Hi friends, I am from a non finance background appearing for level 1 this june. Which study material will be better for me? Curriculum or wiley notes?
Hi there,
I just took the level 1 exam last Saturday and I wish you good luck for the June exam.
First of all, I highly recommend Schweser Kaplan for materials. However, consult the CFA curriculum for Ethics and its end of chapter questions for practice. Schweser QuickSheet and Secret Sauce are really efficient in explaining things and for last minute reviewing. You can carry them rather comfortably anywhere and so you can read some pages while commuting or during lunch breaks etc. However, for someone with a non-finance background, you might need to get accustomed to several, if not many, jargons that CFA would use but do not define or explain. I’m sure all prep materials provider and even CFAI try their best to define or explain everything that a non-finance person would be unfamiliar with.
For practice, I highly recommend going straight into CFA Institute’s own Topic Tests and Mock Exams on the website and ignore everything else if you do not have the time, because Topic Tests and Mock Exams are made by the very same organization which will also write the real exam that matters. Furthermore, the Topic Tests and Mock Exams auto-grading feature and explanation are highly convenient compared to paper-based practice. According to this site: https://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/exams/Pages/cfa_exam_calendars.aspx Topic Tests would be immediately available after registration and Mock Exams available on January.
In addition, I believe the CFA Institute website has many tools to help someone with no finance background. https://www.cfainstitute.org/programs/cfaprogram/courseofstudy/Pages/index.aspx Don’t be afraid to browse through every single link and site in the CFA Institute website.
Finally, there are also third party providers that also organize workshops/seminars/classes for exam preparation similar to college. Their level of services may vary and you need to ask each provider for specifics such as schedule, payment, certification if any and source of materials.Try to find providers who has CFA charterholders as instructors, because after all, charterholders have been through what you will face through.
Have fun
That’s all you needed to say
Thanks for your guidance