Hi All
I don’t normally post on forums of any description but I have recently passed CFA Level 1 having previously failed on two prior occasions and i thought i would share my experiences with those who may be interested.
Firstly, im sure most will read my introduction and think im simply not smart enough to be completing the qualification. In my defense the CFA is literally the only exam ive ever failed. I have an undergraduate and masters degree and have completed other professional qualifications over the past few years without issue. So why did i find it so difficult to pass what should be a fairly straightforward exam?
There are a number of reasons ive identified.
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Long working hours and a job that requires significant travel and a constantly changing schedule makes it difficult to structure time to study.
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Already limited time is then being competed for by my girlfriend and family.
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I play sport at a fairly serious level which requires a number of training sessions a week and a fixture schedule that changes weekend to weekend.
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The job i do has no real overlap with the CFA in terms of day to day exposure so those in equity/FI research as an example have an automatic advantage.
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My university degrees have some relevance to the CFA but the content has been long forgotten.
So after two previous attempts which resulted in Band 8 & 9 failures, what did i do differently to get across the line on this occasion?
The previous two attempts had clearly given me a good base to work from but it was clear i was missing some extremely easy marks.
I had never given FRA the respect it deserved, so i went back to square one, re-read the book cover to cover and really made sure the nuances stuck.
Secondly, i learned the 5/6 specific rules or treatments within the ethics questions which keep coming up time and time again.
Quants, corporate finance, fixed income all have huge amounts of cross over in terms of calculations, realizng this was a huge help.
Alts and derivatives are easy marks in my opinion, but you shouldn’t spend so much time on these subjects to negatively affect your return on other more weighty sections.
Economics. Generally this is a waste of time. The volume of information within this section is huge and simply not worth spending time trying to get through. Learn the basics like the FX calculations, these are straightforward easy marks but the rest is not worth the time. The last two times i sat the test i reviewed some material like the secret sauce books and this was sufficient to get me 50-70% in both sittings. To be honest, if you work in finance you should know enough about economics to carry yourself.
The above is not revolutionary, but focusing on small specific change in my study and preparation did make the difference.
I would also advise people to ensure they continue to work out and go to the gym and exercise, you need mental stamina for the exam and looking after your body will equally help. Make sure you eat well and keep hydrated at all times.
These general rules worked for me.
All the best.