The first volume (Ethics) is too overwhelming for me right now. i’m thinking about skipping over to the Econ (Volume 2) stuff. What order Volumes would be the most efficient? I’m thinking to go over Volume 2 and 3 in December. 4 and 5 in Jan, 6 in Feb, 1 in March and reserve april and may for review.
They recommend ending with Ethics so that it’s fresh in your mind when you take the test. I’m probably going to do quant then econ during the first month, but mostly because I minored in math and econ, so those will be review for me. It’s probably best to ease yourself in, so whichever subject seems least difficult is probably the best way to start.
I think it’s a good idea to do quant before you do equity/fixed income/corporate because a lot of those sections will use equations, process, etc. that are covered in the quant section in more detail.
My routine was 1. FI 2. Quants 3. FSA 4. CF 5. PM 6. Equity 7. Derivatives 8. AI 9. Ethics 10. Economics Ethics has several terminologies I believe which require prior understandings moreover doing Level I is like maintaining a streak and keeping a pace. If ethics is put in the end and the pace already developed, the results could be better.
I stuck to the order of the books as they are. I don’t see why many people recommend to leave Ethics at the end of the studies. The Ethics material is not that long and can be covered on a first read in a couple of days. It gives you the comfort afterwards that you have went through the material once already. Of course, you’re gonna have to revise it before the exam, but it’s the comfort of having read it that makes the difference.
I’ll probably read the Schweser notes for Ethics at the beginning and then read the CFAI version of Ethics after I finish all of the other sections.
Generally, go from hardest to easiest based on your background. I have MBA/CPA so I started with Alt. Investments and worked backwards through fixed income, skipped to Econ, then FSA and left Ethics for last. That left me time to review and relearn the hardest pieces again.
Most people who have gone through the CFA program will say to leave Ethics towards the end
May be its psychological as on CFAI website Ethics are specially highlighted that’s why once candidates are done with most of the areas they feel confident and go for Ethics. Its my opinion.
I completed Equity and FI, and am now doing Derivs & AI. Will then move to FSA, CorpFin, PM, Econ, Quant, and Ethics, in that order.