Stalla 2007 Books still ok?

CFA Level I
#1

I am seeking opinions. I bought the Stalla set (books, videos, sample questions, etc.) last summer for the December, 2007 Level I exam and due to scheduling demands I decided not to take the Dec. exam, but push it off to June 2008. I recently took a look at the list of LOS changes from Stalla’s site: http://www.stalla.com/pdf/Level1_LOS_FinRT.pdf I am debating on sticking with my 2007 books vs. forking over more $$ for the 2008 set, on top of the fees for the CFAI registration & books. Would I be ok just sticking to the 2007 series? My background is an MBA in finance and 10 years work experience in finance (although I have spent the last 5 years running my own business, outside the realm of finance). Been out of school for awhile, but used to working my butt off. Thanks in advance for your opinions.

#2

i recommend finding a book that details the differences in the syllabus content from 2007 and 2008

#3

CFA has listed all the LOS for 2008 on their site. I was planning on using that as a guide to the differences and just using the CFAI guides (which we have to buy anyway) for those topics not covered by Stalla.

#4

I read somewhere (CFA site i think) that about 30% of the Level 1 texts changed from 2006 to 2007, so this may happen again this year. Eg. econ texts all changed. The underlying concepts don’t change that much, but the way each text book approaches it may be different. When you sign up for June 08 you will get the CFA stuff with the current text extracts in it - so you can review and see what’s different. If you’re a finance MBA already then you should be ok. One thing you should check ==> With Schweser, their online and CD services automatically cut out a couple of days after the exam, so you can’t get in and use it for the next year. I’m sure Stalla is the same. They probably want you to buy the service again. best of luck…

#5

Null&nuller: Thanks for the insight. Stalla gives you a year before the CDs conks out. The new set costs $600 bucks. For what I’m trying to do & the cost, I decided to just go ahead & buy the new set. Studying for the exam is difficult enough. Why add the headache of trying to sort out what’s new?

#6

yep, probably a small price to pay in the long run, for the saving in time & trouble.