Study notes + text books(that cover your weak areas)
Do the Past Papers/Practice Exam more than twice
Well Schedule your Study Plan
Use the cheat sheets from Schweser/Stalla
Never underestimate the CFA requirements
Start early your study
Strategy
to Crack the Game!
Many
friends have asked me how hard the CFA examin is . I think it doesn't matter
how hard really it is. It only matters whether you have the clue to crack the
game. Here is my own experience and study strategy to prepare the exam since my first level exam
in year 2000.
How
to start the study?
It
much depends on both your academic background and professional experience.
For the Level 1 new comers, there are 2 strategies to start off the study:
a)
Study notes + text books
(to cover your weak areas): if you get enough time and CFA is your definite
goal, you should go with this strategy - buy the study notes and select
the text books that cover your weak areas, or topics which is new to you.
b)
Study Notes only: Solely rely on the study notes and go through every
pages and practise every exercises. I think this is also effective in sitting
the examin if U got no time to read every thing, or you are already a finance
guy with strong finance background (level 1 is just a piece of cake to U).
In other words, U should first get a set of study notes and start reading for several sections,
so you can get a feeling of how difficult or how easy is the examin. Second, Make
a choice on which text books you actually need.
I
have to say that those study notes may be too concise - to let the candidates
understand the real stuff. So U must be cautious and whenever you are not sure whether you understand the topics, go back to the text books for clarification
.
How
Much time U need to spend on the Study?
You
should understand that how much resources, money and time you should put into
the examin preparation - much depends on:
how sure you want to win the game,
how much resources you actually can involve and
of course, your academic background & professional experience are critical factors
There is no one straight answer for how long a candidate should study to pass the exam.
However,
AIMR have a guideline of 250hr-study required for each level.
Study
Notes vs Text books
Using Text
Books: Pros and Cons
If
the subject is new to you, a good text book can guide you through the learning
process and give you a better understanding of the topic. For those hard areas
like derivatives and fixed income securities, the relevant text books is vital
to your success in the examin. In contrast, thestudy notes like
Schweser never teach you well on these difficult areas. Nevertheless,
text book has its disadvantages in tackling an examination:
The big picture is not clear.
Too much in details/
info without a focus or emphasis on examination requirements.
It is difficult to review the subject before the examin with hundreds or even
thousands of pages of materials that presented in a text.
So,
if you choose to use the text books, you have to make your own notes in order to
grasp all the essence of the subject.
Reasons
for using Study Notes:
a)
They serve as a study platform and review tool to guide U through the study.
They are examin-oriented and can focus your study on topics that frequently
tested in the examin.
b)
The curriculum of CFA is too broad for candidates to study the text books one
by one as time is usually the major constraint to all the part-time
learners. U can
see a long list of reference books in the AIMR's official study guide. Of course,
if you actually have the time, text books is good for U. But you still got to
have some tools to focus your study. Study notes can serve that purpose.
c)
In addition, many of the candidates may have a degree or MBA in Finance major.
Much of the CFA curriculum is therefore not new to the candidates. They can selectively
choose to buy the books that cover their weak areas.
Guide
on Text Books
Here
is some advice on those text books on the official list:
Most
of the candidates use either of these 2 study notes. Schweser seems to be the
leader in the market. The basic difference between the two notes is that
Schweser is brief and concise, whilst Stalla is more comprehensive but wordy.
I
am among those - who are fans of Schweser. Schweser does a good job on
organising the theories and concepts in a systematic and concise format - a
pretty good reviewing tool. On the contrary, Stalla includes more details but
in a wordy way that hardly give you a clear picture of the subject. I don't
consider Stalla as a good study guides even if we got too much time for study.
You
buy a study notes because U want a "notes" that summarise all the
stuff in a nutshell. If U need a comprehensive guide on the topics, why so bother
to buy the text books? Stalla seems going in the wrong direction in marketing
its product.
But
U should be aware that Schweser only gives a very brief
highlights on the assigned readings and often escape some important topics in its notes.
People always complain that they come across with examin questions that never be taught in the
Schweser's Notes. Last year, a simple derivatives question on
"circuit swap" emerged in L2. I think many Schweser users would score
zero on that question. So Be Careful!!
The
Study Plan - How to Schedule your study?
Making
most of your study time:
Here is a article about how to managing your time and setting goals on your
study. It really helps. Read it now!!
In
short, you have to schedule your study in the way that:
Study
difficult subjects first. It's easier to tackle the tougher subjects when
you're fresh.
Making
your study a habit
Set a
daily study schedule
Keys
to Success
Give yourself a month
for practising the past papers. Do it twice!! That is the KEY TO WIN!!- In the essay-type questions of both L2 & 3, you will find some hot topics
that always come up in the past papers. They are even presented and asked in
similar format as they did in the past. More you are familiar with those frequently
test areas, more the chance you pass the examin.
Remember to get the
cheat sheets from Schweser and Stalla -
The two course-providers each gives their own list of so-called "most
probable examin topics" every year. You can download
the list from their webs. Stalla usually gives the list in January and Schweser
gives its own one several weeks before the examin. I have found that they usually
can hit some topics for the past 2 years. I just wonder why they are capable
of that..... For example, in 2001, L2 gives a question on convertible bonds
that never come up in the past 5 year's examin and I can't imagine why both
Stalla and Schweser have that gut feeling of AIMR will put it in the examin.
The topic on convertible bonds is very simple, but if you don't have the hints
, you may lose some marks on that question.
Note: Never bank on the most probable list to sit the examin. They also give many wrong tips on the "probable
examin topics". But you can use their hints as your check list for study.
Here
is a sample of Schweser's most probable list of year 2000:L2_2000
Prioritize Your Study - If we can quantify our study effort, we have
to deal with the problems of cost and benefit. That is, not every single
unit of your study effort give the same reward....Trying to maximize
your return on your study effort, you have to prioritize your study. Give
priorities to followings:
1)
Topics
that frequently come up in past examin. Say, Equity section must be part
of the asset valuation of L2, and they are asked in similar formats each year.
Put more time on it. U can get a better than average return from the section.
2)
New Topics that are not yet tested in recent examin.
3)
Difficult areas that always nail the candidates.
Here
is a survey result about which sections the candidates feel most difficult:2000
Survey
CFA
vs Master in Finance/ MBA with finance focus
A Master
degree in Finance is alway more in depth than a CFA. That is my view on the
comparison. If U want to learn some real stuff on finance, find some serious
courses in Master in Finance.
Other
Issues
Calculator:Buy the TI BAII
model.
Forums: There are some CFA
forums on the net, that can give U insights on how to sit the examin. Here are
some most popular forums:
CFA Forum l Wallpapers l Photo Album l About Me l GuestMap l CFA Studyroom 
how sure you want to win the game, 
Study
difficult subjects first. It's easier to tackle the tougher subjects when
you're fresh.
