Level 1 - Stalla or Schweser??

I will be taking the CFA exam for the first time in June 2009. I have heard good things about both Stalla and Schweser. I have recently passed all 4 parts of the CPA exam using Becker software, which I thought was helpful. I assume Stalla uses similar software to Becker. Stalla also uses Peter O’Linto for the cd course lectures and I know from experience he was beneficial for the CPA. I hear good things about Peter in regards to CFA. Any comments and advice would be beneficial. Thank you for your time.

I ordered both stalla and schweser ( a little overkill i know) I personally prefer Stalla. The video Cd’s are excellent and I think their study guides are a bit more in depth then schweser’s. and yes, Peter Olinto rocks.

Dang it, I ordered Schweser, am I screwed then?

no, alot of it is personal preference. I’m sure the majority would disagree with me. schweser seems to be more popular.

elrec, i wouldn’t write yourself off yet… like i said, i’ve heard great things about both stall AND schweser but i only want to splurge for just one program…

ive found schweser to be very good. in most instances they cover the LOSs sufficiently. just make sure you review the questions in the CFAi texts. ignoring them is setting yourself up for failure.

I would not buy either, if I had enough time to study. But if you are really time constrained, I’m sure either would help out a great deal.

cjud001 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I will be taking the CFA exam for the first time > in June 2009. I have heard good things about > both Stalla and Schweser. I have recently passed > all 4 parts of the CPA exam using Becker software, > which I thought was helpful. I assume Stalla uses > similar software to Becker. Stalla also uses > Peter O’Linto for the cd course lectures and I > know from experience he was beneficial for the > CPA. I hear good things about Peter in regards to > CFA. Any comments and advice would be beneficial. > Thank you for your time. If you know his teaching method, he is on the videos for most of L1 and L2, I would stick with Stalla if you know the method.

If you were to be Europe-based, which you’re probably not, I believe Schweser has better geographical coverage with their London-based courses. These are web-based so I’m obviously referring to the time of day when they’re broadcasted; the webcasts sent out to a US audience come at such weird hours, like 1-4 am.

Stalla! I believe you can pass with either method, but I have enjoyed Stalla study materials. It is more costly though, which is usually a decisive factor, so Schweser is more popular these days.

elrecio81 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dang it, I ordered Schweser, am I screwed then? Come on - Schweser is a great product. Stalla is a great product too. I like Stalla a little better, but QBank seems to be very useful. There are tons and tons of people who have passed CFA exams using either CFAI stuff + Schweser or just Schweser. This is like saying “Which is better a Lexus or a Mercedes? (match 'em on price or something)” They are both fine cars and will get you to work on time. Which you like better is just personal preference.

Schweser…Peter Olinto is, indeed, a remarkable teacher and very entertaining. However, I found their questions to be a very poor representation of what is actually on the exam. Schweser qBank is awesome! Just my opinion…I am sure you can pass with either method…otherwise, they probably wouldn’t both still be around.

i have same question now…i have barely 6 months to prepare since i just registered…so thinking myself which is a good supplement…would it be really ok to leave out CFAI books mostly…i fear leaving out the details…

“barely 6 months” should be plenty of time to read CFAI books, along with any supplemental materials

Stalla cannot beat Schweser with Schweser’s final month prep guide THE SECRET SAUCE! Also QBANK from schweser is rated much better than Stalla’s Passmaster even by Stallas users. Yes one thing stand out with Stalla and that is the flashcards. But seriously speaking who needs flashcards when you have the Secret Sauce. Plus Schweser is cheaper. I mean there is gotta be a reason why you are the world leaders, rite? yeah Peter Olinto this Peter Olinto that, but it all comes down to who grasps the most material, if you concentrate you do the same with Schweser vdo material. Regardless, you only end up watching a couple of vdo topics that you are unable to get with reading the book, so who has the best vdos is not even a question.

I will definitely need vdo lectures, so if Stalla does a better job in that …i’d go for stalla…depends on what you need the most and your learning style…both are good anyways…

If either of those companies were not properly preparing candidates, they would have been out of business by now. I’ll leave it at that.

Doug Van Eaton also rocks!

I am taking level 1 for the first time so my opinion probably does not matter much, but I found Schweser Q bank to be absolutely perfect for its intent in the study process.