Hi, I am thinking of giving Level 1 exam in December 2009. I want to buy the Schweser books. Do I absolutely need 2009 material or will 2008 material do? Will I be missing out on a lot? Can I just buy a supplement that will tell me the differences? Thanks in advance.
No supplement will tell you the difference. You will get a copy of the 09 curriculum. As far as using 08 Schweser is concerned, it could suffice, but it depends on how intensely you use the curriculum and whether you know exactly which areas have seen a significant change from 08 to 09. From my experience I can tell you that FRA especially taxes has seen significant change. There is a whole section on investing in commodities. Econ reading on US Inflation has more stuff (biz cycle theories), the one on fiscal policy also has more stuff while the one on monetary policy is entirely different. This is just off the top of my head.
Okay. I guess I’ll try to find such a supplement. All I found so far is this: http://www.stalla.com/pdf/Level1_LOS_FinRT.pdf Do you think this is enough? Or is this using reference to Stalla books specifically?
I passed L1 this June with the Schweser Books from 2008 so it’s definitely do-able. I’m sure you should be able to find a page on the CFAI site that tells you what LOS have been added from 2008 to now and then read them from the curriculum.
What about passing L1 using material from 2006-2007? I just got a bunch of books from an office colleague and was planning on taking it in December.
I mean when you register for the exam you get all new CFAI materials so IDK what the issue is here… what is your email?
I found the following changes. Anyone knows if these changes are all of it? Is there anyway to confirm these changes? It says “New edition of Economics text”. That seems a little broad. Anyone know any specifics? • New Accounting Readings – SS#9 • Stress differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS • New Accounting Readings SS #10 • Manipulation of the cash flow statement • Warning signs of accounting irregularities • Sunbeam and Enron scandals • New edition of Economics text • New treatment of macro • Monetary policy mechanics • Monetary policy rules and goals • New reading on central banks • New Reading in Alternative Investments • Investing in commodities • Many other smaller changes at LOS level
I used '07 SchweserNotes (plus '09 Schweser Q Bank) to pass L1, so I guess it’s doable…, but remember that people learn differently.
I used '08 Schweser notes and '09 Qbank and passed. I didn’t notice a lot of big discrepancies in the notes versus what showed up on the qbank and exam. The '08 notes mentioned nothing about cantango and backwardation in the commodities futures markets which appeared several times in the Qbank. Luckily I went to the CFAI curriculum and read up. I’m sure you could use the older notes and pass but if I were you I would look around on ebay and find some '09 notes. You don’t want to be surprised on exam day.