What books should I buy.........

Hi There I am bit confused what all books and practice questions should I buy to study…I am planni to buy schweser. can somebody please let me know whats books I should buy and I wants questions for practice aswell…

i used schweser for this december’s exam and did not pass. i found the schweser books/cds to be alright, but their practice exams were terribly misleading…emphasizing far too much on calculations. you can take the cfa without a calculator and be absolutely fine. i look forward to using the CFAI books when studying for level again 1 in June, because i beleive they will much better prepare me for what i will see in june. plus, the fact that i already sat for the exam once hopefully will help me pass this time. i did not use any of the CFAI’s practice exams and i wish i had. if you do use any third party books, realize that they may not be as good as the CFAI books at preparing you for the material you will see on the exam.

Buy the Essential package from Schweser, it comes with study notes and practice exams. Or if you need more you can buy the Premium Package which comes with instructional videos/weekly study class program.

Hey hank Do you reckon essential pack should be fine…and how about the question bank…is it included in the essential pack what do u think it is a good idea for me to only study from CFAI notes as it is recommended by some people…

hey jrona thanks for the info…I was also considering to study from CFAI notes but one of my mates adviced me to go schweser and said that it is more than enough for the exam…I have got a lot of time because I will sitting for DEC 08 so I might be able to read through the CFAI notes I am sure which will help me to prepare better for my career assuming that it is quite indepth…but how bout the practice tests…i am not sure whether CFAI will be sending me practice question. I was thinking of buying some question bank where I can practice questions. i will be taking the online exam available on CFAI webiste but I do need a qbank where I can practice heaps of question…what do u recommend.

Ricky(Sydney) Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hey hank > > Do you reckon essential pack should be > fine…and how about the question > bank…is it included in the essential pack > what do u think it is a good idea for me to only > study from CFAI notes as it is recommended by some > people… That is what I am studying from… Yes it is included. … Depending on your background and the time you can devote, I would suggest using both the CFAI text and study notes. If you are taking in June then you would have to rely on notes more at this point… but if you’re taking the exam in december, then it would be a good idea to start with the CFAI text and then later do you review with schweser. If you have a financial background then you might only need the notes, but if you are new to the field then you should give the CFAI text some time.

Hank0414x Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > > That is what I am studying from… Yes it is > included. … Depending on your background and > the time you can devote, I would suggest using > both the CFAI text and study notes. If you are > taking in June then you would have to rely on > notes more at this point… but if you’re taking > the exam in december, then it would be a good > idea to start with the CFAI text and then later do > you review with schweser. If you have a financial > background then you might only need the notes, but > if you are new to the field then you should give > the CFAI text some time. Hey Hank I do have a background in finance and m working in finance aswell…how bout the questions to practice…i am thinking of studying from CFAI notes but not sure whether they have enough practice questions. I think the key to success is to practice as many questions u can. I wanna know if there is any books from CFAI with practice questions or whether I should buy the schweser QBANk not sure whether they sell it separately. right now if i only study from CFAI notes, buy the schweser QBANK and sit for sample question papers on CFAI website will that be enough for me to pass the exam. I really don’t have much time to study both CFAI and Schweser notes because I am working full time. regards

They do sell both the Schweser Qbank and the Stalla Passmaster separately. While you may think that, and some people have written that the questions are easy, and too simplistic, and not representative of the exam, these are tools for retention and making sense of the material holistically – so they do their job in the final analysis. Stalla Passmaster – is a 2 computer installation. Qbank allows both a 2 computer installation, as well as an over-the-web version with your login and password which they set up for you. CP

Ricky, As you are appearing for Dec 2008.You can also try CFAI texts. there are many people who cleared the exam with CFAI texts and many who coudnt make it with Schweser notes .So its all depends what material suits you. In short CFAI text and Schweser notes are popular choices. -Rick

I’d highly suggest using Q-bank and not doing Schweser practice exams. I assumed that they were focused too much on excessive calculations rather than concepts and decided to focus on reviewing concepts instead. I think I made the right decision.

I’m also very confused on what I should buy. Perhaps some people can give some tips? I have a solid academic background (Ph.D. in Marketing, MS Management Science, both from top 5 schools) and currently work for a major bank (in statistics, not finance…). Is the medium Schweser pacakage strongly suggested or should I be fine if I *study* the CFA books? Thank you, Daniel ps. Why is my specialty (behavioral finance) not till level III!?

I would say that anybody is fine just studying the CFA books. However, if you would like to go through the material faster, with not as much filler, than purchase schweser. Remember, Schweser, Stalla, etc. base their notes on the CFAI texts…

Hank0414x Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Buy the Essential package from Schweser, it comes > with study notes and practice exams. Or if you > need more you can buy the Premium Package which > comes with instructional videos/weekly study class > program. Hank, are the study notes in the Essential package the study books often quoted on this forum? are they the same books in the Study notes pack that is on sale seperately? Thanks!

I used Becker for the CPA exam and passed with fyling colors so I decided to stick with Becker and use Stalla, I am very satisfied thus far. I know people who have passed using only Stalla, Schweser, CFAI texts, or combination. It really just comes down to what you know and how much time you are willing to put into it. For all those fellow bean counters out there I will say that the video lectures are a lot shorter and not as good as they were for the CPA, but they are still pretty good because of two words: Peter Olinto.