Greetings Everyone, I am planning to write my CFA exam Level 1 next December 2009 - Now I will be asking similar questions that have been asked before but in a different context - this forum - from the looks of it, seems a great source to update oneself to different things regarding the CFA exam, as most members pitch in to help. Firstly, I will be finishing my undergrad in May 2009 - (Bachelor of Applied Business - Financial Services Management) although my degree caters towards banking and similar financial institutions - the level of Finance Covered in this degree isn’t adequate enough. So do you guys think it is a wise move to write the exam in Dec 2009? Do you think 5 months is enough time for one to familiarize with Financial Concepts and be ready for CFA Level 1 exam? Secondly, I am confused as to which is better - Stalla or Schweser? Which one do you prefer? (please note that I do not have a strong Finance/accounting background - just basic stuff) Furthermore, Lets say I buy 2008 material (study guides) - do you think that is good enough for me to study for my 2009 exam or should I wait for 2009 material to come out first? Thanks in Advance for answering my given concerns. Cheers
frizbee Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Greetings Everyone, > > I am planning to write my CFA exam Level 1 next > December 2009 - > > Now I will be asking similar questions that have > been asked before but in a different context - > this forum - from the looks of it, seems a great > source to update oneself to different things > regarding the CFA exam, as most members pitch in > to help. > > Firstly, I will be finishing my undergrad in May > 2009 - (Bachelor of Applied Business - Financial > Services Management) although my degree caters > towards banking and similar financial institutions > - the level of Finance Covered in this degree > isn’t adequate enough. So do you guys think it is > a wise move to write the exam in Dec 2009? Do you > think 5 months is enough time for one to > familiarize with Financial Concepts and be ready > for CFA Level 1 exam? > > Secondly, I am confused as to which is better - > Stalla or Schweser? Which one do you prefer? > (please note that I do not have a strong > Finance/accounting background - just basic stuff) > > > Furthermore, Lets say I buy 2008 material (study > guides) - do you think that is good enough for me > to study for my 2009 exam or should I wait for > 2009 material to come out first? > > Thanks in Advance for answering my given concerns. > > > Cheers 1. If you’re set on the CFA, take it in June 2009 or even December 2008, plenty of time still. 2. 5 months is fine, more than enough time. 3. You get the CFAI Texts when you sign up for an exam. The CFA Institute will say the body of knowledge in those books will be enough for the exam. While this is probably true, many members on this forum opt for Schweser Notes/Qbank combo. Although I’m still awaiting my results, I felt more than prepared for the June 2008 exam. 4. 2008 study guides. Buyer beware. You may do what you want, but a few hundred bucks is not so much an opportunity cost as failing the exam, reregistering, and starting from the bottom once again. I’m far from an expert fyi, just a few things I found true for myself.
frizbee Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Greetings Everyone, > > I am planning to write my CFA exam Level 1 next > December 2009 - > > Now I will be asking similar questions that have > been asked before but in a different context - > this forum - from the looks of it, seems a great > source to update oneself to different things > regarding the CFA exam, as most members pitch in > to help. > > Firstly, I will be finishing my undergrad in May > 2009 - (Bachelor of Applied Business - Financial > Services Management) although my degree caters > towards banking and similar financial institutions > - the level of Finance Covered in this degree > isn’t adequate enough. So do you guys think it is > a wise move to write the exam in Dec 2009? Do you > think 5 months is enough time for one to > familiarize with Financial Concepts and be ready > for CFA Level 1 exam? > > Secondly, I am confused as to which is better - > Stalla or Schweser? Which one do you prefer? > (please note that I do not have a strong > Finance/accounting background - just basic stuff) > > > Furthermore, Lets say I buy 2008 material (study > guides) - do you think that is good enough for me > to study for my 2009 exam or should I wait for > 2009 material to come out first? > > Thanks in Advance for answering my given concerns. > > > Cheers use scheweser…awesome stuff they have…
Frizbee, To disregard your question for a second and tell you what you need to know: any advice you will recieve on how to study (and in turn pass the test) will be general in nature at best… and at worst totally unsuitable for you personally. It all boils down to how fast you learn and how fast you read and how well you remember what you have learned. To answer your question there are a few quality ‘tips’ out there that I would think you’d have to take my word on but helpful for you and anyone looking to pass. First, Start with FSA, its the hardest and longest section and for most people its the least interesting. I say this because one it gives you the ability to review later, and two it will be responsible for much of your final score. Second, Start with CFAi text books, and after your done use Schweser to review. [Full Disclosure: I didn’t do this for June08 L1 and really wish I had]. Third, Because of the length of the material be sure to put into your final study schedule a couple days every three weeks to review using Qbank (Schweser). Finally, Study hard on the FSA stuff for a couple weeks and take a Qbank exam and see how you did, note your study habits and make the neccessary changes to ensure your meeting your goals. Its often inefficent study time that can drag you down, so make sure your schedule fits your habits and takes advantage of when you do your best work. The test will be harder than you expect, and it will take longer to learn the material than you think. Use this forum for motivation and build a sense of community when your finding yourself less than motivated. Oh and in terms of getting any early start, be sure to check with CFAi to make sure the material wont change. And L1 is going from 4 to 3 options per multiple choice question starting next year.
Thankyou everyone for replying and giving your insight… for a newbie to CFA - ive been getting mixed thoughts on the matter that - is it better to study using CFA books and using Q bank from Schweser… or just stufy the Schweser notes and Qbanks… whats the best route? - then again it depends on one study habits… but given the fact that you have written your CFA level 1 exam - what approach did you use…
You have 4.5 months. One thing to note is that CFA changes curriculum each year. While not huge, it IS different so you might want to take that into consideration. I would get my hands on some sample questions to see how you do, then think about your schedule and how committed you are (i.e. studying during thanksgiving break, etc.) then decide from there. Good Luck.
Hello Everybody, My first thread as well. I too have decided to take Level- I in dec '09. Mainly, for two reasons : 1. I never had any relationship in past with finance, so to speak. I did take two courses in finance and were enough to intrest me in this field. In terms of my commitment, i have enrolled myself for two semester of finance courses to prepare and have a base before i hit CFA with all due respect. 2. Time and money crunch at this point make me think that it will be more practical to take in Dec’09. I am write now going through CFA fundamentals…( someone suggested in this forum to a newbie before) to get an idea of my strengths and weakness and thereafter plan to go through Schweser. I have given myself until Jan’09 and thereafter I plan to register for dec’09. It is only then that I will go through CFA books. Guys an comments !! FRISBEE : Last whole month I researched every possible site and found out couple of sites that have schweser 2008 notes available for free…!! FYI .
I would suggest apply for December 2008 exam, prepare and attempt. You may fail due to time, but take it easy and learn the concepts and get a big picture how fast you need to answer. Attempt for December 09 or may may be June 09. Key to CFA exam is not just how much you know but how fast you can answer and mange time. Be aware, number of question are 2 part questions. And after noon session is little heavy on math part than in morning.
use schweser! they are the best…i tried Allen Resources, but switched to scwheser and prefer the schweser method of the portable workbooks where you read a section and then can take tests in the booklet on what you just read. some study materials separate the information from the questions which i do not like and dont imagine a majority of people would. q bank also lets you customize your tests and compare what you score on mocks to other people taking those mocks.
Hey Bee, Finally someone who is writing Exam in Dec 2009 - I called the company today and they said that registrations wont open until late january - so i have no choice but to wait for the CFA books for the time being. Secondly, Investopedia was helpful in giving me an outlook as to what kind of course content is there in CFA level 1 - they have a study guide available which was somewhat useful in terms of understanding the basics of as to what kinda course material is there. So you have link??>… buddy… email them to me at frostyfrizz@hotmail.com - be in touch - Cheers
Oh how i wish i had found this website before i sat on the june 08 exams =(
check ur mailbox frizbee…!
Thx a bunch Bee!!!
For the benefit of us, appreciate if you could furnish the some links that u might have for these free materials? > > FRISBEE : Last whole month I researched every > possible site and found out couple of sites that > have schweser 2008 notes available for free…!! > FYI .
I dont have the links anymore…but did find, not just one but many where old schweser notes were available