OK so you’ve checked out the CFA Program and decided it may be beneficial for your career.
Years ago when I first took CFA Level 1, there were lots of trial and error to find out what study approaches worked and what didn’t, to make the most impact with the least amount of time I had to study CFA.
The good news? I’ve summarized the best practices CFA candidates need to pass Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 (in one-go, preferably). All you need to do is apply these techniques consistently, track your progress and see the difference for yourself!
So here are the 7 habits of highly effective CFA candidates that improved their chances of passing.
Sounds obvious, but not many have a good study plan.
A good plan doesn’t need to be complicated – it’s simply an objective-based plan you’ve tailor made for yourself based on your work and life commitments, it’s something you can stick to throughout and is achievable.
The keyword is creating a plan that suits you (and only you), based on your personal circumstances. No one can do this for you but yourself. If you can’t be bothered to do this, I think you shouldn’t bother with the CFA exams at all.
If you need further guidance, just use our free, personalized 300Hours study planner. It has been used by more than 50,000+ readers to pass their CFA exams!
Passive learning is simply just reading your CFA materials. Yeah, just reading and nothing else. You probably know from experience that that’s a recipe for dozing off ASAP.
Here’s a moderately effective study technique to improve engagement and memory retention: write a summary after reading every study session. It’s better than reading the same materials 4 times! You’re not meant to copy the whole book, but more to write about what you remember are the key learnings of what you’ve read. Once you’re done, do a quick check with the materials to see whether you got the information right, or what you may have missed.
It can be handwritten or typed electronically (time-saving), or a combination of both – it doesn’t matter. Going through the process of summarizing, recalling and comparing notes itself reinforces your grasp of the material through a change in pace of your study. Even better, you could use your summary notes later!
Experts call it “spaced repetition”, a technique to boost learning retention. It’s the opposite of cramming really – reviewing materials more frequently and over a longer periods of time to reinforce memory.
One good example of this is the usage of flashcards that’s pretty effective for remember CFA formulae or lists.
Having a solid study plan (see #1 above) ensures you have plenty of time to try this and avoiding cramming sessions. It’s all about making learning interesting (see next point).
I can see you smiling on this one! But let’s be honest, there are certain parts of the CFA curriculum that are as boring as watching paint dry (for me it is CFA Level 2’s pension accounting, what’s yours?).
Here are a few ways to make it interesting though: gamify your learning by betting that you can remember it, reward yourself if you finish certain chapters, connect a concept to things you know, etc.
Teaching someone or discussing questions on the forum is a great way to test your knowledge and reinforce concepts in your memory too.
This is so important that we talk about it all the time on 300Hours. It is one of those big factors that makes a difference between a pass and a fail.
You should save up your practice exam and mock papers for your final month’s revision plan. 5-6 sets of practice papers is what we recommend to go for during the last stretch of intense revision.
More importantly, make sure you test yourself under timed, exam conditions. It’s the only way you can get a feel of the actual day as much as possible. Record your scores and analyze them by topic area to make sure you know your strengths and weaknesses. You can do input these scores in our free CFA study planner, by the way.
It’s likely that your initial test scores are none other than disastrous, but don’t worry about it. You’ll get better over time as you get used to the time pressure and plug the knowledge gap with more practice.
One of those things that are easier said than done. With your busy study schedule, it’s tempting to just eat unhealthy takeaways to focus on work all the time.
It just doesn’t work out in the long run. Marrying your butt to your study chair for a long time would only reduce your productivity and risk study burnout, make you (feel) fat, sluggish and unhappy. Not good for passing the exams!
Eat better, get enough sleep (make sure they are high quality ones too), take breaks or go for a run to control stress levels during your studies. Or at minimum try out our desk stretches to stay focused and flexible. It’s all about spacing things out and making your routine interesting and sustainable.
It’s the only way you can improve it. Generate your own personalized study planner, track your progress and practice test scores as you complete your study goals daily – you want both quality and quantity!
I know that’s quite a few things to remember, but they’re important, so make sure you keep them in mind! Do you have any good tips to add? Share it with us in the comments below!
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I would also add the topic of focus. It's important to be able to have an efficient way of studying. This can mean different things for different people, but generally speaking you should be able to study in blocks of 2-3 hours with minimal breaks. Don't bring your phone. Don't have food (slows you down). Just some water. And a target for that specific time frame.
Please send me any tips and videos on how to pass the morning section of the the CFA Curriculum
What about the PM section then?