got the underlying curriculum, the SchweserNotes and the Fitch class room course (where I believe you will also get a big stack of study notes), then your problem is probably going to be what to focus on rather than adding more study material.
The Secret Sauce can be pretty handy, especially during the last month of revision, but check with Fitch if you get the Final Countdown compendium? If you do it is a pretty decent substitute.
You have definitely got enough study aids already to clear the exam, the tough part is putting together a winning strategy for studying them efficiently.
Up2Are you using any study guides or studying straight from the curriculum books?
Up1Hi,
This year the changes are slightly more dramatic than usual as the number of readings has been reduced and the guideline exam
weights for the individual topics have been adjusted for the first time
in years. So if you are re-sitting the test in June 2015 and contemplating using 2014 study materials it is a bit of a gamble.The biggest changes are the following:
- The Ethical and Professional Standards readings have been updated to reflect the latest Standards of Practice Handbook.
- Two readings (33 & 34) from the dreaded Financial Reporting & Analysis topic
area have been removed and replaced by a single reading (Financial Reporting Quality). - A new reading has been added to Fixed Income again this year (Introduction to Asset-Backed Securities).
- Four Derivatives readings (58-61) have been removed and replaced by a single reading (Basics of Derivative Pricing and Valuation).
So for these 4 out of 10 topic areas I would definitely not rely on the 2014 Schweser materials.
Sorry I can’t give you a more upbeat response, but hopefully better to know the truth than to waste time studying material that is no longer on the test.
All the best,
Up1Hi,
This is a typical CFA trick question.
As you point out for a capital lease the negative cash flow from the lease is split in two (cash flow from operating and cash flow from financing activities), while for an operational lease the negative cash flow from the lease is all classified as cash flow from operating activities.
Because the cash flows are negative the capital lease will result in lower cash flows from financing activities, and the flipside of this argument is the answer that operating leases result in higher cash flows from financing activities (compared to a capital lease).
I hope this makes sense?
All the best,Up1I would agree with the above.
Also, try and imitate the exam conditions as closely as possible.
This may be difficult unless you have got the last week off from work and/or other commitments, but ideally find a quiet area with a desk and a chair (maybe in a public library or somewhere else you cannot be disturbed) and sit the morning paper of your mock exam from 9AM to 12AM. Then take a break and sit the afternoon paper uninterrupted from 2PM to 5PM. I used to do this on the last couple of Saturdays prior to the exams (not fun, but it will help you get your life back sooner), but any day would be good really.
Going through this process at least once before each test was super beneficial, when I was doing the exams, particularly for level 1 when you are new to the process. Most of us gets the pace wrong the first time (some people are too quick some people dwell too long on each question), you probably have a rough idea which category you fall in, but the only way to really figure this out and adjust your style is to try and reenact the exact exam conditions at least once, preferably more times prior to sitting the actual test. Also it is beneficial to know how your body responds to the entire process in advance. E.g. if like most of us you struggle to keep concentration in the second half etc.
This is one of the little details that can really have a massive impact on exam day. Imagine if you have been studied hard for half a year and when you finally get to exam day you drop vital points simply because you didn’t pace yourself correctly… Not fun.
All the best!
Up1Hi Steven,
First of all good luck with the test in December.
I don’t know enough about your situation to make a call if you have time enough to get ready for the June 2015 exam. What I can say is that I found level 2 significantly harder than level 1, so you need to factor that in.
There have been some significant changes to the level 2 curriculum from 2014 to 2015 with 6 new readings and 10 readings removed. So I would not rely on 2014 materials if that is what you are hinting at.Up1Hi,
I think the extreme example of perfect elastic demand and supply is unlikely to come up on the exam (as I have not seen it described in the curriculum). In theory if both supply and demand is perfectly elastic then no transactions would take place unless both supply and demand was perfectly elastic around the exact same price point, in which case there would be no deadweight loss. But I really do not think you need to worry about this question coming up on the test.
I would focus on understanding how the share of the burden from a tax is distributed on the buyer/seller depending on the relative elasticity of the demand/supply. The group (buyer/seller) with the steepest (less elastic) curve will suffer disproportionally from a tax irrespective if it is imposed on the buyer or seller.
Up1Ok, so you have got 6 weeks left to get through the remaining third of the curriculum in order to keep May clear for revision.
I guess the obvious question is: Did you spend a lot more than 12 weeks on the two thirds of the curriculum that you have already completed?
If so, something clearly has to give. I would agree with policedog that mapping out a pretty detailed plan for the next 6 weeks detailing exactly which readings you are going to attempt each day is the way forward, then you will know instantly if you are lagging behind the target. It can be done, but it really depends on how much time you are able to allocate each week
Best of luck!
