Some of you will have seen me posting, asking various questions about enrolling on the CFA - I finally took the plunge this week and enrolled. I also purchased a Wiley CFA Level 1 Silver Course. My plan of attack for studying for this exam, is as follows so I’d be very grateful to hear any advice from any Charter Holders so I can try and ensure I am on the correct path:
Do the Wiley Readings
Watch the Wiley Video
Do the Wiley end of chapter questions
Do the Wiley Reading again
Attempt the CFA curriculum examples
As I have loads of time, I’d like to do very well in this one - to set me up for Level 2 as I’ve heard that is a tough one. As a bit of background - I am a qualified accountant and have a CAIA charter.
I’ll preface my recommendation by saying that I believe everyone learns differently, so what worked for me may not work for you. It’s also worth mentioning that I passed on the first attempt >70% in all topics.
I also prepared with Wiley for level 1. I studied the core material by solely watching the video content, taking notes, and religiously working the problems provided by Wiley and the end of chapter problems and the within chapter problems in the CFAI readings.
My two cents (opinion): reading Wiley + videos = overkill.
I did my course with Kaplan materials. On top of the above I would add do mock exams and as many questions as possible with the stopwatch in hand - I ordered additional tests too . Level 1 is the “meat-grinder” with only a few minutes per question. You need to be able to quickly I mean within 10-15 sec come up with the procedure that will bring you to the correct answer. You can’t afford thinking “hmm what should I do now…” you do not want to re do it in a year do you?