CFA Level I Exam

Question

I know this is probably not the right place for it, but I'll say it anyway. 

I'm considering the CFA level I this June to get a leg up on my eventual Internship/Job search. For those of that have already taken it, can you comment on the ammount of time that is required to study for the first exam.

Also, do you know any places to get used curriculum materials?

Any advice will be helpful.

Thanks!

jainan24 · Answer

I have tons of material (soft copy files) and can sell you cheap. I am talking about Schweser course

agsfaltex · Answer

Jainan, did you take Level I using these materials? I wanted to find out if Shweser is much different from the CFAinsitute curriculum materials.

Thanks!

yb · Answer

Schweser is good especially if you have a finance or accounting degree or background. I passed Level I using only the Schweser notes. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck.

jsnooky33 · Answer

Now what about those WITHOUT a finance or accounting background? I'm front the land of IT and will be looking at this in the next year.

yb · Answer

I would recommend purchasing both the official curriculum and the study notes. Check out  https://www.analystforum.com

agsfaltex · Answer

Hey guys, thanks for the info. How long did you guys study for the exam? 

I'm thinking about getting an older version of the curriculum (and maybe Shweser). How risky is it to get an '06 or '05 version of the curriculum materials?

yb · Answer

Quite risky... given that >30% new reading has been included for 07

naturallight · Answer

I would say if you do it, be sure you have the time for studying. It isn't a test of smarts, but rather a test of knowledge. It simply takes a lot of work, especially if you don't have the finance background. Also, failing L1 looks bad, so it's probably better to overstudy than to understudy. Finally, be sure to get the most up-to date materials. 

naturallight, CFA

Hjort · Answer

I would take the suggested study time of AIMR/CFA Institute seriously. I studied for about three months leading up to Level I from the textbooks. In some cases, I used a different (albeit recent) edition of the textbook and did not encounter any difficulties.

Mark4124 · Answer

I was working in brokerage for about a year before starting. Helps to have some market background and knowledge, but wasn't in investment management and I have a liberal arts background. I studyed for 6 months and took a course with the Boston Securities Analyst Society. The exam was tough, but I still passed and didn't read a few sections (would not recommend this). Everyone says the L2 seperates the men from the boys, but so far I have found L2 study much easier as a result of the background I obtained from L1. Thing with the L1 or any of the exams though is the amount of material. It is quite impressive (about 2500 pages per level if you use the curriculum materials, which I recommend). It isn't one of those tests you can pass without studying much. I didn't put much of any effort into the series 7 or the certified equities professional level 1 (a stock options designation), saw about 30% of the people around me fail, and I got 92 on 7. CFA is a different story... I have met fixed income analysts, econ/finance majors, and a host of other industry types who have failed. You can do it... but you need to have the strength to see it thru. I started the L2 study beginning of this month. I have an absolute conviction that I will pass despite what anyone says about the L2 difficulty... but then I also know myself and I know what it takes to get myself thru an exam of that nature and I am taking it very seriously. If you want to do the same you will be successful.

agsfaltex · Answer

Congrats to all of you that spent the time and energy (and money) and passed Level I. 

I think i'm convinced, I need to invest in more recent curriculum materials/notes. Does anyone know where I can get used but recent materials? I'm going to take this just as seriously as I did the GMAT. I checked out ebay and I saw a few things there that might be good, but I'm still looking around.

Thanks!

fluffydot · Answer

guys, I am seriously thinking about taking CFA level 1 this June. I know it's gonna cost $1100 but it makes a lot of sense to do this while I have this free time before school.

My question is: will this help a lot in getting my I-Banking internship? Is this something they would expect me to have or see as an added bonus?

I am coming from IT backgroud so looks like I will have to study my @ss off...

agsfaltex · Answer

I've talked some Ibankers and PE people and I asked the same question. They all told me its realsly not something they take into account from a selection standpoint, but it definitely does not hurt. even for people with diverse (non-finance) backgrounds the best direction is to go through the school resources and excel in the accounting/finance classes.

On the other hand, if you're not totally sure (like me) and maybe interested in IM as well, then it is definitely worth it.

kidderek · Answer

How does the difficulty of CFA compare with GMAT? I assume the CFA is much harder, but do see plenty of people with CFA I and even II who have low GMAT scores (640-660).

MoonShine · Answer

I know a couple of people who haven't been able to break the 600 barrier on gmat after 3 attempts and still passed all 3 CFA. The point, there is very little or no correlation between the success on the gmat and success on the CFA exams. 

Also I wouldn't consider 640-660 as "low" it's still 84%+ percentile.

kidderek · Answer

Is the CFA more about rote memorization and endurance (preparation and during test)?

fluffydot · Answer

GMAT and CFA cannot even be compared. the concepts in the GMAT are "relatively simple", it's more of a practice & timing issue.

CFA covers a huge range of topics from econ to ethics,stats, time value of money, market conditions, portfolio risk, all kinds of crazy stuff. Most of it has to do wiht how much u can cram into your brain.

People who work with investments day in day out have an easier time on CFA. Whereas they may not be as good at calculating the speed of train A going towards another train coming at angle x with a clown spinning counterclockwise in the third caboose.

So what is the concensus? is CFA more relavent to Investment Mgnmt but not IB?

eazyb81 · Answer

Like someone else said, the CFA certainly won't hurt your IB aspirations, but it won't necessarily help much either. On the other hand, if you are serious about IM, then it will definitely help you get your foot in the industry door.

rhyme · Answer

For someone like myself who may be interested in IM, this sucks.

And theres no way I can make it to the june deadline

CFA Level I Exam

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