Hey all I recently got my CFA charter last November. I remember what it’s like to be super stressed out about the exams and I know there are a ton of potential options out there and I wanted to share my perspective if it helps. I had an awesome experience with Nathan Ronen when he was with Kaplan and when he founded his own firm, Chalk & Board. I found that when it comes to the CFA having someone who reads from the book and uses standard slides isn’t useful for all the technical know-how you’re learning. You need an instructor or program that goes beyond the book to help you understand the complicated concepts. For context I worked on the buyside when I took my CFA exams, but going through the CFA program and having a good prep resource really helped integrate the concepts into my work.
Nathan was referred to me by colleagues as an A+ instructor with deep subject matter expertise to help navigate the CFA exams; I was anything but disappointed through his courses. What I found the most useful was his method of teaching; he didn’t stick to the rote textbook way of teaching and instead created his own curriculum that kept candidates on their feet: real life examples from his finance career, lots of practice, test-like quiz questions, targeted readings/review, etc. In the span of a few months, I was able to significantly expand my knowledge base and be very comfortable with topics such as pricing swaps or exotic options. Nathan challenged me to keep learning, ask many questions, and strive to make my knowledge practical, not just something that I’d forget. With his help, I was able to pass Level II and Level III and earn my charter. I have gone on to use the lessons from the CFA curriculum and Nathan’s course as integral parts of my work to advance my career. One last thing I’ll mention that further differentiates Nathan from other CFA instructors is his level of personal investment in the success of his students- phone calls to answer specific questions / clarify specific topics, mock tests with detailed grading, etc. With the launch of his own company, it’s clear that Nathan is committed to making this kind and quality of financial education more widely accessible.