@hellomarconi
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Up5
Thank you for your help, Christine. I really appreciate your input and will stick to the schedule as you suggested- I already started revewing on derivatives. Looking forward to June 2016!
Up5Personally I think there is no such a thing as ideal order of study. I agree with gansub’s last comment though – it is important to review Ethics before the the exam.
For instance, I prefer to start with the topics I struggle – which are FI, AI and DER. This helps take the pressure away – as there isn’t any time constraint. Also, it helps with confidence and a better overall understanding. After you tackle your difficult topics then the easy ones start making much more sense.
Regardless of the order you choose, the most important thing is to stick to your plan! Aim for 75% overall and you should be good to go.
Up5I don’t believe much in the technicalities of the learning outcome statements – as study providers tend to advise. If a calculation is explained in the CFAI material, then is fair to assume that it may be tested.
Up5Means that if you bring all operating cash flows to the present (NPV) and then subtract the initial investment, you can determine whether the project is profitable. Technically, if this number is =>0 it adds value.
Up4Honestly, I think you should stick to the CFAI Material anyways. My mistake last June was to think that Wiley and Schweiser would be enough – Only used the CFA Mock Exams, Practice Questions and End of Chapter Question. Then, not surprisingly, I failed – band 7. Many questions were based on material covered by CFAI but thought as “not as important” by Wiley and, especially, Schweiser. For next June I am focusing on the CFAI material and using Schweiser mainly for the Weekly Class (just to have a re-cap going) and Qbank.
Up4This plan includes more questions – as I am already familiar with the material – not much changed. Last time, it took me a long time to digest the material and understand the formulas.
For the new focus, I plan to review all (with more focus on the subjects I struggle) and then answer questions.
My biggest issue was forgetting things I had already studied. For example, in May I had a hard time remembering the concepts and formulas I had studied in January.
Not sure how to remedy this? Any idea on how to create a plan that incorporates constant use of the material previously learned?
I was thinking of answering 6 questions a week for every material I finish reviewing. That way, by the end of my review, I will be answering 60 questions per week (all subjects) and then I will simply add mocks, practice questions, End of Chapter questions, etc. Do you still think it is a solid plan?
Up4The best material – and one you must read – is the material provided by the CFAI. Study notes offer you shortcuts – which will help you pass L1 – but as you have time till June 2016, why not use the actual CFAI material?
I suggest using the CFAI material for topics you are viewing for the first time, and perhaps use Study Notes for topics you learned in University – E.g. Econ, Quants, etc. If you think you already master all topics then go straight to the study notes (except for ethics) but make sure you still answer ALL CFAI end of chapter questions.
With that said, the more effort you put into level 1, the easier it gets for Level 2. Videos can be quite distracting and burn many precious hours. I would focus more time in answering questions.
Happy studying.
Up3Unfortunately there is no shortcut here. I would suggest you look at them and try to understand what these formulas are explaining – instead of necessarily “just memorizing” them.
As long as you understand these formulas and their applicability, you may simply purchase CFA formula sheets for the few days prior to your exam (wiley or schweiser) and then finally focus on remembering them.
You will also notice that many formulas repeat amongst different subjects (e.g dupont analysis).
Focus on the concepts and less on the number crunching…
Up3In my opinion you would be “wasting” valuable time reading this. You can be more productive using your time to read the actual CFA Institute material. If you really “need” formulas to memorize – e.g. to boost your confidence or for fun – then I suggest Schweiser Formula Sheet for Level 1 – as it is only 5-6 pages long.
Truth be told though, I don’t think memorizing formulas will increase your chances by much – perhaps an extra mark or two, but out of 120, is it really worth it?CFA exams are not like the typical University midterms/finals. Instead, they tend to focus more on curriculum understanding and less on formula plug-and-play. You’d be surprised to see how much more conceptual L1 questions can be.
Up1Good plan.
The professional feels and looks much nicer, and worth the extra couple dollars in my opinion. Functionality-wise they are both much the same – extra features in the BA Pro won’t help you in L1 exam.
As an advise, try to focus more on the understanding of concepts rather than the number crunching. Sometimes the theory can go long ways E.g. If a question asks you to calculate Delta for a Put Option, sometimes just knowing that it has to lie between 0 and -1 gives you the best answer.
Up0I have posted this same message on Prof. Gordon’s Forum and wanted to share his response with you – it really helped me understand the topic better.
By the way, Prof. Gordon (From Examsuccess.ca) runs an excellent CFA Review Program for all levels. I strongly recommend checking it out. He helped me tackle L1 and now is helping with L2.
Answer posted by Prof.Gordon (September 3,2015 14:13:28) – On ExamSuccess.ca/Forum
Here a couple of thoughts to help make it easier:
F = S (1+i$) / (1+i€) <== IRP equation, we know this…make sure you are consistent: since the given quote is $/€
We get:
F
> S (1+i$) / (1+i€) <== this tells us our buy sell: buy the
“cheap” side and sell the “expensive” side, buy the SPOT, sell the
FORWARDWhich currencies do we buy and sell? Rearrange the IRP equation as:
F (1+i€) > S (1+i$) <== borrow the “cheap” side and invest in the “expensive” side, borrow $ and invest €
To address your question 2….
Don’t think of it as a US dollar amount divided by euro interest rate….think of it in terms of the IRP formula:
F / (1+i$) = S / (1+i€)
It is just the “spot exchange rate” divided by the euro interest rate…
The key to all of this is to make sure you line up the quote correctly with the correct “price currency” and “base currency”.
I hope this helps!
