I want to enroll for the September exam. When should I start studying?
Now. And while you are at it, enroll for the FRM exam as well. That’s in November.
I’m still ambivalent about the CAIA. I have yet to meet anyone who really believes that it adds value to your credentials; on the other hand it couldn’t hurt to get it and then bust it out when it gains some semblance of credibility.
As part of my CFA campaign, knowing how challenging it would be, I did both CAIA and FRM - to benefit from topic synergies and to keep the study habit flowing. The two-stage CAIA times its exams to not interfere with CFA - FRM is in November before Thanksgiving, which also doesn’t interfere w level 2/3. CAIA does have ethics questions - also lots of options/swaps/real estate. They just took out equities/fixed income, conceding that to CFA, and to further differentiate its alternative investment emphasis. As a computer based test, it is less subject to test environmental factors like hectoring proctors, etc. When I took the 2 stages in the DC area - there were no other person in the testing room taking CAIA - others were taking GRE, nursing exams and the like. The one-stage FRM is heavily quant focusing on VaR and the like - portfolio risk management - hedging maneuvers etc. Vignettes and item sets with a similar cfa feel. Very challenging exam - I thought I didn’t pass - took it as prep towards level 2. I was truly pleasantly surprised when I found out I passed. Overall, I felt working towards them worthwhile and adds to the armada of investment charter alphabet soup …
does there become a point when having too many letters after your name makes you look like a credential “whore” rather than someone who accomplishes things at work (or for that matter does it make you look like you don’t take your work seriously?). Serious question. I’m not flaming btw. I’m curious as to what people think since i have been considering the FRM or the CFP if I pass level III.
this is most spurious argument ever. geez, learn for learning’s sake, take the exam, pass it for yourself, and never use the letters if you are so paranoid about what others think about your accomplishments. yes, some people (always those less qualified, hard-working, etc) create an ego-defense mechanism and rationalize that those who are more qualified, must be flawed in some way. give those idiots what they want - put only 1-2 certs on your resume and keep the rest in your pocket. then wow them with all this ‘magical’ knowledge which came out of thin air as far as the bozos are concerned. they will not even know where to go learn all this stuff, and will perpetually be chasing you as you advance in your career. btw, i used the same logic for doing the CAIA (hold the charter) and the PRM. may as well benefit from the synergies while you’re at it. its a foolproof argument, but very harsh on the family, be ready for that.
I worked on these charters to demonstrate commitment and capability in the fields of investing. I’m a career switcher from a nonquant position so showing proficiency, dedication and analytic/quant versatility is important in my situation. My learning has earned me confidence and respect from those who are in the know.
exactly - and those are the only people who matter. the jokers can go fly a kite. good for you, mate. you have my respect as well, and that of many others on this board. to those who are in two minds - climb that wall of worry, and take a peek on the other side - the water is crystal clear, everything starts to come together and make sense, the closed loop reveals its shape. i may sound funny, but those who know the feeling know what i speak of exactly. i’ve had an innumerable number of a-ha/eureka moments over the last 3 years as i studied CFA CAIA PRM and a few other little secrets of mine. it would never have happened if i did not shake off the fear of ‘what others may think’ and pursue learning for the sake of learning. if reading this post can convince even one person to go for it - i will be truly delighted for you. you’ll have to be a persistent little bugger though - there will be a hundred reasons to quit midway.
I hear you about the clarity of the emerging loop - the more I did, the more insights I gleaned into managing porfolios - I even changed my hedging techniques as a result of CAIA and CFA studies which has yielded higher returns per capital deployed. The CAIA I felt was very doable, although rohufish is right about the need to be persistent in the pursuit. It’s something like climbing K2 as a challenge to prep for Mt Everest CFA. Rohufish - are you Australian? If so, gday to you! I’ve always wanted to visit there and see a roo, surf bondi beach and check out the oz babes.
oh dude, i also wish i had at least visited there once. i am indian / american / indian … depending on the day of the week. hmm… i sound aussie?? really, who would have thunk? hmm…gives me some ideas for tricks i can play on dear etienne, who is pommie i hear.
no problem rohu - just a whimsical guess - the cool thing about cfa is the global community - i super respect those who earn their charters and whose backgrounds/language are outside the usa/uk - financial products are quite us-centric - so to study this without having a direct experience is an additional challenge. I read in the cfai magazine that they recently awarded a charter to the first mexican woman - she plugged away to earn it.
well, i actually have lived the majority of my life in the US, although i was born and schooled in india. its very exciting times back in india, very tempted to go seek a fortune there right now.
india is a dynamic burgeoning economy - lots of growth there - earn your cfa and many opportunities can flow your way. cfas in india must do well there, i surmise.
rohufish Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > this is most spurious argument ever. > > geez, learn for learning’s sake, take the exam, > pass it for yourself, and never use the letters if > you are so paranoid about what others think about > your accomplishments. well when were talking about spending 200-300 hours of my time on something perhaps the actual benefit to my career is more important to me than learning for learning sake. but i’ve never been of the career student variety. sorry if I pushed a button. I seriously was not intending it as a flame.
no worries. my sincere advice - forget about getting the letters. those 300 hours are worth much much more if you just learn and understand the whole gig - stuff will start to make sense as a whole, reasons for why things are the way they are will emerge, new ideas will present themselves, you get my gist.
Wzupdok, Could you tell me how much time you spent on preparing for the FRM exam? Thanks. wzupdok Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > As part of my CFA campaign, knowing how > challenging it would be, I did both CAIA and FRM - > to benefit from topic synergies and to keep the > study habit flowing. The two-stage CAIA times its > exams to not interfere with CFA - FRM is in > November before Thanksgiving, which also doesn’t > interfere w level 2/3. CAIA does have ethics > questions - also lots of options/swaps/real > estate. They just took out equities/fixed income, > conceding that to CFA, and to further > differentiate its alternative investment emphasis. > As a computer based test, it is less subject to > test environmental factors like hectoring > proctors, etc. When I took the 2 stages in the > DC area - there were no other person in the > testing room taking CAIA - others were taking GRE, > nursing exams and the like. The one-stage FRM is > heavily quant focusing on VaR and the like - > portfolio risk management - hedging maneuvers etc. > Vignettes and item sets with a similar cfa feel. > Very challenging exam - I thought I didn’t pass - > took it as prep towards level 2. I was truly > pleasantly surprised when I found out I passed. > Overall, I felt working towards them worthwhile > and adds to the armada of investment charter > alphabet soup …
To those who have taken the CAIA, especially recently, what study material did you use? I still can’t decide between Schweser and UpperMark. I am partial to Schweser because I found their CFA study notes well written and concise, yet I’ve heard that they were not very good for CAIA at the beginning, and had to catch up to UpperMark. Even now, they lack a Formula Sheet available with UpperMark (and their own CFA study material). This would cost over $40 shipped if I order it separately. One thing I am slightly concerned with UpperMark is a lack of visible erata section. Either that’s a testament of the quality of their product (they make no mistakes), or, they aren’t as transparent - I am not sure which. They also charge more for shipping the whole thing (twice as much compared to Kaplan for the Express service), but I can live with that. What I value the most highly, are concise study notes that cover enough of everything I need to know for the exam.
guys, if you’re just taking this exam for the paper, i think you’ll be disappointed. not many people know much about CAIA just yet. if you’re in it for the learning, read the assigned books, they are good. you will learn a lot. the handbook of alternative assets and the convertible arb book (not an easy read, but once you get it, the stuff is awesome) especially are excellent. i also enjoyed kestner’s quant methods book (light quant, mind you).
To answer the questions - FRM campaign - to prepare for last November’s exam, I started in earnest in mid summer with Schweser’s online weekly program, materials and summary sheet, and studied the required reading at an accelerated rate through the fall and into November. The Schweser online review was very useful as many concepts are rather esoteric, needing extra review outside of the class. The discipline of watching the lectures also helped to keep the material fresh over the summer and fall. You should check out Schweser’s online web lecture giving an overview of this year’s test, which is now updated with new readings and dropping of old clunky readings. I hit the fatigue wall mentally in early November and started to flail a bit, but buckled down and finished strong right up to the exam. Reviewed materials at the lunch break, which helped since this test is equation heavy. For CAIA, I used UpperMark for both stages - the material was very useful and summarized key concepts and equations efficiently, and the style of practice questions were quite congruent with that I saw on the exam, especially the written short answer questions. At the time I took it, Schweser hadn’t come out with its product so I can’t give you a comparison. UMark had excellent cd/online questions that really helped as doing them gave a good feel for the actual test. Overall I credit UMark with prepping me well for passing the two stages back to back. Hope this helps! You can ask further questions - I can dig up my old materials, which are somewhere mixed in among the detritus of my CFA materials.
@rohufish: Learning, yes. But I am also time pressed: I am putting aside about 3.5 weeks this summer to do an intensive language course so I have realistically 2 solid months of studying for the CAIA. Given that I’ve paid for the enrolment and exams, it is crucial that I pass it irrespective of the immediate value the designation offers. Otherwise I could just read the prescribed books at my leisure over the course of the year. On the up side, I don’t think that you could pass the exam without getting a reasonable good grasp of the material anyway. Depending on whether I would need to resit CFA L1, I should have more time to revisit areas of interests in the assigned books after September. I am not a particularly fast reader, hence my preference for using study notes right now. Did you take the CAIA solely using the prescribed material? @wzupdok: Thanks, I think that I will go for UpperMark. Might as well give it a shot, and it seems like many people have managed to pass it with it prior Schweser. Did you use the prescribed material at the time? @Anyone: Could you tell me more about FRM? I will give it a pass this year, in part because I am not sure whether I will need to do CFA L1 Exam again, and it sounds like a tough exam that requires as much time to prepare as for the CFA examinations. CAIA is particularly appealing for me because of the Real Estate components (as it is where I am planning to work in, at least in the short-mid term). CFA appealed to me because I thought it covered a large number of topics and a good foundation in Finance (which I lacked). Thanks!