While there currently is no technology that I know of to replace studying (now there’s a dream!), there are some apps and resources that make studying for CFA exams easier.
I am going to share some of my favorite CFA apps with you that will help you prepare for the CFA exam rather than procrastinate.
Let’s go!
I’ll kick off with a really quick comparison table.
The table below does a basic comparison of all the CFA study apps we’ve reviewed so far.
Worth noting that there are details and nuances that aren’t covered in the table – if you’re interested in a particular app, make sure you read our detailed reviews below.
CFA Institute’s Learning Ecosystem app is made by third-party developers. So instead of ‘CFA Institute’, you’ll find it listed under the developers ‘Watermelon Express’ and ‘BenchPrep’ for iOS and Android respectively. It covers not just the CFA exams, but also CIPM and Investment Foundations, if you’re enrolled in these programs.
The app is free, but you’ll need to be enrolled in the CFA program to be able to access the content, and likewise for CIPM and Investment Foundations.
Clunky login, and logout issues: To access your content, you have to log in with your CFA Institute ID and password. Alternative mobile logins such as fingerprint, FaceID etc are not accessible, which makes login a little clunky. This would not be much of an issue usually, except there have been a lot of reports by frustrated users on issues with being logged out randomly. I did get logged out once myself when testing the app.
Crashing when switching apps: The CFA Institute’s app also apparently does not seem to like it when you don’t give it your full attention. Users have reported that if you switch apps or have a system interruption (like getting a call or text), the app tends to crash. Yikes.
You can get the CFA Institute Learning app from the App Store or Google Play.
The Kaplan Schweser app supports both CFA and FRM Kaplan Schweser packages. The mobile app focuses on offering an “on-the-go experience”, which includes access to QBank, SchweserNotes, Flashcards and Secret Sauce.
The app itself is free, although you would be required to have purchased the relevant Kaplan Schweser package to enable access to the content. If you’ve yet to purchase one, make sure you see if there are any offers available in our Offers section.
The Kaplan Schweser app, unfortunately, is currently poorly rated on both iOS and Android. A lot of the harsh reviews seem to be around unavailability during the 2021 CFA exams, but recent reviews still highlight issues around crashing and login issues.
Similar to the CFA Institute’s Learning Ecosystem app, logins are frequently needed with your Kaplan Schweser details, and alternative mobile logins such as fingerprint, FaceID etc are not available.
Kaplan Schweser, to their credit, is responsive to complaints and is addressing issues and adding features according to feedback. They are continuing to update the app, most recently with an activity feed which allows users to more seamlessly move between their online program and app while studying. According to Kaplan Schweser, “early reviews of these updates with our beta testers have been overwhelmingly positive”.
You can get the Kaplan Schweser app from the App Store or Google Play.
UWorld’s CFA products are fully online, so it’s not surprising that an app forms part of the product experience.
The app is free, but you will need an activated UWorld account to access the content. Having said that, UWorld are currently offering free 90-day full access to their Level 1 package, so you can get it all for free, for the moment.
I found the UWorld app quite easy to use. You can cross out answer choices, highlight question text, add notes and create flashcards from snippets of questions.
You can also choose from a variety of color modes: regular (white), dark, gray and a beige-y one.
There is also a handy toolbar with things like calculator tips and currency codes, which could be useful to some candidates.
Setting up a test took no time at all, and I didn’t experience any lag or crash issues. Once I finished my test, this synced up immediately in my online account.
Overall the app felt well-built and fast. The app does offer less content than others – UWorld only offers questions and flashcards, so study notes and video lectures are not available (either through app nor online).
You can get the UWorld CFA app from the App Store or Google Play.
IFT has grown a lot since they started in 2011. Their app launched in 2019 and they have been iterating it since.
As with the other providers, you’ll need a paid purchase to access premium videos. IFT’s does say that you can watch “free IFT videos” too, however in practice this is one general ‘exam advice’ video per CFA level.
But if you have purchased an IFT package, you will have access to study notes, formula sheets and all paid videos available for download and offline use.
The IFT app has garnered great review ratings across iOS and Android, and it shows. The app is smooth, fast, responsive and accessing content is easy.
If you look at user reviews you do see sporadic reports of bugs, but I didn’t experience any while testing the app, and overall I felt the app was exceedingly well built.
You can get the IFT CFA Exam Prep app from the App Store or Google Play.
John Wiley & Sons entered the CFA space by acquiring Elan Guides in January 2014, renaming it Efficient Learning and expanding their offering to cover all three CFA levels.
Their app has been active for a few years now, offering support not just for the CFA exams, but for similar qualifications such as CIA, CPA, CMA and GMAT.
As with most offerings, a valid purchase is needed to access content on the app, so no freebies unfortunately.
The Wiley Efficient Learning app functions as a video lessons, quizzing and flashcard tool:
Overall, the app’s functionality is very similar to UWorld’s offering, and given that UWorld gives you free 90-day access, it would worth giving UWorld’s app a shot before forking out some cash.
Overall, the UX seems good, but not as smooth as say IFT’s app. There are some small annoyances with unintended taps (which can be important when answering quizzes), scrolling, and swiping.
There are also user complaints that iPad and tablet support are fairly basic, with no custom version that takes advantage of the extra screen estate on tablets.
But it works well – there were no big issues when using the app, and it’s well rated in both Apple App Store and Google Play
You can get the Wiley Efficient Learning app from the App Store or Google Play.
Hope you found the above useful for your CFA study preparations. If you have any recommendations, let us know in the comments and we’ll add them to this list!
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